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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Japan was named the "Destination of the Year" (2018) by Travel + Leisure, and was sited as the "Best Place to Travel" in a video by Insider. The staggering growth of visitors has grown over 500 percent since 2003 with over 28 million visitors in this year alone.

While many people are traveling to Japan for leisure, there are a number of people who may want to actually live here. Although the cost of living in Japan—especially in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka—is not cheap, it is possible to find housing here at a discounted rate or even for free.

The Japanese government has been working on reducing the number of abandoned homes known as akiya (空き家), as well as local government-driven town buildings at significantly reduced rates to next to nothing—basically free. It is reported by Japan Times that there are about 8 million properties that are abandoned or unoccupied all over Japan.

There are many reasons for the abundance of abandoned homes including natural disasters, young people putting off starting families until much later, or an aging population that is living longer. As many elderly homeowners die, there are not enough young families who can take their place and fill these homes. Japan homeowners are also known to be superstitious of properties that have had murders, suicides or other untimely deaths occur in it, worried that they may be "haunted" by the spirits if they lived in these properties.

Many towns and homeowners are now forced to give the homes away for free or next to nothing in order to prevent the properties from being abandoned entirely and to become victims of overgrown weeds and graffiti. The local governments are not only offering homes for free, but they are offering subsidies to entice potential homeowners to take the offer and give these properties a new life and to bring people back to these neighborhoods.

While many of the forgotten homes are in rural Japan, there are a number that have started popping up in suburbs and near major cities, which could be a viable option for those who want some peace and quiet from the hustle and bustle of the city. An example would be a new home in Okutama, a town just west of the greater Tokyo Metropolis and takes an hour and 45 minutes by train from the Tokyo city center. Without taking out a loan or mortgage, the monthly rent is just 50,000 JPY (about $440 USD) and the home is yours after paying the rent for just 22 years. No lengthy 30 year loan or down payment necessary!

If you are considering owning one of these forgotten homes, you can find the homes on an akiya bank, which lists abandoned properties on sale. Although there isn't a central bank for each town or Prefecture, you can find records of the banks here.

The sites are all in Japanese but you'll be able to see the prices fairly easily. If it says 0円, you'll know that it means free.