Vietnamese passport holders traveling to Japan by ship do not need to get a visa before departure but ask the cruise line to complete procedures for them to obtain a landing visa.
 |
|
Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion - A famous tourist site in Japan |
According to the Japanese embassy’s updates about new entry procedures for visitors, foreign tourists, inclusive of Vietnamese nationals, on board cruise ships can enjoy the simpler visa application process.
To benefit from the lax visa requirements, they must be passengers of the cruise ships permitted to participate in the program of the Japanese Ministry of Justice, stay in Japan for no more than 30 days for leisure travel. If ships dock at only one port in Japan, passengers are not allowed to stay for more than seven days and will have to leave Japan at the same port.
Those wanting to visit Japan by ship should contact the Japanese embassy to check which ships are eligible for the program.
The number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan is on the rise, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. Some 80,100 Vietnamese visited the country in the January-August period last year, soaring 50% year-on-year and almost equivalent to the total figure in 2013.
However, the number of Vietnamese nationals traveling to Japan by ship is still small.
Recently, Malaysian cruise line StarCruises has introduced a program for passengers to travel with its SuperStar Aquarius to Japan without having to get a visa before departure.