It takes 80,000 JPY to apply for a business visa! - Business trip to Indonesia during Yen depreciation period. (Part2)

Greetings. This is Miura. This blog article - Part 2 is about the business trip I made to Indonesia in October of 2022. For the latest information, please refer to the website of Japan consulate in Indonesia or other appropriate resources. 

Other blog posts of mine:
[Global Business – Communication Skill: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3] 

The plane landed on time to Jakarta International Soekarno-Hatta Airport – Terminal 3 after flying 7 hours and 5 minutes. Taxi run took about 20 minutes to the gate. Then I walked another 20 minutes from the gate to the immigration area. You know, I needed to burn up some of the calories I ate before and during the flight.Peduli Lindungi applet status was still waiting for approval. Would I be able to enter the country? I started feeling nervous. I first waited for 20 minutes in line at the quarantine station. By showing the vaccination proof, I went through without any issues.

Then, I found the arrival visa issuance station which had quite a long line. Since I already had a visa, I went straight to the immigration inspection area. After approximately 10 minutes of being in line, it was my turn.
Surprisingly, all I needed to show to the immigration officer was my passport and vaccination proof! I was not asked to show Peduli Lindungi applet.

The last was the custom clearance. As explained in Part 1, I registered to e-CD in advance, so I showed the 2D barcode for the officer to scan. It took me as a surprise to find the immigration process going so smoothly.  

When checking-in to my hotel, I was asked to show the vaccination proof and had my body temperature scanned. There was no need to show Peduli Lindungi here neither.

There were some restrictions to board the domestic flights within Indonesia. As of Oct. 2022, some of the restrictions were as follows:
・ Had taken 3 vaccinations (2 vaccinations are required for foreigners traveling short period for business)
・ Use of Peduli Lindungi

There was a guardsman at the entrance of the Domestic Terminal, so I scanned the 2D barcode there. Since the vaccination proof has not been approved, “Not Eligible to Travel” gets displayed.
What!? Does this mean I cannot board the domestic flight!???

 No worries. By showing the proof of the vaccinations, I was able to enter Domestic Terminal and board the domestic flight. I arrived at Juanda International Airport of Surabaya without any issues. The weather there was quite hot – more than Jakarta. Surabaya team of Netmarks Indonesia then joined me to head to PIER.

Peduli Lindungi vaccination proof status was still waiting for an approval. I came to a high rise office building called Revenue Tower in Jakarta to visit another client. What should I do if my entry gets denied? I started feeling anxiety again. I scanned the 2D barcode at the entrance & the check-in was successful!!! I got through without any problem. Passport had to be shown as well, so make sure to always carry it with you.

If you have the vaccination proof, you shouldn’t have any issues even if you cannot make a use of Peduli Lindungi – so, remember to always have a proof certification with you.

During the pandemic phase of COVID-19 when the number of infections were rapidly increasing, Netmarks Indonesia decided to have only 50% of the employees come to the office. Online meetings were used during that time, but many felt a lot of stress as the communications were harder to make and the audio was hard to hear due to the Internet traffic issues. By now, everyone is back to the office & engaging in a good communication now.

I went to [Seirokuya] ramen noodle shop which is popular in Indonesia. I did not feel their pricing was any cheap – is it because of the inflation and/or the weak Japanese Yen exchange rate? It costed me about 1,000 JPY with some toppings. There were a lot of families enjoying the noodles. It seemed like the Indonesian nation is becoming more abundant in its wealth.

Jakarta International Soekarno-Hatta Airport did not feel as lively because only 30% of the shops were open at the International Terminal. I hope that all shops return to their normal business soon.

Those passengers who did not register the information to MySOS ahead of time were taken to another area. About 20 staffs were there to help us on 1on1 basis to make a registration to MySOS. Once the staff confirms the completion of MySOS registration, next is the quarantine process. Here, another 20 staffs awaited to scan the 2D barcode shown by the passengers.

Japan is known for its hospitality. I feel at ease returning here. In November of 2022, the service will switch from MySOS to Visit Japan Web. But entering Japan should be smooth because of those staffs proving generous support. Foreign visitors to Japan can also feel at ease as some of the staffs speak foreign languages.This is the end of my blog about the business trip I made to Indonesia.

I feel relieved that I am now able to make international business trips & have a good face- to-face communication with the local clients and Netmarks Indonesia colleagues. The member of Netmarks Indonesia asked me “When are you coming back?” when departing – I truly felt the importance of face-to-face communication then.
I would like to contribute to improve the clients’ services by utilizing a good balance between the online and face-to-face communications.