1.866.316.7268 [email protected]
WPCS 2.1.3
1.866.316.7268 [email protected]
WPCS 2.1.3

Safety from COVID

Safety from COVID

You are probably now getting used to a level of extra precautions as we leave our homes and begin to travel.  Japan and Samurai Tours both take extra care to keep everyone safe.  You may find that our trips to Japan are a safer option then touring your own town.

Why is Japan safe during COVID?

There are several reasons why traveling in Japan is going to be one of the safest places to travel in light of the COVID-19 situation. Japan is unlike many other countries. You will find that the following practices in Japan will help keep you healthy:

  • It is culturally appropriate to bow instead of shaking hands
  • The country has an extreme attention to cleanliness. Trains, train stations, hotels/ryokans, and even the streets, you will notice are extremely clean compared to other countries, including the United States. Cleanliness and sanitation are part of the culture and were important before COVID-19, and now are even more important.
  • Wearing masks in Japan has always been common during cold/flu and allergy season. Wearing masks is not a new thing, and a vast majority of Japanese people have been and will continue to wear masks through the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Hand sanitizer is located at the entrances of practically every hotel, ryokan, shop, and restaurant in Japan. And almost everyone will use the sanitizer when entering and when leaving.
  • All trains in Japan completely recirculate the air in the train cars from outside about every 6 minutes.

How is Samurai Tours Addressing COVID?

On our escorted tours we will be implementing the following procedures to keep you healthy while on your tour:

  • Masks- we will have masks available for everyone on our tours
  • Hand sanitizer- our guides will have readily available hand sanitizer for use by the tour members
  • Utilized individual headsets between the guides and guests. This will allow our groups to hear while applying social distancing
  • Maintaining small groups- we will not be accepting any registrations past 10 per group till the end of the year (Tours that already have more than 10 people will now be considered full and all members will be allowed to stay on)
  • Non-contact digital thermometers- our guides will be taking the temperature of every tour member at the start of every day using non-contact digital thermometers.
    • If a tour member has a temperature of more than 38 degrees Centigrade (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit), or if a tour member is experiencing difficulty breathing, sluggishness or cold-like symptoms the guide will report the tour member to the staff in Japan.
    • If the tour member has a higher temperature for three days in a row, or if they are experiencing any of the other described symptoms for two days in a row, we will arrange to take them to a doctor’s office.
    • Guides will also be subject to the above procedures 7 days prior to the start of the tour, as well as during the tour. If the guide does have a fever or symptoms as listed above, we will replace the guide for the duration of their scheduled time with the tour.
    • If the doctor suggests a COVID-19 test for a tour member, we will ask the tour member to self-quarantine until the test results are received. The rest of the tour group will also have to self-quarantine until the results are received as well. (The normal time frame for receiving the results in Japan is 4 to 6 hours.) If the results are negative, the tour can be resumed. If the test is positive, the Japanese government will decide on what the tested tour member(s) will need to do. At this time, for those people with light symptoms, they will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days. If this happens, we will make arrangements at a hotel. The tour members will be responsible for hotel costs, but they can submit a claim against their travel insurance policy. Or, in the larger cities, the Japanese government has arranged business hotels for people to quarantine for 14 days. Samurai Tours will consult with the Japanese government who will decide if the rest of the tour group will have to be tested and/or quarantined.