00:00:00 John Daub: Alright, hello everybody. So it wasn't very long ago, just about three days ago that the government of Japan released a new update stating that they will be ending all of the border restrictions, everything, anything that had to do with even the app. It's all going to be going away and they're returning to sort of the system that they had before. Asterisk marks because we never really know for sure if it's going to change. There's a link in the description. If you're planning to come to Japan, please do so. If you're planning to come to Japan between now and May 8th, which is the magical day, I highly recommend that you go to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and also MOFA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That is where you will get the definitive source on what you need to do to arrive into Japan.

00:01:00 John Daub: It still has to do with the Visit Japan Web. It's not an app. It is actually something you would use on your smartphone browser because the app had some problems with privacy and all this other stuff, tracking and things like this. They went to a web-based system. This changed last year. It crossed over around November when they reopened the borders to just about everybody. Even China, which is a country that had the most restrictions on them because of their policies, now can enter into Japan fairly openly. So we will see if tourism returns from across our pond, which is the Sea of Japan over there in China. We haven't seen too many people from China coming to visit yet.

00:02:00 John Daub: But starting on May 8th, this is important because this is the date that Japan originally decided that they were going to downgrade. This happened like back in February, I believe. They downgraded it to just the same as influenza, which is wonderful. And probably it's like a long time ago. It's a long time after the United States and other countries had done this. But one thing that we learned over the last couple of years, last three years, is that Japan will have its own way. And I think a lot of you realize this through its actions since 2020. I wasn't really surprised because this isn't anything that was new.

00:03:00 John Daub: The way that they handled this is the way that they would handle just about anything with extreme caution and almost the opposite of the rest of the world. And when I see the Western media compare Japan to other G7 countries, they did it differently. I don't think that really works at all to the advantage of getting what you want. And we've learned this, that you can criticize all you want. Japan has its own way of doing things. They drive on the left side of the road, the US drives on the right side of the road. People back into the parking spots, Americans will go in front first. Like even the grammar is like backwards. So if it doesn't make sense, that's perfectly normal here in Japan.

00:04:00 John Daub: They have their own way to approach things. And for the most part, if you walk around the country and you come to visit, you kind of understand it sort of works for this country. It's one of the safest countries in the world. It runs very well. Things are orderly, people line up for everything. It's just a wonderful country with a lot of success domestically inside of the country, the way it runs. So when those policies sort of don't line up with the way that you think that it should go, well, take a look at your own country and you can probably see that there's a lot of things that aren't going well there either. And so I think that's a good way to start.

00:05:00 John Daub: So now that we're finished with all of that, all of the criticism, all of the anger, all of the frustration, which I felt with you for every single moment of those years is now gone, poof, starting May 8th. It's like almost a fresh piece of paper. We've all kind of reset. Starting April 1st, which was just a few days ago, the new fiscal year in Japan starts. And April 1st is a time of the year where everything starts anew. And this is really important for Westerners to understand the new year pretty much starts on April 1st for everything, for school, for a lot of activities, for financial purposes. Like so many things start on April 1st.

00:06:00 John Daub: And for me, it was really hard the last couple of weeks of March, because of taxes and things like this domestically. But once we get into April 1st, there's like a sigh of relief, and then we can go and enjoy the cherry blossoms, which were too early this year and are now pretty much over in the city of Tokyo, the metropolitan area. I'm gonna take some questions that I asked here on Patreon, as well as our Discord server of people that are coming to visit to help them out. But I want you to understand what the current situation is right now.

00:07:00 John Daub: Now, if you go over to the ministry, I put this link in the description of the video here. So this is the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. This is where you're gonna have all of the updates here. Temporary measures are currently being applied to those who are entering Japan from China. Basically, they've gotten rid of a lot of the criteria, the border measures already. But there's a Visit Japan Web, which again, I keep calling it an app out of habit, but it's not an app. It's all on your smartphone now. And you really need to have this until May 8th.

00:08:00 John Daub: So I would log in, build an account, and then upload your, if you have them, vaccination certifications. If you've been vaccinated, I think it's two times or is it three times? I'm not sure. It helps you get through really quickly, but it's no longer necessary to be vaccinated to enter Japan. As long as you have a negative, and here's a QR code for it. As long as you have a negative result, if you're not vaccinated and you have a negative result within 72 hours of departure, that's all you need. And then you're fine to visit Japan. So all those restrictions are pretty much over.

00:09:00 John Daub: Here's what you need to register. You need an air ticket, a passport, vaccination certificate, oh, three doses now. Okay, that's good to know. Or a negative test result. So if you're unvaccinated, that's not a problem. And a mail address, and that's it. And then boom, you have this that's installed on your, I keep calling it an app. It's just a really bad habit of mine. If you use this website, the moment you get off of the plane, and I've been talking with people that are visiting Japan, this is really a critical thing here.

00:10:00 John Daub: The moment you get off the plane, someone will greet you and you show the the color that it has changed, and you are funneled into an express line, which will get you out of the airport earlier than those that didn't do any of this procedural work. Before you get on the plane, you need to have your vaccination certificate. But if you've done it digitally, I haven't heard of anybody that had to produce the actual form, but I would still bring it with you because you just never know. In Japan, paperwork is appreciated. People love paper here. Permits, applications.

00:11:00 John Daub: That's one of the reasons why I have an assistant to take care of all this stuff. There's like, whenever you try to book even a location shoot for YouTube, you need to fill in all these permits and Zoom meetings and stuff like this. There's just a lot of bureaucracy with everyday life in Japan, which is a lot of bureaucracy. It's probably the most frustrating thing of living here. So that's pretty much it for those that are entering. So between now and May 8th, you need this Visit Japan Web smartphone-based application.

00:12:00 John Daub: The procedures, it moves pretty quickly too. Once you upload your vaccination certificates, usually you're approved pretty quickly and it's a rolling basis. So if your flight is two months away, there might be other people who are flying two days away, and they'll be prioritized in the application. To get a blue verification mark, they'll be prioritized over you because you have some more time. But make no mistake, you will get verified before you leave. And if not, when you arrive, you explain what happened and you should have no problem.

00:13:00 John Daub: Even those that didn't do the app still get into the country. It just sometimes takes as much as three hours, some people have been telling me. But again, from May 8th, this is all gone. And which is a really great thing. I have a link in the description. I'll put the link in the description to the news article from Kyodo News, which is one of the sources I get for news in Japan in English, which I think you should bookmark and kind of understand what's going on in the country before you come. I think it'll help a lot.

00:14:00 John Daub: And Tokyo Cheapo.com is another source of information where they have so many events. They do such an amazing job of updating all of the events that are happening in Tokyo and around the country. So I would bookmark TokyoCheapo.com. They're also, my friend is one of the owners of the company, so I know him to be a very, very good guy. And that's another reason why I do promote them a little bit more.

00:15:00 John Daub: I have some questions here, and then we're going to go to the Discord server and see if we got some people that are checked in into the chat room. Discord is a place if you don't know what it is, it's free to enter into there. And if you are in Japan traveling around, it's a place where you can find other travelers that are visiting and maybe meet up if you'd like. It's not a shack up site, right? Hello, IE21, is that right? So yeah, it's a great site for information for people that are on the ground right here in Japan. At least that's what we're seeing. Not just about the channel, but for those that are visiting.

00:16:00 John Daub: Deanna writes in here, I heard about this, just wish it was before my April 25th departure. I know. And it's funny because so many people came over the cherry blossoms. The spring season that they did not benefit from this change. So Deanna, I feel your pain. I hear you because a lot of the people that I talked to, they got through okay. Even Danny, who was visiting from Canada, he got through immigration okay. It just took time. He didn't have a vaccination certificate, I think, so he had to go through the process. But I think he was out in three hours and at his hotel by midnight, which is good.

00:17:00 John Daub: It seems like two years ago, people had to, Japan flew a friend of mine. Just as a historical reference in 2021 and even in the beginning of 2022, Japan had these quarantine centers and you would arrive at Narita Airport. And because they were booked in full, these quarantine centers for travelers coming from even the US, they required like a 10 day hotel stay where you, and then it decreased it to seven. And then three days you had to go to a hotel for 10 days. The government paid for it, but they flew people to Nagoya from Tokyo.

00:18:00 John Daub: Like you're going to a completely different destination, even to Fukuoka. And you would stay in a hotel for three to seven to 10 days to quarantine. And if you were okay, you take a test. If you're negative, they would allow you, they fly you back to Tokyo and then you'd be into the country. And I remember Gregライフ from, Greg had to go through this. I remember talking to him through FaceTime and stuff and trying to bide the time as he was making his way through quarantine required to enter back into Japan. I just didn't leave. It wasn't worth it. And I'm so glad and happy to finally be over it.

00:19:00 John Daub: Peso writes in here. I'm glad to hear. Does this mean that VJW is going away or will QR immigrations and customs forms stick around? I'm not really sure exactly what you will get, but my understanding and my assumption, which means almost nothing, which is why I put the link to the sites is that it's going back to the way things were meaning if you're from these countries, you can just enter. It's the reason why Peso is because Japan has decided back in February to downgrade this to something like influenza.

00:20:00 John Daub: And when they did that and they put the writing on the wall, they were pretty much saying that this was going to happen, but they didn't officially announce this particular nugget of information until just a few days ago. So it's all pretty much new. I'm loving these questions here. So we have here a setup in the Discord server right now. You can come in and join us and I'll take some of your questions for the next little bit of time here.

00:21:00 John Daub: See here. All right. So I'm on the stage here. Jim, can you hear me? We have hello. Hi, 821 UFO Bob is here. We've got the moderators in there. So if you would like to speak to me, just raise your hand as it pops. A lot of people are coming into the chat room as we speak. So thanks everybody for coming in here. Wow. Look at all the people coming in. Awesome. I want to help you with your travel plans, your questions here. I want to keep it specifically towards Hey, Brondonia. I wanted to drop in and say hi real quick at a farmer's market. Aloha. Hey, thanks friend Danny. Rendania.

00:22:00 John Daub: I want to help you guys with your travel plans. If you have questions that aren't related to border entry and travel, please hold off from raising your hand. I literally want to just hear about this particular topic because it's on everybody's mind. So when you watch this. And the playback, this is a valuable resource for everybody. Let's do a little voice check here. UFO Bob. Hello. Hi, 821. Can we do a little voice check to see if I got the mic running? It's sounding good from this side. All right. Awesome.

00:23:00 John Daub: I'm going to put another microphone right next to the Discord server. So we have even better audio if that's even possible because audio is important. There you go. All right. We should be able to hear pretty clearly. Let me know if the audio is too loud. I'm going to try to get it to work. All right. Let's try here. We have Jwin on the line. Jwin, are you ready to visit Japan?

00:23:30 Jwin: I am. I'm actually, I have my flights booked and I'll be out there August 1st through the 12th. So I'm super excited.

00:23:45 John Daub: Awesome. So I'll keep it short and brief since there's a lot of people in here. I just caught partial of your stream, but the biggest thing with this change is would I be better off still getting the third boost? I'm going to try to get a booster shot just to be on the safe side, even though that they're going to be dropping a lot of these, pretty much dropping the regulations or what you would call it. And then just have a safe route to get in pretty quick because my biggest fear is not having it and then get running into some issues per se.

00:24:30 John Daub: You know, if you're coming between now and May 8th, that's a really tough call because there are some people that like the vaccines and some people who don't want to get another one. And I'm not going to tell anybody to compromise on their morals or to do something that they want to do, but it would make it easier. I mean, to get into Japan, if you have that vaccination and you have proof of it, it just makes it easier. Whether you believe in vaccines or not, this is not a place that you want to get sick.

00:25:30 John Daub: And I'm not going to tell anybody to compromise on their morals or to do something that they want to do. I'm going to tell everybody that they want to get sick. If getting the vaccine maybe helps you mitigate this and maybe you have symptoms and you're not contagious, I don't know, but it might be something to consider before you travel. It might be something that's good, but it will definitely play into saving you maybe an hour at the airport. But then you have to think of it like this. Even if you got the third vaccination shot, you're probably just saving yourself a little bit of time at the airport. It might be better just to take a negative.

00:26:30 John Daub: Yeah. But you can get a normal PCR test before you leave. But for me, at the airport, and I took it at Newark Airport in New Jersey, New York, that cost me for me and Kanae 600 or $700, I remember, to get two expedited PCR tests that were recognized by Japan. Kanae wasn't a US resident, so she couldn't take the ones at CVS or the pharmacies that they give. But you know this was the only option that we had so maybe U.S citizens might have a different situation and I'm sure there's the waiting time is a lot less it just depends on where you are in the world but maybe it's a good idea.

00:27:30 Jwin: Okay well I appreciate it i'll you know i have a local cvs so oh like i said the trip isn't still out for another four more months so i'll kind of just check back and kind of go from there but that's pretty much all i had and thanks again john and don't forget the last thing i'll say is if i run into you i'm the guy that keeps mentioning the ll bean shirt so if i see you i really will i i am seriously gonna buy a couple medium shirts and if i run into you i run into you if i don't i don't.

00:28:00 John Daub: Well thank you Jwin yeah thanks for the question here you, Bob do you have any questions regarding travel to Japan?

00:28:15 UFO Bob: Not off the top of my head i'm wondering how many people out there are willing to wait for later in the year when things kind of get smoothed out in terms of the new system i myself would probably not come until september or october.

00:28:45 John Daub: Yeah that's a great point i think um right now i'm not sure if we're gonna be able to get to japan or not but i think we can get to japan right now the reason why there's a massive queue at the airport and why it's taking some people three four hours to get out of it is just because um when travel returned to japan during 2021 and 2022 they were laying off a lot of workers at the airport this isn't just a japan specific thing a lot of places around the world don't have enough airport workers people to take over and when they reopen the borders when prime minister kishida did that it seemed pretty sudden for japan.

00:29:45 John Daub: Japan does not move very quickly. I think a lot of you realize this. Nothing in Japan moves like quick, alright? It's not like the United States, which is one of the things that I love about the United States is how fast things move and people even Americans might not realize this but the rest of the world moves at a snail pace compared to the United States, which is why it'll always be really competitive place regardless of what you think. When you leave the US you realize how amazing some of the stuff is that happens over there.

00:30:45 John Daub: In Japan, hiring these airline workers mean training and then passing tests, which are sometimes impossible, and then once they get hired they have like on-the-job training. It's crazy painful and it's just not been great. One of the comments I got from somebody who just visited was that there weren't enough lines open, which created bottlenecks and I'm hoping that by summer to answer your question things are a lot a lot better and then by 2024 it's just really really smooth. It should be so fast to get in but I'm not like all of you.

00:31:45 John Daub: I'm a resident, Kanae and I, Kanae is a citizen, so we go straight through. I have a special line. I'm even faster than the Japanese line. I'm a returnee and returnees have their own special line and there's a dude there or lady there and you know I we give her a thing and boom i've been out a couple times faster than than Kanae was from the citizens line so um you know i don't have to suffer in the for tourist visitors line like you guys do but i realized that just realize that um if you do want to save some time and you're vaccinated three times then make sure you get that Visit Japan Web until may 8th and then i i believe they're just going to get rid of the program why keep it around it's obsolete um there aren't aren't any countries that are in a situation that are dangerous with this now and if they've downgraded this and that's the big that's the big um uh biggest piece of information with all of this that that might answer your question japan's downgrading this so it's right now still considered a really big deal but gets downgraded in a month to not almost like influenza which is uh you know driving the policy.

00:33:45 John Daub: So if that is the case i would assume and i we don't know until the formal announcement is made that you do not need an app or tests or anything like this we have to trust we have to trust everybody and i know that's really hard because there's you know human nature is to trust nobody for some people i trust some people i i trust people but we have to trust everybody as a society of people if you're sick you're going to stay home and if you're not sick you're going to come and you know you can go out and do stuff but if you're not feeling good you shouldn't be out and about or you should be wearing a mask which is why people wear masks in japan out in pollen you'd wear it if you felt sick so you wouldn't get other people sick because you're thinking about the people around you and that's one of the great things i think i love about japan.

00:35:00 John Daub: Over the course of the last month since japan dropped the mask rules they weren't requirements but they dropped the mask wearing rules meaning it was up to you and your personal decision i haven't seen a lot of people wearing a mask except for on public transportation and a few times but i carry one with me but i've noticed more and more people dropping the masks as well and nobody tells me to put on a mask we had a couple of people the first week after the rules were dropped but nobody looks at us funny anymore nobody i say that because i tell Kanae don't wear a mask don't wear a mask but i think she feels comfortable wearing the mask in certain situations and i completely understand that.

00:36:00 John Daub: But i've seen the pivot where people in japan are starting to become more this is most most important in tokyo people see other people without masks they're not foreign faces anymore they're japanese and we're seeing more and more people saying hey wait they don't have to wear masks i'm wearing masks i don't want to wear a mask i'm taking off my mask and this is just something that is a personal decision you don't have to but my personal decision is i don't want to i don't need to wear a mask if i'm not wearing a mask i won't but if i'm from public transportation i probably will especially if it's crowded i will basically at least for a little bit longer i'll take some questions right now from the chat here i'm from florida i recently stopped wearing a mask outside by and some would heckle me for still wearing a mask.

00:37:30 John Daub: I don't want to talk about masks for very long but to put a ribbon on this i think that again japan This is the perfect example. Japan is the opposite thinking of not just the United States, but like the West. And you have to, this is one of the things I love about Japan that makes it so unique. And one of the things that frustrates people about Japan, because it is unique, travelers and people who come to live in Japan, they expect Japan to be like their own country. And there's most of the disappointment is that when it's not, when they come up against the bureaucracy and they come up against rules that they think don't make sense, but they make perfect sense in Japan.

00:38:30 John Daub: They just don't make sense to you, who is not used to the system. And they don't make sense to me most of the time. And I'm fairly used to understanding the system here in Japan. I'm used to not understanding it, which makes me used to understanding it. Because I'm not sure if... In Japan, you don't understand the reasons why. You just understand that it's a rule. And you don't need to know the reason why. It doesn't matter. It's a rule. And that's what you protect. And this is just part of, it's just the way that things work.

00:39:30 John Daub: Of course, they back it up and there's news programs on in Japan. If we compare it to like, you know, before World War II and stuff, it's a night and day difference because we do have a media. We do have people who check, but it's not the same level as in the United States. And people feel comfortable. People following the rules. Rules are rules. And that's what makes Japan work so well and why the country is so safe. And there's a lot of positives on it, on this. They're more respectful in Japan, rights and origins. Yes, I think so too. But sometimes to a fault. Sometimes it's good to fight back and argue a little bit. But that's probably the American in me.

00:41:00 John Daub: No, the rules don't make sense. I've lived in Japan six years. Most of the rules don't make sense. Gambler. I think if you're going to be staying in Japan for another six years, you're probably not going to try to get frustrated by the fact that it doesn't make sense. It just is what it is. And this is the beauty of being an expat for so long. Those that have lived here for a long time, they don't fight against the system or argue or get frustrated, maybe a little bit. But we understand the longer you've been here. It's just the system. That's the way it is.

00:42:00 John Daub: John, what is your part of the play? How much? I don't understand, James. You know, if you're going to if you want to be a conspiracy theorist, that's fine. You can. Can you confirm what is needed to get into Japan for the US before the 8th? What do you mean by confirm? Tell me the information and I can confirm it. If you want to know, I put a link in the description. This video goes directly to the source. Again, I would not trust YouTubers. For vital information on your trip. I wouldn't base it just on this.

00:43:00 John Daub: This is one piece of information that will help to get you into the link that I put in the description, which is the authoritative source and what you need to do. So don't ask me to confirm it. If you say my my understanding is that if you are vaccinated three times and you fill in the Visit Japan Web, you get a blue colored notification and you go straight through to immigrations, which is a faster system. If you if you are unvaccinated, you get a PCR test 72 hours before departure on a certificate that is recognized by Japan.

00:44:00 John Daub: Make sure that it is on that certificate within the way that they like it. I don't think it maybe doesn't matter as much. But if you have that certificate with you and it's registered in through the app, then you get a blue and yellow, I think. And then you can you go back, you go through a little bit faster. But everything is only information is in the link that I provided. Go there. All right. Because again, here's the second reason why I'm hesitant to start confirming information. People don't watch this in two or three weeks and the rules could have changed again.

00:45:00 John Daub: So even before May 8th, I don't know. I've been through this too many times where the rules are like in flux. Like a lot. I live in California. Japan sounds like a nice and peaceful country. It is Miriam. I heard the people are very nice and respectful. That sure does sound nice. I have been talking with people who traveled around the country. One of the reasons why people return here is just because they have a pleasant time. If they compare it, I want you to think about all the countries around the world right now that have all of these all these problems.

00:46:00 John Daub: You know, if you're going to France right now, France is a big popular destination. There's like riots in the streets in Paris going on. It's not the greatest time to be there. Japan's so perfectly peaceful right now. Yeah, every now and then North Korea might shoot a missile over us. But you know, it's not the greatest time to be there. There's earthquakes as well. So there's like other stuff here. But it's a perfectly, perfectly peaceful place here.

00:47:00 John Daub: Let's see here. I really enjoyed you guys at the zoo. Oh, yeah. So Alan, yesterday we were at the Yokohama Zoo called Zoorasia. It was a really wonderful time. We kind of switched it up and I brought you guys along with me for a little bit of family time. We got to see okapi. They have some really cool different animals compared to Ueno Zoo at Zoorasia. And I think it's a much more natural, more suited habitat than Ueno Zoo, which is an older zoo, of course. So but Ueno has done some renovations that have made it a little bit better.

00:48:00 John Daub: Abysmal fiend rights in here. All restrictions lifted but still need a test if unvaxxed. Yeah, don't make me laugh. Well, that all goes away in less in one month. So that's the purpose of this. So you don't need any more of these rules and policies. And as I've been saying for the last 10 minutes, nothing, it doesn't have to make sense. A rule is a rule. You just expect it to follow it. If you don't agree with the rule, you can try to fight it. But it's just easier just to go along with it. That's why I'm still here after 25 years. Happily.

00:49:00 John Daub: Jonathan writes in here, it showed blue barcode at Haneda and got through within a minute. Wow. So there you go. It also depends on the time that you arrive. If you arrive at a time where there aren't a lot of other flights coming, you might get through very quickly. If you arrive at a time where it's quite congested, then it's going to take a little bit of time to get through here. I'll take a couple more questions. Do we have anything in the Discord server? I don't think we got anybody. It's pretty quiet. Yeah, we have a quiet bunch tonight. Yeah, we got a quiet bunch in here. We have Alex is here with a hand raised. There he goes. Hang on. I was waiting for him to show up. All right. There you go. Hello. Hello, Alex. Welcome.

00:50:00 Alex: Yes. Hello. I have a question. I'm traveling in June, and I'm signing a contract for my apartment, and I have to be before 6 at Shinjuku. So I was wondering if you could give me a suggestion on a time to arrive at the airport, given it's taking so long to get out of there. And how long would it take me to get to Shinjuku?

00:50:45 John Daub: Wow, great question. It doesn't take more than an hour and a half to get anywhere in Tokyo from Narita once you've cleared customs. And I'm saying an hour and a half because the next train might be, you might need some time to jump on another train. Or it takes roughly 70 minutes by bus. And traffic usually isn't an issue. Okay. If you're going to Shinjuku, it's about an hour and a half. And the Shinjuku bus might be the best option. I'm not sure if Narita Express goes there, but not a lot of Japanese take Narita Express. It's mostly tourists because it is more expensive than the bus and the other train lines, like Skyliner.

00:52:00 Alex: Oh, I see.

00:52:05 John Daub: But if you get a JR Rail Pass, then you would take Narita Express. And if you have a business account and the money's not an option, you can get a receipt for your company. People take Narita Express. But if you're going to Tokyo Station, Narita Express is one of the most inconvenient locations. It's like in the sub-basement and it takes forever to get out. You're on the Marunouchi side. And if you're bringing luggage and bags, that means you've got to lug it up elevators and escalators. And if you come at a bad time, then you've got commuters walking all around you. It can just be hell on wheels.

00:53:00 John Daub: So I think, good show, I believe. So I think the best way is to come in by bus. But even then, let me think here. If you have to be in Shinjuku at 6 p.m. And you're coming in by bus, then you've got to lug it up elevators and escalators. I think in June, when probably there'll be more workers coming in. Are you vaccinated? Sorry to ask, but will you be able to get your vaccination certificate and everything? Get a blue checkmark for the day?

00:53:45 Alex: I have my three vaccinations.

00:53:50 John Daub: Okay. As long as you have a blue mark in there, it won't matter because that app will be gone. So you're just going to be able to get through. My estimation is, as long as they don't... See, I almost, I caught myself. My estimation is that because... Procedures went back to the way 2019 was. It's going to be pretty quickly. Just depends on the staff there. So I figured it'll be out of the airport in 90 minutes maximum. Okay. Because nobody's getting tested anymore unless they are... Unless you arrive at the airport with a fever and you're coughing, when they'll identify you, then there's no reason why you won't get through the airport pretty quickly now because there's nothing to hold you up.

00:55:00 John Daub: If you arrive in the morning, you're going to be there on time. If you arrive by... Okay. I think if you arrive by like 1 p.m., you shouldn't have any issues at all. Worst case scenario. But if you arrived at 3.30, you should be okay too based on the fact that, you know, things you go through. It just depends if there's a lot of other planes coming in when the time you arrive and how many workers are at the airport.

00:56:00 Alex: Yes. Wow. Thank you so much. Especially for the transportation tips because I was thinking of getting into the train, but now I will look into the bus because it looks way more convenient.

00:56:20 John Daub: It's way more convenient and way more comfortable because you put your bags underneath the bus. You don't have to think about it. You sit down. There's free Wi-Fi on the bus. There's even places to plug in your phone if you want to charge it. And the time goes by pretty quickly compared to the train where you have to wheel it down to the platform. You have to put it into a luggage rack, get it out. Everything on the bus is done for you. And I believe they have buses that go... straight to Shinjuku. That might take maybe 10, 15 minutes more than going to Tokyo Station, but it's more comfortable and cheaper. So something to definitely consider against the Narita Express. Thanks, Alex, for the question.

00:57:30 Alex: Thank you so much. You're welcome. Awesome.

00:57:45 John Daub: I think the transportation coming into Narita had been an issue for a very long time because there was a ¥1,000 bus, which was so cheap. But they did away with that because there wasn't any... any money going to Narita. I did a live stream there in 2020 when I took a friend of mine to the airport. I went to the international terminal. Nothing was open. It was a ghost town. So they ended that ¥1,000 bus, and I believe they brought it back because Kanae and I took it... Was it ¥1,000 or a little bit more, maybe because of inflation? But we took the bus to Narita and it was so smooth. We took it to Terminal 3 and the ride is so smooth. It's just so... For me, the bus is the better option to get.

00:59:00 John Daub: Of course, there's a possibility where you could come in the traffic at certain times. Coming into Tokyo in the morning is the only time I think that the bus is going to be coming up against traffic. Between like 7 and 10 a.m. If you arrive at Narita, it's between like 6