2022/06/12 After four year hiatus due to COVID and work, finally back in Japan!
Getting was not the easiest thanks to pandemic related unknowns: possibility of flight changes/cancellations, possibility of quarantine (luckily we did not have to), need for a travel visa for me showing that I am visiting family (no tourists allowed at the time), requirement of a negative COVID test (only certain tests accepted and special paperwork has to be filled out by the doctor), and even a requirement to download and use a rather confusing MySOS app to show negative test upon arrival.
And right from arrival we got greeted with wonderful Japanese quirkiness. First, we had to navigate a pathway through a throng of people checking the MySOS app and giving us an empty ID card holder on a pink lanyard - not the same as Hawaii's lei, but this is Japan. Then, after passing by a station where people without properly completed MySOS app were being tested, we got to sit down at another station where they checked our temperature, documentation, and information on the MySOS app in fine detail. Further, we passed by a station where they collected back our pink lanyards... I was almost sad to part with it for some reason.
After going through the maze of the COVID-related stations, at last we were at the proper Customs checkpoint. Thanks to my family with their Japanese passports and my visa, I got to join them at the Customs for Japanese citizens - meaning I did not have to wait at all and, most importantly, I did not have to hear my family complaining how long they had to wait for me! While at the Customs checking-in window, punctuating Japan's weirdness that I love, there was a sign that drew my attention:
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