Florence Best and friends in kimonos at Higashiyama, Kyoto, in 2017. Photo: Supplied/Florence Best
Japan has flung open its doors to international visitors after almost three years of pandemic isolation
Locals are hoping this week's reopening will kickstart the country's tourism sector, and New Zealanders are already snapping up flights.
Florence Best has booked her third trip to Japan in six years.
The bustling streets of Tokyo, the thrill of Osaka's theme parks, and the snow-capped mountains of Mt Fuji are just a handful of destinations she's got in her itinerary.
"My favourite anime is doing a collaboration with Universal Studios, and they have a real-life freaking version of one of the main characters just sitting inside the park," she said.
"I'm excited to go, sit down and take a photo, to see just how absolutely terrible this big humanoid thing is."
Japan had some of the world's strictest border controls to slow the spread of Covid-19 but has now reinstated visa-free travel to dozens of countries.
Cue the rush to snap up flights.
Flight Centre general manager of leisure brands Heidi Walker said we were a long way from the pre-pandemic days of dirt-cheap flights.
"Airfares are very challenged and availability is challenged. What we do expect is our customers will need to be flexible with dates and if they see what they want, grab it because we do expect flights to become a challenge in the future."
But there was still a flurry of excitement.
"We have a lot of people who think the skiing in Japan is some of the best in the world, and a lot of people would love to go see the cherry blossoms. And Japanese culture is so unique, everything from the very traditional, the quirky, the animate culture."
Japanese animation is certainly one of the drawcards for Megan Godkin Hall, who nabbed some flights before prices went up even higher.
The first thing on her list was heading to the world's first theme park dedicated to the animation company Studio Ghibli.
In the city of Nara, she wanted to do some deer feeding, but that's not as friendly as it sounds.
"Whenever you see videos of them, they make them look very cute, but they're actually aggressive. If they see you with a cracker, they will kerb-stomp you until you give them one. They're great, I love them," she said.
Megan Godkin Hall enjoying the thrills at Tokyo Disneyland, in 2019. Photo: Supplied/Megan Godkin Hall
It's her first trip out of New Zealand since the start of the pandemic.
"I feel a sense of excitement and aliveness I haven't felt in a couple of years now.”
Just over 500,000 visitors have travelled to Japan so far in 2021, compared with a record 31.8 million in 2019.
The government had hoped to hit the goal of 40 million in 2020, timed with the Summer Olympics, but that came to a crashing halt with Covid-19.
Journalist in Japan Chris Gilbert said the buzz was building.
"I was in an area of Tokyo yesterday where people buy kitchenware. Everybody in the shop was practicing English and German and different languages as well."
"I think there is a bit of expectation and there is excitement in the air. There might also be a little trepidation about what this means, as there has been a little bit of an over tourism problem in recent years".
He said it's just about basic courtesies, but people shouldn't get too bogged down by them.
"I think some of the behaviour of tourists in the past has not necessarily been bad, but it may not have been accustomed to what people in Japan are used to, such as not talking loudly on trains. It's nothing outrageous, but if I had a personal recommendation, it would be to respect what people around you are doing."
International visitors must have a certificate confirming they have received three shots of the Covid-19 vaccine, or a negative pre-departure test.
