“Pokémon GO sells tickets for the GO Fest in Sapporo worldwide – but nobody is allowed to come”

In Pokémon GO, there are regular big events that players can participate in. The GO Fest is one of them and takes players around the world. This also applies to the GO Fest in Sapporo. But you cannot enter Japan at all. MeinMMO shows you the current regulations.

What is the background? GO Fest is taking place in Sapporo, Japan from August 5th to 7th and Niantic is already busy selling tickets worldwide. But as reddit user Rorywan points out in a post on the social network, you can’t enter Japan at all at the moment (via reddit.com).

Niantic recently had to face some allegations from the community. The developer studio has already received criticism for the GO Fest 2022, which took place on June 4th and 5th. Players complained about the poor Shiny yield.

Entry requirements for Japan

Why can’t you come in? The regulations applicable to entry may currently differ due to measures to contain Covid-19, the Federal Foreign Office writes on its website (via auswaertiges-amt.de). This also applies at the current time (as of July 14, 2022).

What are the current regulations? Below we list the current entry requirements for Japan if you are currently planning a vacation in Japan.

• the general entry ban for travelers from Germany was lifted on April 8, 2022
• foreign nationals can enter with a visa for business trips, study visits and medium and long-term stays
• Since June 10, 2022, visas for short-term tourist stays can also be issued again
  • But: A prerequisite for a tourist stay in Japan is that this is done through a travel agency based in Japan. The travel agency must also be registered with the Japanese authorities

What does this mean for your entry? Like the Japanese Embassy (via de.emb-japan.go.jp) again clearly formulated, a visa can only be applied for if the travel agency based in Japan vouches for you and also registers with the Japanese Ministry of Health.

The Japanese embassy also states that individual tourism is currently not possible. At the moment you can only submit one application for a group trip.

The group tour must also be organized by a Japan-based travel agency and be supervised locally at all times. A local guide must accompany the group tour.

Likewise, with a group trip, there are no individually plannable days.

So you cannot travel to Japan alone or without a group and spend your individual vacation there, even if a travel agency based in Japan should vouch for you.

What are your thoughts on the situation? Would a group trip without individual planning be an option for you, or would a trip to Japan fall through for you under the current regulations? Write it to us here on MeinMMO in the comments!

If you want to know what else is currently going on in Pokémon GO, take a closer look at MeinMMO. We’ll show you how to properly use Community Day in July.

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