goto travel

How to Apply for the Go To Travel Campaign

The Japanese government has launched the Go To Travel Campaign to encourage people to travel around Japan from July 22, 2020 onwards. This is a great opportunity to travel cheaply in Japan! This campaign is not for international travelers but only for residents in Japan. So if you already live in Japan, why not go for a trip around Japan with the Go To Travel Campaign? In this article, we will explain what the Go To Travel Campaign is and how to travel cheap with it!

What is the Go To Travel Campaign?

Current situation of go to travel campaign (updated 2022), prefectural discount, motto tokyo, how to use go to travel coupons, the website you can book go to travel campaign:, how to take a pcr test in japan, tour packages, japan wonder travel tours , other articles you may enjoy.

The Go To Campaign consists of 4 different campaigns which will support the industries which have been severely affected by COVID-19 such as travel, food, and entertainment industries, etc. Go To Travel Campaign is one of these campaigns and the government will cover half of the domestic travel costs up to ¥20,000 per person per day (up to ¥10,000 for a day trip) by issuing coupons that are worth 15% of travel costs (up to a total of ¥6,000 per day) and giving 35% off discount on the travel package. There is no limit on the number of traveling with the campaign, so you can repeatedly travel at half-price in Japan during the campaign.

Go To Travel Campaign has been suspended since March 2021 .

Meanwhile, there are alternative campaigns such as the prefectural campaigns which are quite similar to the Go To Travel Campaign. (we will explain it later in this article)

Go To Travel campaign will be resumed as GoTo 2.0 when it’s ready, and the discount rate is likely to change. The discount rate is originally 35 percent of the trip cost (up to 14,000 yen) and comes with local coupons that are 15% worth of the whole travel costs (up to 6,000 yen). ▶See how it works GoTo 2.0, however, will give a 30% discount (up to 10,000 yen) with 3,000 yen (weekdays) or 1,000 yen (weekends) coupons.

At the moment, what we expect for the new Go To Travel campaign is as follows;

More discounts may be applied on weekdays than on weekends
It’ll be required the vaccination certificate or certificate of the negative test result to apply for the campaign.

We’ll update the latest information accordingly when the official announcement is made.

Pre-Go To Travel Campaign 2022

From October 11 to the end of December or early January , the government decided to launch a new campaign (全国旅行支援, zenkoku ryoko shien) to encourage people to travel more. During this campaign, you can travel anywhere around Japan with a discount as long as you already got vaccinated three times or get a negative test result on the PCR test.

The prefectural discount offers to the residents of Japan, giving a discount on travel packages and a coupon ticket for local restaurants. It gives you a maximum of 7,000 yen for both a travel package and a coupon ticket (5,000 yen for accommodation + 2,000 yen for coupons). This discount is valid until September 30th, 2022 , and you can use this discount only in the region you live in. Regions and prefectures that you can currently use Prefectural Discount (as of September 13)

You can book from the website of Japanese travel agencies such as Jalan and Rakuten Travel etc.

From September 1st, 2022, the Motto Tokyo campaign will resume for Tokyo residents. If you plan for an overnight trip that costs over 6,000 yen, you will get a 5,000 yen discount! For a day trip, if your travel costs over 3,000 yen, you will get a 2,500 yen discount. The Motto Tokyo campaign will be valid until September 30, 2022.

How does the Go To Travel Campaign work?

It is basically a package deal, and the campaign will cover half of the travel costs up to ¥20,000 per person per day. About 70% of reimbursement is an actual discount on the package and about 30% of it is with coupons that you can use for gift shops, restaurants, amusement parks, and transportation.

Here’s how it works;

If your travel package costs ¥20,000, you can save half of the cost which is ¥10,000 with the campaign. You will pay ¥13,000 for your trip but you will get coupons with a total value of ¥3,000. With that, you can save ¥10,000 in total.
If your travel cost is ¥50,000, half of the costs will be ¥25,000, however, the reimbursement is up to ¥20,000 per day. So you will pay ¥36,000 of the total costs and will get coupons with a total value of ¥6,000. With the coupons, eventually, you can save ¥20,000 in total.

How to apply for the Go To Travel Campaign

Book a package via travel agencies or book the accommodation directly. If you book a package via a travel agency, accommodations and transportation (trains, highway fees, airplanes, buses, etc.) will be included but if you book accommodations directly, transportation will be excluded from the discount. But either way, you will get coupons. The discount is not only valid for the accommodation but also if you book overnight transportation such as a cruise ship, the overnight ferry, or a sleeper train (excluding overnight transportation that only offers seats), you can get a discount for those too. If you want to go on a day trip, the campaign will cover your transportation fee + food or activities.

We ( Japan Wonder Travel ) are not currently operating the service. The websites you can book Go To Travel Campaign are as follows,

Either a vaccination certificate or a certificate of the negative test result will be required if you apply for the Go To Travel Campaign. There’s an English service that allows you to get a test quickly and easily in Tokyo and Osaka. You can choose the test type between swab and saliva. There’s an option to receive the negative result certificate on the same day as you take the test, so if you are in a rush, this will be very useful! ▶ Book PCR test from here

If you have any questions about coupons, please read these articles first! – Everything you need to know about Go To Travel Campaign Coupons (General) – The best way to use go to Travel Campaign Coupons in the popular destinations

Q. Is the hotel for the quarantine also included for the Go To Travel Campaign? It can be used for the quarantine hotel if you are a resident visa holder. Basically only the Japan resident can use the Go To Travel Campaign. But not every hotel accepts the quarantine, so please check with the hotel before you make a booking. If you are an international traveler and look for a quarantine hotel, please check this website for more information ( Self-Isolation Japan.com ) Q. How can we get coupons? Please check this article! ( Where can you receive the coupons? )

Q. If I want to stay for a couple of nights at my friend’s house, can I still use the Go To Travel Campaign? As long as you stay at the hotel on the same day of your arrival, your trip can be applied partly to the Go To Travel Campaign. For example, if you go on a trip for 3 nights 4 days and you stay at the hotel for the first night and stay at your friend’s house for the rest of your trip, it’s considered a 1 night 2 days trip for the Go To Travel Campaign and you will get the discount for it. However, if you only stay at your friend’s house, it is not applicable for the Go To Travel Campaign at all.

Happy traveling!

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Great article! “[…]If you already made a booking for your trip before the campaign started, you can still apply the discount if you went on a trip between July 22nd to August 31st. “ 🤓 I checked the indicated website to apply online and unfortunately it looks like the application deadline for this was 14 September. Does anyone know of this is the case or if there is another way of applying still? Thank you.

Hi Rashomon-san, Thank you for pointing it out, and that’s correct, the deadline for the application was September 14th. Sorry we haven’t updated with that information. We updated on the article as well.

I was going to request a motel quote using Go To Travel. However, found the information requested to be intrusive and not required for just my asking for a quote.

Hi Mark, Thanks for your message. In terms of the price for accomodation: you can check the prices of the hotel online yourself and add our service fee to the amount. However, we cannot only book your accommodation, as a travel agency we need to sell packages (transportation & accommodation + optional activities). If you are looking to only book a motel I recommend you do this yourself (as this is the cheapest way). For the actual booking we need to collect some information such as proof of living in Japan (and being able to make use of the Go To Travel campaign) and keep it on file. That’s why we ask for a copy of your residence card. Hope we could clarify some things for you, otherwise please send us an email or reply here again.

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How To Use Go To Travel Campaign

NAVITIME TRAVEL EDITOR

Under the banner of a national “Go To Travel campaign” to stimulate travel within Japan to boost the local economies, the Japanese government has announced a series of measures. Here is a quick guide to help you understand such a campaign.

What is a Go To Travel Campaign?

The Go To Travel campaign is a Japanese government subsidy encouraging domestic travel to help boost the economy. It also aims to bring business back to local tourism and hospitality operators, many of whom were forced to close during the coronavirus state of emergency. The discount ONLY applies to domestic trips and can be claimed up to a set limit. For day trips , travelers can receive a discount of up to 7,000yen and coupons of up to 3,000yen per trip. For overnight trips , the maximum discount that travelers can receive is 13,000 yen per person a night, while the maximum amount of coupons that can be received is 7,000 yen per person a night.

How can I get the discount?

To receive the discount, you’ll need to book your trip with businesses that are registered with the campaign. There are several ways to book as follows. 1) Book directly through at a registered hotel First, look for the participating businesses on the official Go To Travel Website here . (Japanese only) Then, book directly through the hotel that you chose. At this point, the prices don't include the promotion. To get the discount, you then need to access StayNavi and create your account to register for the discount.

Once you’ve created your account, go to your personal page on StayNavi and click on the “ホテル” under “Go To トラベルクーポン発券” to apply for the discount. Key in all the details accordingly to what’s written. The page is only available in Japanese so if you need language assistance, ask someone around you that knows the language.

Once you apply, on the personal page, there will be a coupon. Print out the coupon or take a screenshot of the page and bring it with you upon staying at the hotel. If you do not bring this discount ticket, you will have to pay the full amount.

2) Book through Booking.com To search for an eligible hotel, just look for the orange "Go To Travel" flag on the corner of the hotel listing on Booking.com . At the time of your booking, you pay 65% of the total cost for the accommodation or package. Booking through Booking.com, travelers must apply through a different webpage for the 15% coupon issued in electronic form. See details on the next section, "How to apply for electronic coupon".

Screen capture: Booking.com

3) Book through major Japanese travel agencies/booking systems On most major Japanese travel agencies/booking systems, the discounts are included in the promotion and upon booking, you’ll pay the discounted price directly through the agency/system. At the time of your booking, you pay 65% of the total cost for the accommodation or package, while the 15% in coupons will be issued to you by the travel agent or hotel either in physical or electronic form. This will change depending on the agency/system so upon booking, make sure to read the instructions carefully.

Screen capture: Jalan

How to apply for electronic coupon

Open https://goto-travel-ecoupon.jp/ (Japanese only) to visit the Go To Travel coupon page where you can claim your coupon starting from 15:00 JST on your check-in date. Key in all the details from your confirmation number, destination prefecture and travel agent ID. e.g Booking.com travel agent id is listed here . Keep in mind that the coupon will expire after your check-out date. And coupons are non-refundable and you cannot receive change when you pay with the coupons.

Where can I use the coupon?

Go To Travel has released a list of participating businesses and locations. This will include souvenir shops, restaurants, tourist attractions and activities. The list is only available in Japanese but can be found here . To use the electronic/digital coupon , look for the QR code at the participating venues for you to scan. After using the coupon, it will be deducted from your account. For physical coupon , simply hand the coupon at the purchase of your items to the cashier. Keep in mind that both physical and digital coupons will only be valid for use in the designated prefectures and on the designated dates of travel.

Look for these signs to find participating businesses and locations that the coupon can be used

Sample of physical coupon

When does the campaign end?

Tentatively, the campaign is expected to end on January 31st 2021.

How many times can I use the campaign?

There is no limit on how many trips you can make during the campaign period or on the length of each trip.

Who is eligible for the campaign?

Both the Japanese citizens and foreign residents living in Japan are eligible for this campaign. This campaign is only aimed for the residents, not for those visiting from abroad. For foreign residents, they must have their Residence Card (Zairyu Card; 在留カード) with you as a proof of eligibility and your address.