CDC-required documents ready
What You Need To Know before Traveling from Japan To the US
What You Need To Know Before Traveling from Japan To the US
If you live in Japan and are planning to travel to the US, do you know what kind of documents you need to prepare? Where can you take PCR test? Do I have to be fully vaccinated to enter the US? These are a few thing’s you need to know in preparation for your trip.
Well, I recently traveled from Narita to Honolulu. I’m American and would like to share the documents I prepared, PCR test site and how things went at Narita.
(The info here is as of April 14. Requirements may change day by day regarding Covid/Pandemic restrictions and updates for travel)
Collect these 4 documents
Here are the documents you need when you check into your flight.
- *Vaccine certificate (for non-US citizens)
- Attestation to the US
- Contact tracing form
- Covid negative test result
Americans are not required to be vaccinated when enter the US
First I will talk about vaccine certificate. Basically Americans don’t need to be vaccinated to enter the US based on the CDC guidelines.
If you are non-US citizens, you need to go to your local city hall where you reside to get vaccine certificate. You are not allowed to enter the US without vaccine certificate.
In my case, since my primary residence is Japan. I opted to get both vaccine shots along with the booster which was provided by the Japanese government. Since I had all 3 vaccinations. I decided to get the vaccine certificate just to be on the safe side.
2 CDC-required documents
The next one is “Combined Passenger Disclosure and Attestation to the US” by CDC. All passengers who try to enter the US are required to fill out and sign the form.
Then another form required by CDC is “Contact Tracing Form”. You can download here
Where is the best PCR test site?
Have you ever heard “Kinoshita Group PCR Test“? They offer PCR/Antigen tests all over Japan for a reasonable price. It’s ¥1,900 for Antigen test and ¥2,900 for PCR test. But what we were not sure about their test is the certificate. It has certain information but not enough. Look at the sample below. There are test result, name, the date of test, etc but no information on passport like passport number, sex, nationality, and BOD. I will show you how to make it an approved document.
Paid over ¥20,000 in January
This was the reason why Ritsuko didn’t try Kinoshita group in January at Haneda. She called ANA (All Nippon Airways) to find out if they accept Kinoshita group’s certificate. They said NO based on the fact that the certificate does’t have sufficient information. So she paid ¥23,000 for PCR test at Toho University PCR test at Heneda Airport back then. Still very expensive though they reduced the price from bout ¥30,000 in January.
Kinoshita got green light in February
We called Hawaiian Airlines if Kinoshita Group is OK. They answered “Yes, we don’t designate any clinics/medical institutions. As long as their certificate has enough information, that’s OK!”. Wow, what a change. I heard from someone that airline companies started to give a green light for Kinoshita in February.
It’s a very reasonable and affordable price. Even better, for Tokyo residents it’s now free of charge! (You need to fill out and submit the paper). Since the US require travelers to take a test 1 day prior to their flight, I went to Kichijoji branch on April 13. There is no Kinoshita in Narita Airport. So you need to find your nearest location and schedule an appointment online.
30min to get a result
Oh, I forgot to mention about how long it will take to get a result. It’s only 30min and you can get it online! This is for Antigen test, not PCR. PCR takes longer. The US accepts both tests, so I took Antigen Rapid Test.
How to make it right
Here is the modifications/additions I made. First, I added passport number, sex, nationality, BOD and also Clinic ID just in case at the bottom open space. Also there are a few sections which don’t have English translations, like date of test, specimen, etc. You can even write in hand but I typed online in PDF form. After I acquired all the documentation and forms I need, I went to a local convenience store and printed them all out.
Easy, right?
Heading to Narita
I used to take a shuttle bus (Limousine Bus) from my area to Narita but there is still no service as of April 2022. So I took Airport Bus TKY-NRT at Tokyo station Yaesu South exit. It’s only about 60min ride and costs ¥1,300. Together with train ride, it was only about ¥2,000. The Limousine bus costs over ¥3,500. It was a great saving.
Go early to get Omiyage at Narita
The photo shows the Omiyage shop after Immigration around 6PM. I saw some shops open. Ritsuko said she saw only a handful shops open at Haneda. Well, it’s partly because Haneda flights are later in the evening so most of the shops like Duty Free are closed by that time.
Going on board
It’s time for boarding. My flight was not crowded and I got a whole row for myself!
