Earlier this year, Japan has banned the entry of many oversea visitors in order to limit the spread of the virus. However, the nation-wide state of emergency in Japan was lifted on May 25th. Japan has re-opened schools, cinemas, sports clubs and department stores since the beginning of June and is expected to gradually re-open borders from the end of June. This will start with countries in which COVID-19 has largely been contained (such as Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam and Thailand) and will continue to add more countries to the list.

As the country begins to open up, many are eager to start looking into travel plans for later this year or next year. If you're looking to travel, you may want to consider the seasons you'd like to visit Japan and what you'd want to see. For example, this year, Fuji Shibazakura Festival (between mid-April to late-May) was cancelled due to COVID-19, but you still have a chance to see it next year!

Each year, Fuji Shibazakura Festival (富士芝桜まつり), located about 3 km south of Lake Motosuko in the Fuji Five Lakes area, displays the breathtaking scenery of 800,000 pink moss against the backdrop of Mt Fuji. This festival has been held for one month from mid April till mid May and attracted thousands of visitors every year. It is worth seeing if you're planning to visit Japan in the Spring.

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Japan is known for its summer “hanabi” (花火) firework festivals. Hanabi firework displays have had a long history in Japan, with hundreds of fireworks shows all across the country, usually in the summer between July and August. It is a fun and enjoyable time for people to relax in a festival atmosphere, dress in yukata and having a few bites along the streets filled with food stalls.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, many of Japan’s summer firework festivals have been cancelled. Since many people were disappointed in the sudden cancellations, several of the country’s pyrotechnicians came together to organize a surprising fireworks project called “Cheer Up! Hanabi” that would have all 47 Prefectures in Japan participating in the project. The project’s aim was to avoid having large crowds gather, as is typical of normal hanabi fireworks events. Therefore, the organizers originally announced that each prefecture would keep the date and time of its hanabi event secret and the fireworks would only be displayed for five minutes each.

To everyone’s surprise, the plans later changed and on June 1, 2020 at precisely 8:00 PM, Japan's sky lit up with bursts of fireworks in all 47 Prefectures. In total, there were over 160 companies that voluntarily participated in this project, contributing to the simultaneous launch of hanabi fireworks displays in all 47 Prefectures throughout Japan. It was a spectacular sight to behold for those who were able to catch a glimpse of the displays. As the name implies, ‘Cheer Up! Hanabi’, was an event that would ideally provide hope to the people for the end of the COVID-19

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