I recently traveled from Portugal (where I’m from) back to my home in Japan. I was amazed at how many steps I had to go through just to enter Japan, which has currently banned more than half of the world from entry. This was my entire experience, and I hope you find it interesting and insightful.
Departure
I have been preparing my visa and necessary documentation since July and I was finally able to fly back in late September. The journey started at the airport in my (lovely) hometown of Lisbon. There they had to check my Japanese visa status (this was a first, they never did that before), my negative test for the virus, and I had to answer some visa-related questions at the end, which was another first.
Currently, most of the European Union, from what I understand, is not taking extreme measures inside airports, and Lisbon Airport was a great example of this. The only difference now is that people need to use masks. However, my plane from Lisbon to Dubai and from Dubai to Tokyo-Narita was mostly empty, but I still needed to use a mask during the entire flight and couldn’t change seats in case I might spread unwanted germs.
Once I got to Dubai and did my usual run across the entire airport to get to the gate on time, staff members from the gate were asking questions to non-Japanese nationals. This was another first. This involved more checking of my Japanese visa status, checking the time and date of the negative virus test, and if all the documentation was correct. Shortly after, I boarded the plane to Narita.
Arrival
Once the plane landed, we had to wait for around 15 minutes to disembark, I guess the airport was preparing the quarantine procedure for our flight. After we made our way to the airplane exit, the Narita staff asked us to divide into two groups and form two lines. We then followed the staff member into the first quarantine room, and sat on numbered chairs while waiting for further instructions.
Testing
Since you can’t take photos or videos during the quarantine process, I recorded some footage from a Japanese TV show that did a piece on the Narita Airport Quarantine Control. It’s not the best quality, but I think it’s easy to understand the entire process.
The staff called us up in groups of five. Once it was my turn, I left my chair and followed the staff to the testing room. There, they asked me some questions about the country I came from and other virus-related questions. Then the staff gave me a test tube and sent me into a private booth with an image of a plum and a lemon inside. I had to spit into the test tube until it was full enough. Have you guesses what the images were for? They were there to help me create more saliva.
After the test was done I delivered the test tube and they sent me to another area.
Waiting Area
The next area was the waiting area, since we couldn’t leave Narita Airport until we had the saliva test results. Here I was sent into the reception and delivered all of the virus-related documents. The staff then asked me where I was going after leaving Narita and how I would get there.
If you didn’t know, currently, after arriving in Japan, you’ll need to stay 14 days at a designated place. You can’t leave that place (unless to buy groceries of course) and you can’t use any kind of public transportation, including taxis. Luckily, someone from J-List was going to pick me up at the airport and drop me off at my home. I don’t know what happens to people who don’t have anyone to pick them up, but I know they can stay at a hotel near the airport for 14 days.
When all my documentation was approved, I was given a number and a chair facing a wall. All I needed to do now was wait for my saliva test result. Luckily, we had some free water bottles and snacks, courtesy of the airport! Let me add that to the list of “Why I love Japan!”
Results
Depending on how many people are waiting, the test results can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours. Mine took around 40 minutes. Since the entire airport is covered by Narita’s free Wi-Fi, it made the waiting more bearable.
My number was called, I went into a booth, my test came out negative, and I was guided into the customs area, to finally take care of my visa and enter Japan.
If your test comes out positive, you are put into a wheelchair with a plastic cover, then taken into a room. Eventually (I think) you will be taken to a hospital, where you’ll wait until you recover.
Customs
This part was much the same as usual. I showed my visa, my negative saliva test results, they let me pass, and I grabbed my bag, which was off the conveyor belt and waiting for me.
Leaving Narita
Narita Airport was empty! Compared to what it was before the pandemic started, I could count, maybe, 10 people at the arrival gate, including the J-List staffer that came to pick me up. I exited through the front door, no more questions, just straight to the car and the short trip to my house.
That’s it, this was the entire process of the Narita Airport Quarantine. It was something that I was happy to experience, but I hope we don’t have to do it again in the coming years. Even if everything was extremely well-organized and stress-free, it made me sad. Seeing Narita empty, with all these restrictions, makes me wonder when everything will go back to normal. Hopefully, by the end of next year, we’ll be able to look at the current pandemic as a distant memory.
