Niseko hotels booked up as Japan’s reopening draws tourists from Singapore, Malaysia, elsewhere

Tokyo has hinted it may further ease travel curbs, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara saying the country hopes to reopen in time for autumn and winter activities

Hotels and other businesses in Hokkaido’s ski resorts now face manpower challenges to cope with a potential influx of foreign tourists

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Niseko is a popular destination for winter sports in Japan. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:30am, 14 Sep 2022Updated: 9:23am, 29 Sep 2022

Weeks before the first flurries of snow, hotels in Japan’s winter sports town of Niseko are already fully booked for Christmas and New Year, largely with foreign travellers who have not been able to enjoy what are widely regarded as some of the finest skiing conditions in the world since 2019.

Winter sports fans have been making reservations since Japan last month said it would lift the maximum number of people permitted to enter the country per day to 50,000. That policy went into effect on September 8, but subsequent hints from Tokyo that the cap will be scrapped entirely – probably next month – have further buoyed enthusiasm.

Winter sports are the lifeblood of Niseko, a popular skiing destination. Photo: Shutterstock

Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said on Sunday he was in favour of dropping the limit on arrivals as well as scrapping tourist visas and the requirement that tourists travel as part of an organised group.

Asked whether the 50,000 limit was appropriate, he said: “I say it is not.”

The government would “soon have a comprehensive review” of border control measures, he said.

“We need to do this sooner rather than later … As countries around the world are resuming exchanges, we cannot lag behind,” he said. “There are many autumn and winter attractions in Japan.”