One week away and still up in the air

It is Friday, July 16, one week away from the opening ceremonies for the Tokyo Olympics. I am also five days away from my scheduled flight from Boston to Tokyo (with a stop in Toronto). And, to this date, I have yet to receive official confirmation that my activity plan has been accepted by the organizers, meaning it could be difficult for me to get into the country when the plane lands next Thursday.

This has not exactly been the easiest of situations for anyone, so I know I am not alone. The accredited press from the United States received an e-mail from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee earlier this week outlining the processes that we need to go through once we land in Japan. They advised to have copies of all your paperwork, showing when you sent it in, etc., just in case there are issues with the online forms. The USOPC e-mail also noted that the lack of communication from Tokyo has been frustrating for many, but it appears they are just overwhelmed by the lack of paperwork that is being required by the Japanese government.

My two previous Olympic trips required much less paperwork and resulted in much less stress, but I guess that is to be expected with the pandemic and things in Tokyo still not in a great situation. There is a lot of paperwork that has to be filed, approved and registered and it's not an easy task. 

I have also e-mailed with a couple members of The Boston Globe staff, one of whom I befriended in PyeongChang back in 2018 and another who is also dealing with the paperwork for this year and they said that their paperwork has still not been officially approved by the Japanese government, so I feel better in that I am not alone in these protocols causing stress and delays.

It also appears that I will have to spend the first three days of my trip in my hotel room, which is not exactly ideal. This means I will be missing the possibility of attending the opening ceremonies as well as missing some events that I was hoping to see in the first few days. This includes a boat coached by Wolfeboro's Hilary Gehman, which will be competing on Friday and Sunday, though I have arranged to hopefully see that boat in the finals on Tuesday. Adding to the fun is that my hotel, which I booked a couple of years ago not anticipating I would be spending much time there, doesn't appear to have a hotel or room service, so I am packing some prepackaged food into my luggage to hopefully get me through the first few days.

There's a lot going on. It hasn't been an easy process. But, on this day next week, I should be hanging in my hotel room, watching the Opening Ceremonies (airing in the morning in the US for the first time ever) on my computer (if the wi-fi works). This will be almost like Sochi (watched in an airport in Moscow) and PyeongChang (watched in the check-in process at my accommodations), where I was unable to get to the ceremonies.

Here's hoping anyway.

The Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremonies are a week from today.