Dear Malaysians....you do not need a Visa to enter Japan!!!

Fuji-san and Kawaguchi-ko

Slightly more than a month earlier: "Honey, let's go to Japan..."

Japan has always been my dream destination, so finally!!!!!! I was so happy I wanna cry o(^∀^*)o

As the flight booked was just about a week away, I was busy searching for hotels, planning itineraries, packing the luggage; completely forgotten about the travel documents!!

Not till the last few days before the flight, I suddenly thought of travel VISA....omg do we need Visa to enter Japan??? With less than a week away, even if we were to apply then, the approval and issuance could take some time!!

So I asked a few friends who have traveled to Japan recently...and what they told me was, "if your passport cover is hard-plastic sealed AND has the 'chip' logo on front cover then no need Visa..."

Which was god damn it the new Malaysian passport issued since 2 years ago I think...hb has no problem then coz he just renewed his passport, but what about me?? My passport was issued in January 2013, has the 'chip' logo BUT has no plastic seal whatsoever (￣□￣)  (I learnt later that the logo is actually the 'ICAO' logo lol)

A frantic search on the web then resulted me landing on the webpage of the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia (http://www.my.emb-japan.go.jp/English/visit.html)...

So according to the website, if my passport was issued after February 2010, I can enter Japan without Visa!!

But my friends said otherwise!! Even the officer at the Immigration Kelana Jaya Office said must be the new passport with the poly-carbonate sheet (the name for that 'plastic seal' btw)

Not wanting to reach Japan only to be refused entry and told to go back, I emailed the Embassy of Japan to get a firm confirmation...waiting anxiously, finally I got the reply 2 or 3 days later:

Which means....I do not need a Visa to travel to Japan!!!!

Getting a confirmation from a reliable source instantly put me into a relief...at least if I were really refused entry, I can show the email to the immigration officer in Japan and say "but your embassy representative said otherwise!!!" (─‿‿─)

So, as long as your Malaysian passport fulfill the following criteria:

✿ Was issued since February 2010

✿ Has the ICAO logo on front-cover

then you do not need a Visa to travel to Japan!!!

Of course, there could be special case for some people; you can refer to the full details here: 

http://www.my.emb-japan.go.jp/English/visit.html

But for a general public like you and me, forget about the poly-carbonated sheet or black and white photo or whatsoever incorrect stuff your friends have told you...just pack your luggage and fly to Japan and enjoy the sushi o(^∀^*)o

Happy travel!! 日本に行きましょう  ヽ(^◇^*)/

Nikko National Park