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Why I Won't Touch Air NZ With a Ten-Foot Pole

Recently I have noticed a lot of blabbering about the opportunities that Air NZ has and whether or not it is a good buy. This post will be going over the reasons why I refuse to buy Air NZ and why I believe it is an awful buy.
Disclaimer: I don't trade individually trade stocks normally anyway. My knowledge of aircraft is non-existent. I'm almost ignorant when it comes to the goings-on of airlines and there's a lot I don't know.
Air NZ is currently trading at $1.76. Up 120% from it's March dip. It is still down 43% since the start of the year.
1. Airlines Are Generally Not Profitable Even in Good Times
The idea that airlines should be a profitable endeavour isn't a business practice that is shared globally. It seems unique to Singapore, Australia & NZ. The rest of the world, especially Europe and the USA, have high competition and razor thin margins - and that's if they're lucky.
Airlines always have an outflow of some kind. This could be the depreciation of aeroplanes and their fixed lifespan (flight cycles, airframe hours, engine hours), the cost of aviation fuel, levies charged by airports, maintenance, etc etc. There is a lot being taken from airlines constantly while on the demand side they're dependent on passengers and passengers only. Without their customer base, they have nothing.
Since a significant amount of airlines aren't making any reasonable money, the cash they manage to hemorrhage aside isn't going to be a significant amount nor is it going to last long anyway. Airlines are simply unable to exist on their own two feet unlike normal businesses.
Airlines can be here today and gone tomorrow. This isn't a practice that is unique to USA and their cut-throat system. It has happened to New Zealand and rather recently. In the 90's we had Ansett Airlines. In 2019, Jetstar axed a significant proportion of domestic routes. Virgin Airlines has gone belly up. There have been a lot of smaller airlines that have tried to establish themselves, run lean operations, and even then, they couldn't make it.
2. The Role of The Airline Isn't Profitability
We do expect that Air New Zealand should be a profitable company in good times. When push comes to shove, there is no real requirement for Air NZ to be profitable. It's primary utility, above all else, is to provide transport options for the government to help keep our economy chugging along. Air NZ is still our primary airline and with that comes a different set of standards.
If Air NZ starts to play up, like it has been and has done in the past, it isn't a big deal for the company itself. It is disastrous for stockholders, but if it were required, nobody is going to care about stockholders anyway. If the price of your stock tanks, there's not going to be much sympathy from the government or the public at large.
The government will keep Air NZ going. They will take the loss. We can't afford to not have an airline even if there are private present. There isn't any guarantee that QANTAS will be there for us. If we control our own aircraft, we can be sure that we're going to have aeroplanes for when we need it. This could be in disasters like the Christchurch earthquake, keeping tourists coming in, for moving government officials, or even the transportation of goods.
3. If Our Government Will Bailout Air NZ, You Best Expect Other Countries Will Too & With More Generous Terms
The bailout of Air NZ, at present, isn't all that generous compared to what other countries are offering for their national airlines. Our government has offered a $900,000,000 loan at 9% interest and/or taking greater ownership of them. This is the only bailout that has been offered so far. If things were to really sink, there is no doubt in my mind that they would offer even more generous terms. It wouldn't be the first time they've done so. See the early 2000's.
Other countries will have bailed out their airlines too by now as I'm sure you would know. But even in the good times, competing airlines have been accused of being provided subsidies by the government of their respective headquarters. Emirate Airlines being one. The UAE government (we'll call it that for simplicity sake) has no problem fronting up a loss now. Their goal with their airline is different. They don't expect to make money directly from their tourist projects like the Burj Al Arab. What they do expect is that it will attract people to the Dubai Intl. Airport and people will feel implored to visit and spend there. Essentially, the airline is a loss-leader to attract tourists to Dubai.
If you're up against the UAE government, and their oil money, what hope do you have of turning a profit? While Air NZ may not directly compete with them, there is no doubt in my mind that they would still be having an indirect impact on Air NZ. That is just one example. Singapore Airlines originally had a similar purpose. If you break-even, consider yourself lucky.
4. The Recovery of Air NZ is Going to Be Slow and Painful
The blunt truth is that Air NZ is not going to be bouncing back quickly. There will be a recovery, but it will be over years, and it will be a slow and painful process. I don't expect that Air NZ will turn a profit for years to come. By then, their liabilities sheet will be smeared in excrement or the government will have even greater control of it.
If we want to see a global recovery, we are going to be waiting on inoculation to happen. We're expecting vaccine take up to be reasonable and that the virus will start to decline. If process takes months, we will be extremely lucky. More realistically it will take years. There are going to be hiccups along the way with deploying the vaccine at a logistical level. Priorities have to be made. Other countries will make mistakes that will cause delays. We're hoping that manufacturing of the vaccine will hit its set targets. If you're hoping for a quick inoculation and opening of the borders, the stars are going to have to align perfectly for that to happen.
Even when inoculation happens, the opening of borders will be gradual. Our government is taking baby steps to reopening our borders. We're starting with the Cook Islands. Australia will be next, though that is increasingly looking delayed. After that? Who knows. I expect it will be procedural.
The big kahuna, in the immediate term, is that we open to Australia. Unfortunately this is not going to be what helps Air NZ. The Trans-Tasman route has never been a profitable one anyway. Air NZ and QANTAS have both claimed, years ago, that the Trans-Tasman route was not profitable. If it wasn't a money maker then, it won't be now. While it will be great for travelers to have the ability to fly, it is questionable whether or not this would actually be good for Air NZ or if this would only add to their losses?
5. Plan For The Worst, Hope For The Best
The previous paragraph assumes that there will be a smooth V-shaped recovery for passenger numbers. Airlines are more than susceptible to shocks at both the demand and supply level. This can have disasterous impacts for the price and profitability of Air NZ. There is always the potential of there being a double-dip loss where the future of Air NZ looks uncertain.
We're hoping that nothing will tank passenger numbers such as terrorism as one example. As dramatic as that sounds, terror events like 9/11 have caused significant trouble for airlines. Even if crashes happen, such as MH370, there is a significant loss of confidence in that airline. At the supply level, we're hoping that aviation fuel prices will stay reasonably cheap and that they will be able to scale back up with little to no hassles. If the price of tickets go up, demand will be decreased, the outgoings of the airlines will be increased, and the profitability will go backwards. In the USA, the Iraq War in 1991 was terrible for airlines because of what it did to the cost of jet fuel.
There is a lot of factors that I haven't mentioned here. While this post does take an overwhelmingly negative view of airlines, it is not all bad. Everything has its good and bad. I wouldn't buy AirNZ because of the price alone. Airlines are a tough business. Everyone should do their own research. There could be a smoking gun that I don't know about that makes Air NZ desirable. I do take a cautious approach, especially when potentially picking individual stocks.
Merry Christmas everyone!
submitted by TIMETOPAYURRENT to PersonalFinanceNZ [link] [comments]

Seoul

Seoul
Once upon a time, we have established a tradition. When we travel to South East Asia, we make sure to make a stop in one of the big cities. This is how we visited Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. Usually, Russians do not need a visa for a short stay (2-3 days), and direct flights from Moscow to tropical Islands are only available to a limited number of directions. Therefore, if we wish to choose a vacation spot independently without any unreasonable restriction, it makes sense to fly to one of such big cities, spend 2-3 days there, and then take a local low-cost airline flight to a tropical island. Purchasing the flight tickets to your preferred destination and booking the hotel stays independently has never been easier. You can use this website Hotelhunterthat combines the best offers from multiple booking engines This time our goal was the Northern Mariana Islands, and we decided to fly through Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
We must admit, that Seoul did not impress us as much, as, for example, did Singapore. Not only because there were constant street demonstrations at the time of our stay (the people opposed the actions of the government), but the city itself turned out to be a little too… simple for an Asian metropolis. It does not even compare with Singapore. Yes, Seoul has skyscrapers, lots of entertainment for tourists and huge shopping malls stuffed with luxury goods (we still couldn’t figure out who buys all that).

https://preview.redd.it/dof04i3powd61.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8810129facd08c408331a1e1b8b10f72f0c35520
Perhaps the most vivid impression of Seoul was the food. We were especially happy with the visit to a cafe on one of the central streets, where every visitor had a personal gas stove on the table to fry own meal. We must say, this was very entertaining, especially as all the ingredients were written in Korean, and the waitress barely spoke any English. Apparently, a part of the charm is when you “brew a potion” of unknown ingredients, and then eat the “potion” at your own risk.

https://preview.redd.it/2waylqppowd61.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd76a70fc9aeebed19887d985c44b44ff19d31e5
Actually, there are hardly any English translations is Seoul, once you are off the main streets or out of the major shopping malls (most of which are by Lotte, a local super-corporation). For example, returning from a local amusement park (there are many of them) on a taxi back to the city centre was a real problem – the taxi driver spoke no English, and he drove us against the directions of his own navigator, constantly skipping turns to our hotel. In the end, we spent almost 2 hours in his car, and the bill was huge. Once we started to argue about the bill, the taxi driver suddenly started speaking English… Well, we thought it was better to arrange for a car rental there even considering the local “specificities” in driving.
Crabber restaurant
We also enjoyed Crabber restaurant–its entire street window was a mosaic of huge aquariums, filled with live crabs and lobsters, which you can order and eat, by choosing the way of cooking and garnish. Only if you speak Korean. When ordering, we had to use Google Translate, and risk to eat something awkward (like a jellyfish). But it was just fine. But now I know what a like REAL crab stick looks like.
One of the unusual things we remembered was widespread use of “smart toilets” in hotels and other public places. One comes with a remote control, and the meaning of some of the buttons still causes some curiosity mixed with fear. The first day I arrived to the hotel, I could not find a simple flush button, let alone the desire to experiment with additional options.

https://preview.redd.it/yj9kuybqowd61.jpg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=859da11ed1cb781dab5b9660c76aaf5ca336ede1
In general, Seoul is a city attractive for tourists, but not that outstanding compared to other cities of this region. But there was one “but”. To keep the politically correct tone of the narrative, I will start from afar. I once came across an article about the research of Western scholars concerning the causes of the behavioral characteristics of tourists from the region (Chinese, Koreans…), that were highly surprising for the Europeans. It was about the desire to create a crowd, a queue, a bunch, a group in any place where there was more than one person (and if there are a lot of people, the group will be even closer, and it would be hard to break out of it for someone who does not share such aspirations). So, the scientists timidly suggested that it all started from in the old ways of farming: in Asia, the cultivation of rice required a close-knit group working, while in Europe there was an endless field of grain and a lone farmer with a plow. So, this is a kind of “genetic memory”. So, details aside, based on our impression from Seoul and Koreans, it seems that they were especially zealous in growing rice in the past. As soon as you lose attention in a public place, you will find yourself surrounded by a bunch of Koreans or Chinese, while other tourists have not been seen doing that. We had to experience such a local feature, not only Seoul, but also (what is unexpected), on the Mariana Islands. As it turned out, there was a countless number of Koreans there.

https://preview.redd.it/507llyvqowd61.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5523e07fdf7ef225b1f19b621e3064a72440df87
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COVID-19 Megathread #7

This post is updated daily.
You can also follow the Reddit Live thread here.
 
COVID-19 has now infected more than 468,523 people. There have been 21,192 confirmed deaths and 113,780 confirmed recoveries attributed to the virus.
 
Do you think you have COVID-19?
The CDC has a new online tool that allows people to "self-check" for COVID-19. Click here to use the "Coronavirus Self-Checker" tool.
 
Major Updates
Recent updates are just under this section.
1) United States: The US State Department has raised their travel warning to a Global Level 4 Health Advisory and is advising all U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19. In countries where commercial departure options remain available, U.S. citizens who live in the United States should arrange for immediate return to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite period. Read more here.
 
Recent Updates
Note: These are the updates from the last 48-72 hours.
MARCH 25 -
 
MARCH 24 -
 
MARCH 23 -
 
Tracking COVID-19
 
Reputable Sources for Information:
submitted by hoosakiwi to news [link] [comments]

[Thank you] to those who gave me something to literally look forward to! (PART 2)

Hello! This is the second part of this post. Thank you all so much for sending your (overly that I almost couldn't take it) cute and lovely postcards! It was an absolute joy reading your cards while I am still recovering from occasional pain and fuzziness in my eyesight. It really felt like early Christmas! ;')
u/halfwayoutoftown - Hi fam! Certainly grateful to be able to receive your Elixir postcard and to enjoy your wonderful travel stories! Just like you, I hate having to deal with medical procedures. But, you gotta do what you have to do. Now, I am thankful that my eyesight is slowly recovering and the occasional pain is getting less frequent! Anyway, that photograph looks so mysterious and interesting! And thank goodness that you didn't send a postcard over from Copenhagen. With that kind of money, I could have spent on a nice hawker meal here in Singapore. >< Sending ya a postcard over soon!
u/LeeElla - RABBITS! Thank you so much for sending another one and the rabbits are so cute from the front! Yeay to the end of exams and finally able to catch some well-needed rest! I hope you have been looking forward to your holidays and doing whatever you wanna do. But hey, even though we aren't able to travel anymore due to the restrictions, I am sure that Singapore has lots to offer! One thing I can suggest to you is to try the Coast to Coast trail. But be prepared to spend half a day conquering it! The walk was fun (but extremely tiring, helps) and I think it is a great alternative to museums and exploring the town area. It will make you feel like a tourist in your own country! Also, thank you for the well wishes! Sending ya a postcard over soon! :)
u/Silver_Doughnut8877 - Hi there! Your postcard made me missed traveling! It sucks that we have the travel restrictions and I wish I can get to travel to Malaysia for a quick getaway now. :/ Anyway, the postcard is so cute! I don't remember traveling to Penang before and I was wondering if there is such a bridge that was illustrated on the card. I traveled to Batam before and saw a similar suspension bridge! Other than that, thanks for your well wishes and your unicorn sprinkles! Stay safe! :P
u/ecstatic-safe - Hi fam! Thanks for sending over another postcard, It is so wonderful to hear from you again! Badlands National Park looks so gorgeous from the postcard! I would love to check it out in person once the travel restrictions are lifted. How was South Dakota? I have never been to the United States before and I really don't know what to expect there. >< Stay safe by the way!
u/inser7name - Thank you so much for the New Jersey card! New Jersey looks so fun from your card and you are making me want to go there someday! I noticed that there is a theme park on your card. I am a fan of rollercoasters and I miss having fun where I can go rides after rides all day. The last time I went to a theme park was on Christmas 2018 and I hope to go to a theme park one day soon! Thanks for your well wishes by the way!
u/N0b0dy1nPart1cular - Thank you so much for your lovely card! Boofle looks so cute and it has definitely brought smiles to my face! I am definitely recovering well and I love your quote that accompanied with the card as well. I will continue to find strength with each passing day and I hope you will find it too amongst this pandemic. Stay safe! :")
submitted by iam_kayh to RandomActsofCards [link] [comments]

[MEGATHREAD] COVID-19 Philippines

Last Updated: 2020-04-01 04:19 pm
As the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines continue to develop, we have created this megathread to track relevant news, updates, and discussion about the pandemic in the country. We strongly encourage users to move all items related to the story here to avoid flooding New. For more in-depth coverage on the topic visit coronavirus_ph

IMPORTANT: If you or anyone you know have been experiencing fever and/or respiratory symptoms with history of travel and exposure, you are urged to get in touch with DOH and call the designated hotline at (02)894-COVID (894-26843) or 1555 for Globe/TM/PLDT/Smart/Sun/TNT for appropriate management and referral

Helpful Links

Virus Impact as of 2020-04-01 4:00 PM

Quarantine Status

List of FDA approved COVID test kits
Guidelines for who can pass through checkpoints (from u/tasteofbrokendreams who is deployed in one of them)
PNP Guidelines for who can go outside their residences during quarantine From @pnppio on Twitter (Text version)
All of Luzon is to be placed under "enhanced community quarantine" effective March 17, 12:00 AM and expiring April 13, 12:00 AM, evaders may be arrested
Memorandum from the executive secretary
Regarding flights
Here is the developing list of local quarantine and lockdowns implemented in other parts of the country:
Related News

List of class suspensions as of 16 March 2020 (1:15 AM)

Metro Manila – All levels March 10 to April 14
Province of Zamboanga Del Norte – All levels from March 16 until further notice
PRC Cancels the March and April 2020 Scheduled Licensure Exams Philippine Regulation Commission List of affected exams:

Last Megathread
What to do in March 2020
submitted by jcgurango to Philippines [link] [comments]

Traveling to NYC from Manila for the first time

[Long Post ahead, sorry!]
Hello! I've been meaning to travel to the US for quite some time now--my plan was to travel to NYC this December, but deemed it not safe due to Covid-19. Now, I'm planning to travel next December hoping the virus is under control by then. Since it's my first time, I was doing quite a bit of research with what to expect when I face one of your immigration officers in due time.
Some things to note:
Travel plan:
Given these things, I still think I'll be extensively questioned (in secondary, or worse, denied entry) because:
  1. My tourist visa application was linked to my family's application, so I think we're expected to travel the US together;
  2. I don't have a hotel reservation/accommodation to show, since I'm staying at my godfather's place (I have the address); and,
  3. My godfather and his family, who I haven't seen in person since I was young. I did ask for an invitation letter stating that they're inviting me to stay in their place but he said it wasn't really necessary since it was their way of showing I'm welcome at their home if I'm in or near the area when I plan on traveling to the US (my mom and her friend stayed at their place before their flight back home).
I've gone paranoid for this trip because of reading stories about people being denied and sent back home. They were probably sent back because of their hidden intentions, but I'd like to say that I don't have any of those except to have my first "officially solo" travel be in NYC. After all, it's very hard to get there from where I'm at, country-wise.
I've always kept in mind that I should just be confident in answering, and always be respectful to the officer, but I do think it's also always good to be prepared, so I'm asking for an opinion from everyone what they think about my situation and if I'm good to go for this one.
---
One more possibility: My mom may actually join me on my week-long vacation in NYC next year, but she'll be coming from Dubai. In this case, we may opt for a hotel reservation instead, and then meet up with my godfather and his family for some catching up.
submitted by cardinal_hell054 to askimmigration [link] [comments]

[MEGATHREAD] COVID-19 Philippines

Last Updated: 2020-04-13 04:18 pm
As the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines continue to develop, we have created this megathread to track relevant news, updates, and discussion about the pandemic in the country. We strongly encourage users to move all items related to the story here to avoid flooding New. For more in-depth coverage on the topic visit coronavirus_ph

IMPORTANT: If you or anyone you know have been experiencing fever and/or respiratory symptoms with history of travel and exposure, you are urged to get in touch with DOH and call the designated hotline at (02)894-COVID (894-26843) or 1555 for Globe/TM/PLDT/Smart/Sun/TNT for appropriate management and referral

If you're seeking or offering help, please check out the community outreach thread.

The government is urging all to answer these surveys: if you are an individual consumer, if you own an SME. The data collected will allow them to shape policy on how to stimulate the economy. (Manila Bulletin)

Helpful Links and Info

Virus Impact as of 2020-04-13 4:00 PM

PUI and PUM removed, as this data is no longer being published.

Quarantine Status

List of FDA approved COVID test kits
Guidelines for who can pass through checkpoints (from u/tasteofbrokendreams who is deployed in one of them)
PNP Guidelines for who can go outside their residences during quarantine From @pnppio on Twitter (Text version)
All of Luzon is to be placed under "enhanced community quarantine" effective March 17, 12:00 AM and expiring April 12 April 30, 11:59 PM, evaders may be arrested
Memorandum from the executive secretary
Regarding flights
Here is the developing list of local quarantine and lockdowns implemented in other parts of the country:
Related News

List of class suspensions as of 16 March 2020 (1:15 AM)

Metro Manila – All levels March 10 to April 14
Province of Zamboanga Del Norte – All levels from March 16 until further notice
PRC Cancels the March and April 2020 Scheduled Licensure Exams Philippine Regulation Commission List of affected exams:

Last Megathread
submitted by jcgurango to Philippines [link] [comments]

King of the Weebs: How Japan used anime and the international market to create soft-power and a strong economic sector.

/Neoliberal, the weebs are here. They always have been here. They scare us with their strange words and outlandish behavior. What if I could tell you they could teach us a lesson? This lesson being how a positive worldly image and a consumable mass culture on the global scale will bring in positive economic results. A good lesson of globalism, exporting culture, and building an economic identity. I am approaching this from a cultural anthropological view, since that is my educational background. I hope to briefly explain that the way a nation-state is socially perceived and culturally understood on the global stage has an impact on the nation-state’s economic market. I will be using Japan and its Cool Japan pop-culture sector as the primary basis of this claim.

The Framework

When writing, I always like working from the outside in (and being overly first person). I will start off by asking two questions. One regarding how we give things meaning and the other regarding how power can be used.
On this topic of how a nation is globally perceived, the first question I think is important to ask is, “How do we understand things?” One of these ways is by symbols. Images, stories, and concepts can gain shared meaning among a community and can elicit emotions. These images, stories, and concepts become symbols of the community. People and communities orient themselves around these and ascribe a meaning to them. This is a common anthropological approach called ‘symbolic analysis.’ Lumen Learning has a very strong summery of this:
The theoretical school of Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology assumes that culture does not exist beyond individuals. Rather, culture lies in individuals’ interpretations of events and things around them. With a reference to socially established signs and symbols, people shape the patterns of their behaviors and give meanings to their experiences. Therefore, the goal of Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology is to analyze how people give meanings to their reality and how this reality is expressed by their cultural symbols.
For example, when I see a 🌹Emoji attached to a Twitter handle, the symbol elicits a negative emotion and makes me think, “Gee-whiz this take is going to be absolute shit.” This happens because I am part of the /neoliberal community and I am influenced by the way /neoliberal orients themselves around rose Twitter. Japan and its pop-culture are symbols. These pop-culture symbols have come to represent itself around the globe. People orient themselves around Japanese pop-culture in a way that results in a net-positive view.
The next question that I feel should be asked “why does a nation-state being liked matter?” This is where I want to bring in the concept of soft-power. The Brookings Institute has a nice summery of Joe Nye’s idea of soft-power. Soft-power is “getting others to want the outcomes that you want.” It “co-opts people rather than coerces them.” A key example, this is the dumb, silly, poo poo, effort post contest the /neoliberal mods have put on. I was influenced by a power, not by threat of punishment, but by being willing and co-opts/won over by a premium color flair. The fact is the mods exercised a power they had over me. In our case, Japan is a power, thus it has the ability for soft power. This soft power can be utilized in many ways and on different scales. Japan’s soft-power can be deployed on a global scale and for economic benefits.
Japan as a nation has many different cultural aspects. One of these being its pop-culture. This pop-culture has meaning ascribed to it and it is something people can orient themselves around. Japan, as a nation and governmental power, can utilize this symbol in many ways. It can both be deployed domestically and globally. It is my view that Japan uses these pop-cultural symbols and its power status as a well-liked nation to deploy soft-power to benefit its markets.

Part Two, the part that matters

With the framework put into place, I want to establish a few things. The first is Japan is a liked and well respected nation. The second being the reasons why Japan is well respected. Lastly, I want to show that this was leveraged as soft-power to make Japan’s markets and culture relevant on a global scale.

Is Japan well liked?

The fact is that Japan is a well-liked nation, I just want to establish the fact plain and simple. They are liked by the world’s populous and also by world leaders. The data supports it. No fancy words, just data.
We can look at the data collected from The Reputation Institute. The Reputation Institute provides yearly reports on what nation has the best reputation. Japan lands 11th on this list beating out places like Spain, Belgium, and /Neoilberal’s favorites France and Singapore.
In addition, Japan has the world strongest passport. Per the Henley & Partners Passport Index, with a Japanese passport you can enter 191 destinations with visa-free access. To compare, the United States and the United Kingdom are 185 destinations, Canada is 183 destinations, and Peru is 135 (what a meme). It is easy to say people like Japan. In addition, Japan is liked by other world leaders. While there are some nations that do not like Japan, the plain and simple reality is Japan has a very strong net positive view around the globe. This positive view allows for soft-power to take place and allows for Japan to influence the world.

Why is Japan respected?

Considering what I wrote above, the next natural questions are “why is Japan liked” and “how did Japan set up this soft-power system.” Japan is liked for many reasons. My car nut friend stans Japan for the Toyota Corolla (“most well-made car ever”). Gabe Leiws from The Office stans Japan because studying there was the “best year of his life.” This can go on and on. I think we need to pull back and look at the overarching theme. The theme being globalism. Examples of this are seen in post-World War II Japan. It is seen with their embracing of free trade, showing social reform and acting in a positive manner towards other nations.
Coming out of World War II Japan embraced globalism economically and socially. On the economic sides of thing, Duncan McCargo summarizes it well in his book Contemporary Japan:
Broader international conditions played a part in Japan’s remarkable rise. After the war, trade restrictions were reduced, world markets were opened, and international trade entered a highly expansionist period.
Besides exports, Japan was a relevant force in the imports game. The key fact to consider is that Japan lacks many natural resources. In the post-World War II environment, Japan could no longer rely on a small number of choice allies, they had to enter the international market for oil and many textiles. Japan became the new symbol of Asian Capitalism. A shining example of economic reform and an example for their more “troublesome” neighbors.
On the social side things, Japan played ball too. To deepen this picture of a truly reformed nation, Japan established Article 9 of its constitution. This only allows the Japanese military to act in a proportional act of self-defense. This in turn makes soft-power very important to them. In addition, Japan had a keen interest in maintaining and appeasing the world order. One of these ways Japan attempts to maintain the world order is by its international aid system. To quote Duncan McCargo’s Contemporary Japan again:
Japan has pumped huge amounts of development aid into countries with relatively high living standards
One last way I wish to highlight this social relevancy Japan established was with the hosting of the 1964 Summer Olympic games. By hosting the games, it demonstrated that Japan was attaching themselves to the idealism and the symbolic nature of the games itself. As a nation newly reformed, this just compounded the positive feelings others had of Japan, which opened the door to use soft-power as an economic tool.

How has this helped Japan’s economy?

Time for the thing you all been waiting for ANIME! With Japan, as a well-liked nation, a nation that has global pull and influence on many people, as a symbol of good in the world, the Japanese government had the chance to win over the hearts and minds of the world. There are strong economic benefits in doing this and the idea of Cool Japan is a great example. The Cool Japan sector has gained influence over many people through media franchises and also in less tangible conceptual ways. Overall this can be seen through taking a large overview of export data and looking at travel data.
This winning of the hearts of minds on a global scale had massive economic benefits. In Yoshio Sugimoto’s book An Introduction to Japanese Society, he summarizes what Japan is doing.
Japan has now developed cultural capitalism, which relies upon the production of symbols, knowledge, and information as the guiding principle of wealth creation, and focuses upon cultural attraction and activities as the primary motivating factors underpinning consumption
Japan dropped the soft-power bomb, Cool Japan. In short, Cool Japan is the Japanese effort to “increase overseas demand by providing risk capital or businesses across a variety of areas, including media & content, food & services, and fashion & lifestyle” or “promote the nation’s creativity-based industries both at home and overseas
So this is not just anime, it can include fashion, food, music and so on. With that being said, anime and media is one of the best examples. I do want to state, when I say Cool Japan, I am not solely referring to the governmental supported initiative, but I am more referring to the Japanese media and pop-culture’s influence overseas.
Just looking at Wikipedia’s List of highest-grossing media franchises list and these media franchise’s revenue, it becomes clear the economic impact media in Japan has had around the world. Yu-Gi-Oh! (20.3 billion USD), One Piece (20.9 billion USD), Fist of the North Star (22.5 billion USD), Dragon Ball (25 billion USD), Gundam (26 billion USD), Mario (38 billion USD), Shonen Jump Comics (40 billion USD), Anpanman (60 billion USD), Hello Kitty (86 billion USD)
And the most successful media franchise of all time Pokemon (95 billion USD).
While it is very hard to quantify what percent of Japan’s exports is media and pop-culture, there is a lot of Japanese media out there pulling in a lot of money. American journalist Douglas McGray even jokes we should look at Japan in terms of “gross national cool” (GNC) instead of gross national product (GNP). What McGray says does hold some truth since not all of it is quantifiable. As McGray points out “both manga and anime have served as a source of inspiration for such Hollywood movies as The Matrix” and movies like The Last Samurai and Lost in Translation both have also fed into this interest and coolness of Japan. The fact of the matter is Japan and its media exports are commanding attention. It is influencing people overseas and causing people to act in Japan’s best interest.
With that being said, I know you guys are all about the numbers. For this I cite the Marubeni Research Institute (quote from “Cool” Japan's Economy Warms Up by Economic Research Department Japan External Trade Organization JETRO
the institute looked at trade data records, tapes, and other recorded media, books, newspapers, pictures and other printed material, photographic plates and 10 film, cinematographic film, works of art, collectors’ pieces and antiques, as well as data on invisible trade, including royalties and fees, and personal, cultural, and recreational services/credit. It was found that exports and receipts involving these items tripled from 500 billion yen to 1.5 trillion yen between 1992 and 2002. Compared with total exports, which increased by 21% over the same period.
The last numerical indicator that we can look at is travel data. This shows that people want to go and experience Japan. This chart from Nippon.com based off of the National Tourism Organization’s data, shows a growth from a little above 5 million tourists coming to Japan in 2003 to more than 30 million in 2018
To me it is clear that Japan has built some strong economic sectors off the backs of cultural capitalism. A part of this has to do with the media empire Japan has built. They have influenced people to want to be part of and experience their culture, thus winning over their hearts in minds. This is all in thanks to the soft-power Japan was able to build off of the heels of its likable and positive global image.

Short Conclusion

If there is a lesson here it is anime is good… Okay if there is a real lesson here I think it is fostering a positive global image is important. It gives a nation the chance to expand its markets and tap into new economic sources. To me this shows the benefits of embracing globalism. Those benefits being strong economic opportunities, personal investments into new ways of thinking, and a positive image that builds positive feelings. Other nations should take note, Japan has. They have leveraged being a positive symbol around the world into soft-power. This soft-power allowed Japan to make a market of its pop-culture around the world, or as the hip kids call it, Cool Japan. This has had economic benefits. It built what seems like a top-down and bottom-up system of a positive symbolic worldly image and soft-power. Japan’s good image makes its products look good and Japan’s cool products makes Japan look good. So yes, globalism good.
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[Megathread] Wuhan viral outbreak

This Megathread has been superceded by Megathread #3. Please share all articles and information pertaining to the viral outbreak that originated in Wuhan in that thread instead.
January 30:
January 29:
January 28:
January 27:
January 26:
January 25:
January 24:
January 23:
January 22:
January 21:
January 18:
December 31, 2019:
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Selected social media and video posts - NOTE: MOST ARE UNOFFICIAL AND UNVERIFIED: information may not be accurate or true:
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Humor:
Previous megathread(s):
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Japanlife Coronavirus Megathread


Official information from governments
Official circular from Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on COVID-19: Circular from Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Oita Fukuoka
Sapporo list of hokenjos Circular from Sapporo City
List of Hokenjos nationwide List of Hokenjos around Tokyo
COVID-19 FAQ from MHLW in Japanese Coronavirus soudan centre (Tokyo) (03-5320-4509)
Information from US Embassy in Japan.
If you suspect you are infected and don't know what to do, please google your local city and coronavirus and try to find the city website for help. Alternatively, you can search for your local hokenjo(保健所) here and call them or call Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare telephone consultation counter (toll-free) (reception hours 9am to 9pm) 0120-565653.
Please also look at the official circular from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, as well as the links below for some local cities. Wash your hands, keep clean and stay safe!
Last update Total Cases Active Recovered Deaths
12th March 625 492 118 15
What you can do:
  1. Avoid unnecessary travel to countries experiencing outbreaks (pay attention to the news, situation changes daily)
  2. Avoid contact with people who have recently travelled to above countries and crowded places.
  3. Wash hands (with SOAP) frequently and observe strict hygiene regimen. Avoid touching your face and minimise touching random things (like door handles, train grab holds)
  4. If you show symptoms (cough, fever, shortness of breath and/or difficulty breathing) or suspect that you have contracted the virus, please self-quarantine and call your local hokenjo(保健所) here. They will advise you on what to do.
And

Information on travel restrictions for travelers from Japan (Japanese)
Travel restrictions or ban 2020/03/14
Azerbaijan Argentina Antigua and Barbuda Israel Iraq India
Ukraine El Salvador Oman Ghana Korea Kiribati
Guatemala Kuwait Cook Islands Kosovo Comoros Saudi Arabia
Samoa Gibraltar Syria Sudan Sri Lanka Slovakia
Equatorial Guinea Solomon Islands Czech Republic China Saliva Le Denmark
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Turkmenistan Niue Nepal Bahrain Vanuatu
Philippines Bhutan French Polynesia Peru Poland Marshall Islands
Malaysia closes border worldwide Moldova Mongolia Canada (worldwide ban) EU (worldwide ban, developing)

Entry allowed but restrictions (Self-quarantine, etc) 2020/03/14
Ireland Azerbaijan United Arab Emirates Argentina Albania Armenia
Iran Kerala, India Ukraine Uzbekistan Ecuador Estonia
Ethiopia Guyana Cameroon Northern Macedonia Guinea Cyprus
Cuba Kyrgyzstan Croatia Kenya Ivory Coast Costa Rica
Columbia Democratic Republic of the Congo Zambia Sao Tome and Principe Sierra Leone Gibraltar
Georgia Zimbabwe Sudan Equatorial Guinea Senegal Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia Thailand Taiwan Tajikistan China Tunisia
Chile Togo Turkmenistan Turkey Nigeria Niger
New Zealand Nepal Norway Bahrain Paraguay Palestine
Bangladesh Bhutan Bulgaria Brunei Burundi Vietnam
Benin Venezuela Belarus Belize Peru Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bolivia Honduras Hong Kong Macau Mali Malta
Micronesia (Pompeii) South Africa Myanmar Monaco Maldives Moldova
Jordan Laos Latvia Lithuania Liberia Rwanda
Russia Singapore
Travel Bans on Travelers Entering Japan if they have visited the below places in last 14 days:
The above travel bans on travelers entering Japan does not apply to nationals of Japan.

News Updates:
03/17
European Union will close its borders to all non-essential travel to fight coronavirus
Canada closing borders to noncitizens because of coronavirus, U.S. citizens exempt from ban ‘for the moment’
Malaysia closes borders, schools and businesses as virus tally climbs
03/16
Japan finds 15 clusters of coronavirus-infected people
03/13
Japan's Diet passes coronavirus emergency bill (emergency not declared yet, but can be declared anytime now)
03/12
Tokyo Disney parks, USJ to extend closure for coronavirus fears
4 female patients at a hospital in Himeji city, Hyogo prefecture, Japan have tested positive for COVID-19. Ages range from 50's to 80's. A total of 9 patients and staff have tested positive at the same hospital so far.
Coronavirus confirmed as pandemic by World Health Organization
03/09
Japan Airlines cabin attendant tests positive for coronavirus
03/07
Korea to halt visa-waiver program for Japanese nationals
03/06
One of the biggest universities in Japan, Waseda Univ., announces that the beginning of their 1st semester will be postponed to Apr. 20 or even later - Kyodo Press (in Japanese) - 21:46 +0900 Mar. 06, 2020
Japan to prepare 4 million masks for Hokkaido. Bans resale of masks next week.
Tighter control on visitors from China, S.Korea. 14 days quarantine for visitors from these countries.
Japan to restrict entry of tourists from Korea and China
03/05
15 infected from live event at Osaka live house on Feb 15th. If you were there, please get checked! Soap Opera ClassicsーUmedaー <-- name of live house
02/28
Hokkaido declared state of emergency
02/27
Disneyland and USJ and Ueno Zoo are closed due to virus
PM Abe: Large scale sports and events to be stopped
All public schools to be closed until end of Spring break
02/24
2 members of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have contracted COVID-19
02/22
Theme parks shut to prevent spread of coronavirus
02/20
First case of COVID-19 in Kyushu. Man, in his 60s, has reportedly never traveled overseas before.
Two cruise ship passengers die of new coronavirus
02/19
Prof Kentaro Iwata, specialist in infectious diseases in Kobe University Hospital talks about why Diamond Princess has such high number of cases of COVID-19 (taken down)
Passengers start disembarking quarantined cruise
02/17
Tokyo Marathon restricts non professional runners from participation
Emperor's birthday celebration cancelled.
Two new cases of COVID-19 hit Kanto area, bringing Japan total to at least 61
Avoid crowds and non-essential gatherings, health minister urges / Japan cases rise to 59
02/16
New reported case in Chiba, office workers in his 20 apparently continued going to work for almost a week despite having symptoms
3rd case in Aichi. A friend of the couple with coronavirus after Hawaii trip?
5 new cases in Tokyo today
8 new cases in Tokyo yesterday. One of them is a businessman who took a Shinkansen not related to the sick taxi driver
02/15
3 doctors in Wakayama contracted COVID-19
02/14
First mortality in Japan reported
Doctor contracted COVID-19
02/13
Taxi Driver contracted COVID-19, no known trace to other patients/clusters. Son-in-law of first mortality.
02/11
Coronavirus: No change to recommended quarantine period despite study suggesting 24-day incubation, says WHO
Research shows 3-day median incubation period for coronavirus, 24 days in rare cases
New coronavirus found in Japan evacuees who initially tested negative

useful links:
Coronavirus case count worldwide and map:
COVID-19 tracker made by a fellow Japanlife redditor u/Crath. Has detailed breakdowns by prefecture.
COVID-19 tracker by Nikkei (Japanese)
COVID-19 Global Tracker by Johns Hopkins CSSE

Another reddit thread about hoarding due to coronavirus
https://www.reddit.com/japanlife/comments/f2ny8d/the_real_concern_about_the_coronavirus_situation/

Move the personal anecdote to the previous locked thread due to request.
Update: The bill came up to 3,920 yen per person.
TL;DR:
if you have reason to suspect anything, stay at home(self-quarantine), call your local hokensho, talk to them and ask them what to do. You will probably have to pay for everything.
Numbers:
Coronavirus soudan centre (Tokyo) (03-5320-4509)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/bunya/kenkou/hokenjo/h_13.html
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Sept 2019 trip report with food recommendations: 2 weeks in Tokyo, Akita, Kakunodate, Hirosaki, Sapporo, Noboribetsu, Hakodate

As I’m currently planning our next trip to Japan for 2021 and loving everyone's recommendations, I thought I’d post a report from our 2019 trip in case it is helpful for others. I know we can’t travel right now but planning for a far off future is helping me get my fix! I’ve included our food and hotels and advice on attractions. This was our second trip to Japan, having previously visited the big attractions in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto in 2015. We’re a couple in our late 20s from London and focused this trip on visiting smaller towns and cities, lots of walking and lots of food.
Transport: We knew we wanted to visit Hokkaido and after we discovered the JR East South Hokkaido rail pass we pretty much planned our trip around this. I highly recommend this pass as it was so cost effective and flexible. As you get 6 days travel within a 14 day period, we could use it throughout our 2 week trip and didn’t feel the need to travel every day so we wouldn’t ‘waste’ a day as we would with the 7 day pass.
Timing and weather: We originally planned to go in October but pushed it back to early September to avoid the rugby world cup (we’re not rugby fans and didn’t want it to impact prices)
We’d been warned about the heat but as most of our trip would be further North we thought we’d be okay. It was very hot in Tokyo - I found it similar to other humid cities such as Bangkok or Singapore so it was manageable if you knew what to expect, drank lots of water and made air conditioned stop offs (London can reach 36℃ in summer but has essentially zero air conditioning, so we love cities that are actually set up to deal with heat!) The only days that the heat was almost unmanageable was Disneyland and Disneysea, where we were out in the sun from 8am to 10pm and running all over the place. If you plan to visit Disney during summer or early autumn I highly recommend staying in an onsite hotel so you can take a midday break and refresh. A typhoon also passed through Tokyo on our first day and we saw some transport disruption.
The weather in Tōhoku and Hokkaido was absolutely perfect and I would definitely recommend going in September. Sunny and warm days of around 24℃ and cooler evenings.
Accommodation: We stayed mainly in business hotels and a few ryokans. I always picked the hotel closest to the station as we were travelling so much, but transport was so efficient and stress free I should have looked more at attractions we wanted to hit instead. I always went for the cheapest smallest room as I knew we wouldn’t spend much time there (hotel rooms are small in lots of European cities as well so I think this is less of a concern for us compared to Americans) There were a few places where I maybe should have gone for the room category up so we could actually move around!
Day 1 - Tokyo
We left London at 3pm and landed at 10:30am the next day at Tokyo Narita. I got hardly any sleep on the plane, but I’ve always been hit badly by jetlag going to Asia so I was prepared for this and didn't plan much for the first day. We ordered sim cards from Sakura mobile and collected them from a counter in terminal 2 arrivals. This took longer than expected and it was past midday by the time we were leaving the airport. Our hotel room wasn’t ready so we dropped our bags and went to lunch before coming back to check in. We were very tired by this point and chilled in the room for a few hours then headed out in the evening to visit Senso-ji temple. It’s nice and serene in the evening with hardly anyone there and we took some cool night time pictures. We also visited the Don Quijote in Asakusa to pick up snacks and kitkats. That night a typhoon passed over Tokyo and there was lots of loud rain and wind - luckily we were so exhausted that we slept right through it!
Food: Lunch at Rokurinsha in Tokyo station for dipping ramen. Queue was around 30 minutes but we were so excited for our first meal of the trip we didn’t mind the waiting and people watching. Recommended for the thick and chewy noodles and huge portions, I preferred the dipping ramen at Fuunji though. Dinner ended up being 7 eleven food and kitkats as we were so tired!
Accomodation: karaksa hotel for 4 nights as we wanted to be convenient for Tokyo station. The price was great (only ¥39,200 for 4 nights) but our room was so, so tiny that we basically couldn't both stand up at the same time! I’d recommend it for location and clean and minimalist design if you get a room above a ‘Hollywood twin’
Travel: Airport limousine to Tokyo station as it dropped off right outside our hotel and we were tired. We had pasmo cards that we actually remembered to save from our previous trip for other travel around Tokyo.
Day 2 - Tokyo
I was short on holiday days for this trip, so spent the first day in my company’s Tokyo office. The only thing of interest was that the overnight typhoon had caused transport issues. I caught the Marunouchi line from Tokyo station and it was running fine but surprisingly empty. It turns out loads of other lines were down until 10am, so lots of people were very late to work. Something to keep in mind if you are travelling during typhoon season and need to get somewhere urgently! We headed to Shibuya for the evening as we wanted somewhere buzzing to walk around and grab dinner. We also bought tickets to Disneysea and Disneyland for the next 2 days at the Disney store in Shibuya
Food: On-Yasai for hot pot on the recommendation of a Japanese friend. All-you-can-eat hotpot and soft drinks was around £25 and it’s ideal for English speakers as you order extra food and drinks through the i-pads on the table.
Day 3 and 4 - Tokyo - Disneysea and Disneyland
I’m a big Disney parks fan and pretty much converted my partner when we visited Disneysea on our last Japan trip (despite him not liking Disney or theme parks!) so this time we visited both Disneysea and Disneyland. My advice is to definitely go even if you don’t like Disney, as the Japanese guests are just as much a unique and charming part of the experience. Just make sure you research the attractions you want to do and get there at least an hour before park opening. Unfortunately, jetlag had caught up with us and I failed to follow my own advice and we arrived 10 minutes after opening on our Disneysea day to massive crowds, which set our whole day back. It was super busy partly because the typhoon the day before meant everyone had deferred by a day and partly because it was the beginning of the Halloween season so you could wear costumes. Keep both of those factors in mind if you visit during September.
Disneyland the next day wasn’t nearly as busy and we got there an hour before opening and had a good head start on all the rides. The Japanese guests' Halloween costumes were amazing and it’s worth going in September or October just to see this. We loved seeing a big group of princesses all eating curry rice at lunch.
Food: We snacked non-stop through the day as snacks were all adorably Halloween themed. We also somehow ended up eating curry both days at Casbah food court and Hungry bear restaurant, which were reasonably priced for theme park food and fixed our curry craving. Casbah is supposed to be 'Indian style' curry but it defintely just tasted like Japanese curry served with naan!
Travel: Train direct from Tokyo station to Maihama and then the monorail to Disney. Even though we were staying in the most convenient location to get there from central Tokyo I would stay on site if going during the summer due to needing a break from the heat during the day.
Day 5 - Tokyo - Sumo
When we knew we’d be in Tokyo during the sumo it became a mission to get tickets. We bought them online when they were released (which was around 2am UK time!) and they go very quickly. I originally tried to get tickets for Tuesday but they sold out by the time I got through to the page so I grabbed Thursday instead. This site has a good guide to buying them We got seats in the B area.
We arrived at Ryogoku at around 11am and stayed until 4:30pm. We would have stayed later if we weren't catching the shinkansen to Akita that evening. It was so interesting watching the different levels of sumos as the day went on. Absolutely a highlight of our trip.
We arrived late into Akita and were immediately faced with a huge blow up Akita dog and multiple Namahage demon statues at the station. During this trip we really looked forward to seeing what the display in a regional station would be!
Food: Lunch at the restaurant in the sumo arena so we could try sumo food (chanko hot pot). Meals were all between ¥1000 - ¥1800. Dinner was our first train bento of the trip (we ate a lot these and always tried to get the local special)
Accommodation: Dormy Inn Akita for 2 nights. Reasonably priced, near the station and with a really nice onsen.
Travel: Activated our JR rail pass today to travel to Akita. We reserved seats on the day with no issue.
Day 6 - Akita and Kakunodate
Weather was beautifully sunny and not at all humid so spent the morning walking around Senshu Park and visiting the shrines. Chatted to a few locals who seemed surprised to see foreigners and asked where we were from. There were also several groups of adorable school children in matching hats taking lessons in the park. Akita itself was quiet and there weren’t many attractions, but we liked slowing down and experiencing a regional town.
Headed to Kakunodate around midday and enjoyed walking around the town and visiting the samurai houses and shops. It was serenely empty and we only saw a few other tourists so the atmosphere was wonderful. I’m sure it’s most beautiful in spring but it was lovely and green in summer.
Food: Tried the Kakunodate local cold udon at this restaurant for lunch. We found the area near Akita station limited for dinner but luckily the Seibu department store has basement restaurants so we ended up at a reasonably priced Tonkatsu place.
Travel: Used another day on our rail pass to get to Kakunodate and back. Train was very empty so no seat reservations needed.
Day 7 - Hirosaki
Left Akita early to travel to Hirosaki. I added a stop here to break up the trip to Sapporo and it was such a good decision. Aomori is so obsessed with apples and we found it so weirdly charming! We passed the massive apple statue at the station and walked to our ryokan to drop off our bags and head to Hirosaki Castle Park. We explored the park and saw the castle, stopping off for some apple pie and kakigori. Then walked to Tsugaru-han Neputa Village and saw all the floats and lanterns for the Neputa festival. There was a tour guide who spoke some english and the rooms filled with floats were spectacular - made me want to attend the festival. The museum desk then called us a taxi to take us to Hirosaki Apple Park to go apple picking. Loved this place - so many different apple varieties and hundreds of apple themed souvenirs! Stayed so long we missed the last bus back and weren’t sure how to call a taxi with limited Japanese so ended up walking back to town, which wasn’t so bad as we got a really nice look at the residential area.
Food: Dinner at this Izakaya. No english menu or english spoken by the staff, so we went for the ¥1800 daily special and ended up with a beautiful selection of seafood. The chef was very interested in where we were from so definitely a time where we wish we spoke more Japanese.
Accommodation: Ishiba Ryokan for 1 night. Very old and atmospheric ryokan with the most charming owner. He spoke brilliant English and even insisted on driving us round town to recommend a restaurant for dinner
Travel: Used another day on our rail pass to get from Akita to Hirosaki.
Day 8 - Sapporo
Our biggest day of travel so far, but it was nice to relax on a train all morning and eat bento boxes. Arrived early afternoon in Sapporo and explored for a bit before heading to Odori Park and spending the rest of the day at Sapporo Autumn Festival. We were thrilled to find out we were visiting during a food festival and had a great time exploring the stalls and trying food from different regions in Hokkaido. Weather was a little cooler but still nice and warm into the evening.
Accommodation: JR East Hotel Mets Sapporo for 3 nights. Our favourite business hotel with great bathrooms right near the station.
Travel: Used another day on our JR pass. This was our most complicated day as we went from Hirosaki to Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodate to Sapporo and spent around 6 hours on trains.
Day 9 - Sapporo
We originally planned to take a day trip to Otaru today, but multiple days of lots of walking were catching up to us so we took a chill day instead. We mainly wandered around downtown Sapporo, ate delicious food and did some shopping.
Food: A happy pancake to try Japanese souffle pancakes. So fluffy and so sweet. Sapporo ramen republic for dinner. A whole floor of ramen restaurants. We chose the one with unlimited eggs.
Day 10 - Sapporo
Spent the morning at Sapporo beer museum, although we did the free version without the tour and just headed to the beer hall after. Found the history of Sapporo far more interesting than the beer. Explored the area nearby and then took the subway to Ishiya Chocolate Factory. We thought this place was a bit overpriced (the ‘tour’ you pay for is basically a walk through that overlooks the factory) and very commercial touristy, but still had a great time because the whole thing was fake British themed and so it was incredibly entertaining to be British people there. There were phone boxes and a double decker bus and tudor houses and gardens all done in a slightly Japanese way so it all felt a bit surreal. We also had a Japanese couple stop us to chat and they were delighted when we told them we were English and wanted to shake our hands.
Food: Sapporo Beer Garden for beer and all-you-eat Jingisukan that we grilled ourselves. I’m sure this was quite a touristy place to try it but it was definitely delicious. Fugetsu in Sapporo station in the evening as we were craving okinomiyaki. It was cheap and a great option if you’ve never tried cook-it-yourself as they had instruction videos at all the tables.
Day 11 - Sapporo and Noboribetsu
Spent the morning walking around Hokkaido University campus and visiting Hokkaido University Museum. It was free and interesting but there are very limited english exhibits. After lunch we headed to the station to get a bus to Noboribetsu. We were booked at ryokan so spent the rest of the day soaking in the onsen and eating.
Food: Nemuro Hanamaru for a conveyor belt sushi lunch. We queued for about 40 minutes. Very tasty and well priced sushi and they had some great Sapporo specialities. We also picked up cheese tarts from Kinotoya bake before we left. Dinner was kaiseki at the ryokan and was just as beautiful and seasonal as expected.
Accomodation: Dai-ichi Takimotokan ryokan for 1 night. We’d only stayed at small ryokans before so this place was a bit of a surprise. Lots of different types of onsens that all had different features and hundreds of rooms. There were a few Chinese tour groups that made it less than relaxing. It was a great one-off experience but we definitely prefer the smaller places where you can meet the owner.
Travel: We were planning to use a day of our JR pass to get to Noboribetsu but discovered there was a bus from Sapporo station that dropped off at all the local hotels. This was much simpler with luggage and only cost ¥1100 each.
Day 12 - Noboribetsu and Hakodate
We were up early for more time in the onsen and then set out to walk up Hell Valley and round Oyunuma Pond. The whole place smelled so much like sulphur and was spectacular with the steam rising. There were a lot of tourists and we also saw some school groups, but it thinned out as we moved further away from Hell Valley. We went back to collect our luggage then caught the bus to the station to continue on to Hakodate, arriving early afternoon.
We relaxed a bit too much after checking in to our hotel and then realised we wanted to climb Mount Hakodate before it got dark (we were often taken aback by how early sunset is in summer in Japan) We found the beginning of the route up with some help from an American guy who spoke good Japanese and led us to the tourist information centre to pick up a map. The climb was recommended to take over an hour but we raced up in 45 minutes to catch the sunset. The plan had been to take the ropeway back down, upon reaching the top though we found it had been suspended due to strong winds. Massive queues were beginning to form for the buses down and we knew we’d be waiting for ages, so we made the rash decision to hike back down in the almost dark. It maybe wasn’t the smartest idea; we used our phone torches for light and walked cautiously fast.
Food: We became mildly obsessed with Hakodate burger chain Lucky Pierrot and ended up eating there twice over 2 days and buying branded t-shirts. It was definitely cheap fast food but uniquely Japanese and very delicious.
Accomodation: APA Hotel Hakodate Ekimae for 2 nights. Probably the cheapest hotel we stayed at and it did feel a bit run down. I also wouldn’t recommend staying near Hakodate station as the area felt deserted in the evenings.
Travel: Another day on our JR pass from Noboribetsu to Hakodate
Day 13 - Hakodate
Spent the morning exploring Hakodate morning market and having a seafood breakfast, exploring Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse and Motomachi Park area. Hakodate feels a bit like a bizarro European town due to all the European style buildings and the trams. In the afternoon we took the tram over to Goryōkaku and stayed until sunset. The whole place was beautiful at golden hour but we found ourselves quite cold after dark so had to retreat to the closest ramen restaurant.
Food: We had a super fresh ¥500 seafood bowl breakfast from a place in Hakodate market and snacked on a few other local specialities from stalls. There was lots of themed Autumn food in September so I tried far too many pumpkin, sweet potato and chestnut snacks. We also bought some overpriced Hokkaido melon simply because our curiosity overcame us (I thought it was too sweet) We tried the famous sweet omelette cakes at Pastry Snaffle's and were drawn into Lucky Pierrot again after we found out that each branch has a different menu.
Day 14 - Hakodate and Tokyo
We left early for another long day of travel fuelled by train bentos. The rugby world cup had started the previous day and we arrived back in Tokyo to find many more Western tourists than a week ago. We were staying in Shinjuku so went for a walk around the area and visited Meiji Shrine. As it was a Saturday Harajuku looked uncomfortably busy.
We had tickets to the Robot restaurant that evening, something we’d avoided during our first trip to Tokyo but now thought we might as well experience once. The whole audience seemed to be Scottish and Irish rugby fans, so although it was the most touristy experience of the trip the energy was great and we had a lot of fun.
Food: Wanted to try monjayaki so ended up in a department store restaurant in Shinjuku for more cook-it-yourself okinomiyaki and monjayaki.
Accomodation: Hotel Century Southern Tower for 2 nights. Our priciest hotel of the trip and definitely worth it for location and view.
Travel: Used the final day of our JR pass to go Hakodate to Shin-Hakodate to Tokyo. This was the first time we weren’t able to get seats together when making the reservation on the day of travel, so be aware of that if travelling on the Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen on a Saturday.
Day 15 - Tokyo
Did some final shopping in Shinjuku in the morning and stopped by our favourite coffee place Blue bottle. Visited Nezu Museum in the afternoon and spent ages exploring the garden. Bring bug spray if you go in summer though as I was bitten like crazy! The cafe at Nezu had a long wait so we ended up walking to nearby Sakurai and having a tea tasting instead. It was expensive but a lovely serene experience for the final day. Spent the evening exploring department stores and buyings as many packaged snacks as our suitcases would allow.
Food: Katsukura for Tonkatsu. Highly recommend this place for tonkatsu near Shinjuku station, it put the tonkatsu we’d eaten earlier in the trip to shame. Ebisoba Ichigen for the most delicious shrimp ramen. Our friend had recommended this place for Sapporo and I'm so glad we managed to squeeze it in.
Day 16 - Tokyo back to London
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can tourists travel to singapore now video

Coronavirus borders: Singapore reopens to Australian tourists Singapore is opening up again and locals are crying out for our tourist dollars — but the development comes with a catch. Natalie Updates on Singapore’s border control measures in response to COVID-19 can be found on the ICA website. Information on the SG Arrival Card with Electronic Health Declaration can be found here. Singapore has implemented special travel arrangements with some countries/regions, such as China and Malaysia, to facilitate travel. You may now enter Singapore for short-term visits if you travel from Australia, unless you have been to New South Wales in the past 14 days. However, you can't leave Australia unless you seek an exemption from Home Affairs. Travellers from Australia (excluding New South Wales) who are short-term visitors may apply for an ATP at no charge (CNN) — If you're planning to travel to Singapore, here's what you'll need to know and expect if you want to visit during the Covid-19 pandemic. The basics Singapore has done a superb job of Before travel, foreign tourists will need to: download the Belize Health App; pre-book accommodation at a Gold Standard hotel; have proof of a test no older than 72 hours. You may be randomly You can view the latest travel regulations for your destination below. You should also check with relevant local authorities for additional guidance before you plan your trip. Travellers departing from Singapore, and flying to a destination which requires them to produce a negative Covid-19 PCR test result prior to entry, may apply for the pre-departure test here. For travellers departing from One country that’s been on many travel wishlist is Singapore. Can anyone travel to Singapore now? What important things do travellers need to know if they are planning to fly to Singapore? Who can travel to Singapore? With the COVID-19 pandemic deemed under control in Singapore, the city-state is progressively re-establishing cross-border travel by implementing Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL Many Canadians are wondering where they can travel right now, should they choose to do so. Currently, there are 50+ countries who are accepting Canadian tourists, with more being added constantly. As border restrictions start loosening around the world, many nations are eager to have Canucks return and want to get the message out that they are open for tourism. Now, Thailand IS letting in some tourists, mostly the wealthy from low risk countries (Like China) that have also officially recorded very low cases of Covid-19. As time goes on and more countries hopefully get Covid-19 under control this list will likely expand. Countries named as being likely to get permission to enter under special conditions (which include quarantine) are places like Where can you travel right now? Here are all the countries that have reopened . Want to know where you can go on holiday? These are all the countries that have already reopened their borders

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can tourists travel to singapore now

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