How did you survive? “Good question,” says Yusuke Kuroda and smiles pensively. Because it is actually not a matter of course that the design hotel Lequ in Chatan, for which he is jointly responsible as management assistant, still looks so spotless and hospitable as if nothing had happened. In March 2020, operations began in the elegant four-star accommodation with restaurant and spa areas on the west coast of the Japanese island prefecture of Okinawa. The pandemic was just picking up speed at the time, “stay at home” recommendations and the first coronavirus emergency followed. The government in Tokyo imposed an entry ban.
There could hardly have been a worse time to start the tourism business. But over time, the Lequ learned how to deal with the crisis. Lured locals with special rates. They were particularly impressed by its spectacular roof-top swimming pool. Developed a base of loyal regular customers who promoted the new house via social media. “We might not have made it without their help,” says Kuroda. And now the worst is over, because the horror of the pandemic has been vaccinated. And recently, it looks like foreign tourists will soon be able to travel to Japan again with almost no restrictions.
All’s well that ends well. Or?
Government circles in Tokyo announced on Monday that the upper limit for travelers should fall by the end of October. For the first time since April 2020, there is a concrete prospect that anyone who wants to come to Japan can also come to Japan. So far that doesn’t work. Since September 7, the daily upper limit for travelers has been raised from 20,000 to 50,000, and vaccinated people no longer have to take a PCR test. But still tourists need a visa and need to be a member of a group tour. Free travel for free Nippon visitors looks different. In 2019, the year before the pandemic, more than 140,000 people arrived in Japan on average every day. Only seven percent of tourists came with group tours.
Yusuke Kuroda is jointly responsible for the design hotel Lequ in Chatan. More foreign guests are likely to be swimming in the spectacular roof-top swimming pool in the near future.
(Photo: Thomas Hahn)
Local tourists in the Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto: Until autumn 2020, the entry ban went so far that not even foreigners residing in Japan were allowed to enter.
(Photo: Yuri Smityuk/imago images/ITAR-TASS)
Before the pandemic, Japan experienced a tourism boom with record numbers of visitors. The right-wing conservative government had discovered industry as a motor for the economy. Major events such as the 2019 Rugby World Cup or the 2020 Olympics should attract even more paying guests to the country. Goal: 60 million visitors from abroad annually by 2030. And of course Okinawa was an important pillar of the project. The prefecture in the deep south of the Japanese island chain consists of various archipelagos with a tropical climate. It is a classic holiday destination for the Japanese, and it was just expanding its potential for international tourism in the pre-Corona period. The Hotel Lequ also relied on it.
It is located in the so-called American Village of the city of Chatan, a colorful fun oasis with shops, restaurants, seafront promenade and sandy beach next door. Actually the ideal place to benefit from the increasing flow of visitors. “We expected 40 to 50 percent of our guests to come from abroad,” says Yusuke Kuroda, “but our plan was shattered.”
Until autumn 2020, the entry ban went so far that not even foreigners residing in Japan were allowed to enter. In 2021, Japan had a total of only 245,900 foreign visitors – a minus record. And more hesitantly than any other G-7 country, Japan is returning to the openness that is standard in free societies. “For me, being married to a Japanese man who recently acquired German citizenship, this leads to completely absurd situations,” writes an SZ reader from Cologne. His mother-in-law is dying, of course the couple wants to see her again. But the consulate general demands a medical certificate on the state of health of the mother-in-law, as well as a letter of explanation, a travel plan, proof of family relationships and possibly other documents.
Foreigners’ money is needed. But the people in the country are skeptical
So it’s not just about tourism when traveling. But if it weren’t for tourism, Japan’s opening up would probably take even longer. Because the people there are very cautious and the entry ban is popular in the country. In December, when the omicron variant drove up the number of infections, a survey by the newspaper showed Yomiurithat 89 percent of those questioned were in favor of the ban on foreigners. But the yen is weak and Japan’s economy needs a boost. Foreigners’ money is needed.
“Guests from Japan pay differently than those from abroad,” says Chikao Watabe, manager of a cafeteria restaurant in central Okinawa’s capital, Naha. “When the Japanese order beef, normal is enough. Foreigners take the best.” He is sitting in his café, which is part of the restaurant operations of the Usen-Next holding company. It opened in March with a concept designed to take away the locals’ fear of gastronomy. Contactless orders can be placed at computer terminals, and rolling service robots transport the food to the tables.
Chikao Watabe, manager of a dining cafe, with a service robot. In Japan, people remain very careful to stay away from the virus.
(Photo: Thomas Hahn)
“We developed the concept because of Corona,” says Watabe. Perhaps this will also increase acceptance for foreign guests. So far, Watabe can only hope so. “I’ve felt for two months that foreigners are coming back,” he says, “but I don’t think they’re tourists yet, they’re people who live in Japan.” The rules are still too strict – and most other countries have long since returned to a normal welcoming culture.
When will the guests from far away be back? Japan’s restaurateurs are happy about the latest signs from Tokyo. But it is not to be expected that they will soon lead to a run on the island state. Difficult to say whether Americans, Australians or Europeans want to come to a country that still exudes a lot of corona fear. Mask wearing is common here even on lonely streets. Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno did not sound very hospitable when he announced on Monday that easing measures that would create “a balance between preventing the spread of infection” and promoting “social and economic activities” were being examined.
And the companies themselves have trouble adjusting to the national entry policy. “The government always announces its plan at very short notice,” says Yusuke Kuroda in the lobby of the Hotel Lequ. “We always have to keep up to date with what they think.” It doesn’t bother him anymore. “Routine” is what Kuroda calls this constant adjustment to the ideas or non-ideas from the capital. However, the uncertain situation does not make the Lequ management particularly optimistic. “As things stand, we don’t expect any foreign tourists in the next year or two,” says Kuroda. “It’s better to think that way than to expect something that isn’t certain.” After all, the pandemic is not over.
However, Yusuke Kuroda can worry about teaching English to the staff at the hotel. “That could be our biggest problem when the foreign guests come,” he says. In the short history of his elegant house, Japanese has been the main language spoken.