Won't laws like this also inconvenience Japanese travelers and hamper business? IA it reasonable to assume that some hotels won't comply?
(Also, if you're interested, where I live (Osaka) people in some parts basically stop wearing masks as soon as darkness falls. Most restaurants and bars I frequent have unmasked staff (in the evening-- daytime is different) or at least don't care if you're bare-faced. When I visited Tokyo, it was similar in Shibuya and (to a lesser degree) in Shinjuku.)
If the revision is passed as is, it’ll be up to the hotel’s discretion whether or not to refuse entry to people without masks or with fevers. I assume large chains will be more likely to enforce it and independent places less likely though. And yes, it’ll almost certainly inconvenience Japanese travellers too.
As for masking in bars, Tokyo never mandated “mask dining” like Osaka did, so unmasked customers have always been okay. I don’t go drinking as much as I used to or would like to, but at least one of my fav bars (Godz in Shinjuku) has unmasked its staff.
If it's up to the hotel, I assume capitalism will win out in the end when people increasingly favor hotels that don't participate in this crap. Or maybe I'm just naive.
Sometimes I wonder if Kishida et al are counting on widespread noncompliance to keep society functioning smoothly while placating an elderly voter base by pretending to be China lite. On the other hand, it's entirely possible that he's actually dumb enough to believe his government 's policies make sense.
Boy, your experiences differ from mine. Last month my family was not allowed to check in to a hotel until I masked up and all of us had our temperatures taken. Same at a sushi restaurant last Sunday.
Last month in Tokyo, they didn't do any temperature check at the Shibuya hotel I stayed in. I also saw barefaced people come and go every now and then. I suspect they were mostly Japanese. Otherwise I don't really leave Osaka a lot, so I don't know what the rest of the country is like.
Temperature checks are somewhat common in Osaka, but it seems like it's pretty haphazard.
Temp checks are haphazard in the Tokyo area too. Many places have the self check type with the video camera that checks if you are masked and a IR or laser (I’m guessing) thermometer. My kids elementary school has this as do department stores. The sushi place we went to last week had an employee stationed at the door ensuring all the “requirements” were complied with. He had a handheld thermometer that reads the your temp from your wrist. Other places read from your forehead. I often have wondered if these render accurate readings or if it is all for show.
I strongly doubt the readings are accurate. Some stores here won't let you in unless your temperature falls below some arbitrary value (usually 37.5 degrees Celsius , although usually you're not considered to have a fever if it's below 38 degrees). I've wondered if this kind of scientifically indefensible discrimination makes it possible to sue, but I doubt it since no one seems to do it.
Really! I have not seen an unmasked employee of any kind of service industry business unmasked in over 2 1/2 years with one exception, a “speakeasy” in my town. I just saw performers at a Sea World wearing face coverings while swimming with dolphins and Killer whales.
I was at a famous Sea World last weekend. The typhoon hit as we entered the parking lot. No biggie, we brought our rain suits. The place was packed! It seemed that everyone decided to enjoy the day out come hell of high water...literally. We opted to not get the reserved tickets. Looking at the possibility of buying the reserved tickets, we learned that due to Covid, there were two entry times. A limited number of people would be allowed in at each gate time. As I showed my ticket I was asked if I had a mask. I answered that I did and the ticket taker said, “Onegaishimasu”. I nodded as I shuffled off fumbling with the ticket in the wind. I did not put it on through t the time at the park.
All the staff wore some kind of face covering, including those swimming with the dolphins and killer whales. These people would handle dead fish to give their animals after each trick, the adjust their face gaiters. Eventually, they dove into the pool with their face coverings on. Even the single person feeding the penguins was masked. She too adjusted her mask after feeding fish and shrimp to the various kinds of penguins in the tank.
Arriving early, we saw all the shows and displays and left early for a late lunch. The first place we stopped was a michi no eki like place without any dinning facilities. The staff were very friendly as they gave us recommendations for different places to eat despite the fact that I and my son were unmasked. They, of course, were masked. We elected for a kaiten sushi in a more proper michi no eki. They would not let me in until I put on a mask. If alone, I would have just gone somewhere else. My wife is a masking fanatic and had her heart set on this restaurant. After going back to thye car to get a mask, we had to have our temperatures taken (standard practice in Japan) and spray our hands with disinfectant before we could enter.
For those who don’t not know, sushi is made by hand. Not with hand tools, but by placing rice in the bare hand and pressing in with two bare fingers of the other hand. From our table, I could see only two of the sushi chefs. The masks of both would periodically slip down exposing the nose. The next time I would see them, the mask was back over the nose. While I did not see then actually touch their masks for any reason, the time between seeing them with a mask below the nose and again with it set properly was far shorter than the time required to remove the mask, was their hands and replace with a new, clean mask as basic mask hygiene requires. To add to the yuckiness, the tables were separated by plastic sheeting that was covered with dust sticking to whatever oil was on them. The plastic sheeting was stabled to wooden members that made changing them quite an undertaking. How long have these been in place? While not as fully bearded as I am, one of the chefs had facial hair. Masks and respirators do not function properly with beards.
After eating, we went to a souvenir shop next door. After being inside for a while, the cashier shouted to me to put on a mask. I told my wife I would wait outside.
As far as hotels. Last month I was in Toyama. We were not allowed to check in until I put a mask on, with and kid already had theirs on. We also had to disinfect our hands, because it is known that this is effective against airborne viruses, and have our temperatures checked. Same for entering the dinning room for breakfast the nest morning.
A years ago, no one was telling me to mask, except my wife and son a couple of employers. No shop clerks bothered to tell me to mask until either the very end of 2021 or just after the start of this year. I forget the exact timing. Since then, I have been told many times to do so. I was told to put on a mask 3 time this one day trip to Sea World. There are indeed getting more and more strict with their mask “recommendations”.
Condolences for having a mask-maniac Japanese wife; can't be easy. At least mine hates the masks with the same passion as me, so at least I don't have to fight battles at the home front.
And thanks for your story; it's a good stress relief to read things like this. It reminded me that masks are not the only annoying thing they want us to get used to like robots, but those idiotic plastic/plexyglass sheets and the hand sanitizers that actually destroys your natural defenses.
Btw, I live in Toyama and yes, this is one of the most conservative (Japanese style, i.e. stuck-in-the-past) place in Japan. One of the reasons I have finally decided to get out of this country and go back home.
Used to love Toyama, until this visit. Crazy. Same here in Chiba where I live. And Tokyo, where I work, when not online. The whole bloody country has gone mad.
Crimes against humanity. When it becomes apparent that masks had no effect on stopping the spread of what is essentially a cold for the average person, will they compensate people for all the trouble they caused? The hotels simply have to ask for randomized-controlled trials on these silly masks and this will end. Then we have to work on the education system. This "Don't ask any questions" way of schooling isn't cutting it anymore.
Apparent to whom? We are in our 7th wave of covid over here. It is apparent to anyone who cares to ponder the quasi on for longer than .5 seconds that what they have had us do to this point just ain’t gettin’ the job done. Their solution? More of the same, just gambaro a bit harder.
It'll be a continuation of arbitrary government if your fate rests in the hands of a hotel clerk or visa inspector who sees you sneeze and has the power to say whether or not that's suspicious behavior.
Won't laws like this also inconvenience Japanese travelers and hamper business? IA it reasonable to assume that some hotels won't comply?
(Also, if you're interested, where I live (Osaka) people in some parts basically stop wearing masks as soon as darkness falls. Most restaurants and bars I frequent have unmasked staff (in the evening-- daytime is different) or at least don't care if you're bare-faced. When I visited Tokyo, it was similar in Shibuya and (to a lesser degree) in Shinjuku.)
If the revision is passed as is, it’ll be up to the hotel’s discretion whether or not to refuse entry to people without masks or with fevers. I assume large chains will be more likely to enforce it and independent places less likely though. And yes, it’ll almost certainly inconvenience Japanese travellers too.
As for masking in bars, Tokyo never mandated “mask dining” like Osaka did, so unmasked customers have always been okay. I don’t go drinking as much as I used to or would like to, but at least one of my fav bars (Godz in Shinjuku) has unmasked its staff.
If it's up to the hotel, I assume capitalism will win out in the end when people increasingly favor hotels that don't participate in this crap. Or maybe I'm just naive.
Sometimes I wonder if Kishida et al are counting on widespread noncompliance to keep society functioning smoothly while placating an elderly voter base by pretending to be China lite. On the other hand, it's entirely possible that he's actually dumb enough to believe his government 's policies make sense.
Boy, your experiences differ from mine. Last month my family was not allowed to check in to a hotel until I masked up and all of us had our temperatures taken. Same at a sushi restaurant last Sunday.
Last month in Tokyo, they didn't do any temperature check at the Shibuya hotel I stayed in. I also saw barefaced people come and go every now and then. I suspect they were mostly Japanese. Otherwise I don't really leave Osaka a lot, so I don't know what the rest of the country is like.
Temperature checks are somewhat common in Osaka, but it seems like it's pretty haphazard.
Temp checks are haphazard in the Tokyo area too. Many places have the self check type with the video camera that checks if you are masked and a IR or laser (I’m guessing) thermometer. My kids elementary school has this as do department stores. The sushi place we went to last week had an employee stationed at the door ensuring all the “requirements” were complied with. He had a handheld thermometer that reads the your temp from your wrist. Other places read from your forehead. I often have wondered if these render accurate readings or if it is all for show.
I strongly doubt the readings are accurate. Some stores here won't let you in unless your temperature falls below some arbitrary value (usually 37.5 degrees Celsius , although usually you're not considered to have a fever if it's below 38 degrees). I've wondered if this kind of scientifically indefensible discrimination makes it possible to sue, but I doubt it since no one seems to do it.
Really! I have not seen an unmasked employee of any kind of service industry business unmasked in over 2 1/2 years with one exception, a “speakeasy” in my town. I just saw performers at a Sea World wearing face coverings while swimming with dolphins and Killer whales.
Thank you! I'm always interested in what's happening in Japan. Since you're the only one reporting on it, I can't thank you enough. Peace & Love, JP.
Thanks. I started this blog because the western MSM’s reporting on Japan (“Look how they all wear masks without complaining!”) infuriated me so much.
I was at a famous Sea World last weekend. The typhoon hit as we entered the parking lot. No biggie, we brought our rain suits. The place was packed! It seemed that everyone decided to enjoy the day out come hell of high water...literally. We opted to not get the reserved tickets. Looking at the possibility of buying the reserved tickets, we learned that due to Covid, there were two entry times. A limited number of people would be allowed in at each gate time. As I showed my ticket I was asked if I had a mask. I answered that I did and the ticket taker said, “Onegaishimasu”. I nodded as I shuffled off fumbling with the ticket in the wind. I did not put it on through t the time at the park.
All the staff wore some kind of face covering, including those swimming with the dolphins and killer whales. These people would handle dead fish to give their animals after each trick, the adjust their face gaiters. Eventually, they dove into the pool with their face coverings on. Even the single person feeding the penguins was masked. She too adjusted her mask after feeding fish and shrimp to the various kinds of penguins in the tank.
Arriving early, we saw all the shows and displays and left early for a late lunch. The first place we stopped was a michi no eki like place without any dinning facilities. The staff were very friendly as they gave us recommendations for different places to eat despite the fact that I and my son were unmasked. They, of course, were masked. We elected for a kaiten sushi in a more proper michi no eki. They would not let me in until I put on a mask. If alone, I would have just gone somewhere else. My wife is a masking fanatic and had her heart set on this restaurant. After going back to thye car to get a mask, we had to have our temperatures taken (standard practice in Japan) and spray our hands with disinfectant before we could enter.
For those who don’t not know, sushi is made by hand. Not with hand tools, but by placing rice in the bare hand and pressing in with two bare fingers of the other hand. From our table, I could see only two of the sushi chefs. The masks of both would periodically slip down exposing the nose. The next time I would see them, the mask was back over the nose. While I did not see then actually touch their masks for any reason, the time between seeing them with a mask below the nose and again with it set properly was far shorter than the time required to remove the mask, was their hands and replace with a new, clean mask as basic mask hygiene requires. To add to the yuckiness, the tables were separated by plastic sheeting that was covered with dust sticking to whatever oil was on them. The plastic sheeting was stabled to wooden members that made changing them quite an undertaking. How long have these been in place? While not as fully bearded as I am, one of the chefs had facial hair. Masks and respirators do not function properly with beards.
After eating, we went to a souvenir shop next door. After being inside for a while, the cashier shouted to me to put on a mask. I told my wife I would wait outside.
As far as hotels. Last month I was in Toyama. We were not allowed to check in until I put a mask on, with and kid already had theirs on. We also had to disinfect our hands, because it is known that this is effective against airborne viruses, and have our temperatures checked. Same for entering the dinning room for breakfast the nest morning.
A years ago, no one was telling me to mask, except my wife and son a couple of employers. No shop clerks bothered to tell me to mask until either the very end of 2021 or just after the start of this year. I forget the exact timing. Since then, I have been told many times to do so. I was told to put on a mask 3 time this one day trip to Sea World. There are indeed getting more and more strict with their mask “recommendations”.
The mask has replaced the kimono as Japan’s national costume.
Far far far more people wearing face diapers than wear kimono here. But I take your point.
Condolences for having a mask-maniac Japanese wife; can't be easy. At least mine hates the masks with the same passion as me, so at least I don't have to fight battles at the home front.
And thanks for your story; it's a good stress relief to read things like this. It reminded me that masks are not the only annoying thing they want us to get used to like robots, but those idiotic plastic/plexyglass sheets and the hand sanitizers that actually destroys your natural defenses.
Btw, I live in Toyama and yes, this is one of the most conservative (Japanese style, i.e. stuck-in-the-past) place in Japan. One of the reasons I have finally decided to get out of this country and go back home.
Used to love Toyama, until this visit. Crazy. Same here in Chiba where I live. And Tokyo, where I work, when not online. The whole bloody country has gone mad.
I should add that I have only visited Toyama, never lived there. My wife is from there. Perhaps that is why she is a mask fanatic.
Crimes against humanity. When it becomes apparent that masks had no effect on stopping the spread of what is essentially a cold for the average person, will they compensate people for all the trouble they caused? The hotels simply have to ask for randomized-controlled trials on these silly masks and this will end. Then we have to work on the education system. This "Don't ask any questions" way of schooling isn't cutting it anymore.
Apparent to whom? We are in our 7th wave of covid over here. It is apparent to anyone who cares to ponder the quasi on for longer than .5 seconds that what they have had us do to this point just ain’t gettin’ the job done. Their solution? More of the same, just gambaro a bit harder.
Apart from sex, the Japs have an obsession with wearing masks....
It'll be a continuation of arbitrary government if your fate rests in the hands of a hotel clerk or visa inspector who sees you sneeze and has the power to say whether or not that's suspicious behavior.