Signs today that the concept of a Japan travel bubble is back on. That as Hawaiian Airlines added back nonstop flights between Honolulu and Tokyo on their schedule weekly starting October 1. BOH: This could either be a sign that Hawaii and its bellwether carrier are near to a deal to make a travel bubble a reality, or it could simply be wishful thinking. We can’t say. But they have definitely added those flights well in advance of when they think regular mainland service might resume. Â
In July we said that a Hawaii travel bubble with Japan appeared to be in the works. But you told us in countless comments that such a concept would not play well with you, our all-important mainland tourists who comprise the vast majority of travelers to the islands at nearly 70%, in contrast with Japanese visitors which represent 15%.
At that time, Governor Ige and House Speaker Saiki announced the idea, saying “Japan and Hawaii enjoy longstanding cultural ties and a deep-rooted friendship that has enriched the lives of many generations… It’s important that we restore travel between Japan and Hawaii.”
The former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, announced the Japan-Hawaii Safe Travel Program, which he said would provide C0vid infection control. He said Japan plans to require pre-travel PCR testing as well as a mandatory examination of travelers on arrival. This could all change with the new Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, who was sworn in earlier today by Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace.
Japan travel bubble – unanswered questions.
We are unaware of whether testing for travel is available at this time in Hawaii. It took a back seat to more important testing for health reasons.
How do Hawaii’s mainland visitors feel about this?
We have numerous comments on this subject across many articles. You can read some of them in our original Japan travel bubble post.
We continue to look forward to your thoughts! Mahalo.Â
Disappointed in leadership of the state of Hawaii. A bubble with a country that bombed the islands. Not cool!!!
Lol that was EIGHTY YEARS AGO!!!! Let’s talk about what the US has done to other countries in the last 20 haha
Well trying new things is better than doing nothing. If something doesn’t work, try again. Otherwise, continued standstill. If opening up Hawaii to Japan is a step in our journey, then so be it.
I think that is how Hawaii starts to open up. i.e. with travel from countries that have reduced COVID infection rates below a certain bar. Unfortunately, that means that the mainland is out since COVID is running amok here. That makes me sad, but we just don’t have the political leadership needed to get COVID under control without a vaccine. Since at best a vaccine won’t be widely available until the middle of 2021, my plans are to avoid travel to Hawaii until then. That makes me Very sad since I miss my yearly visit to the islands very much.
A simple solution – reciprocity works for me.
Maybe the guv’nur needs to watch some of the channels out of Japan like NHK because they are far from out of the proverbial woods relative to the virus and letting ANY country into Hawaii before the rest of America is just plain UNAMERICAN!
Despite a recent second wave, Japan has been handling the virus incredibly will overall, even better than, say, Germany. Whether opening up to Japan first is “Un-American” is in the eye of the beholder. Japan is certainly not part of the union, but it is a strong ally of ours.