Travel Insurance for a trip to Japan
Japan offers amazing food, culture, onsens, temples and more. Make sure you're covered for emergency medical expenses, baggage and more.
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Japan is an extraordinary country that offers countless opportunities to wander around historic temples, get active in the great outdoors, relax in steaming onsens and enjoy delicious Japanese cuisine. Whether experiencing the bustling markets and nightlife in Tokyo, exploring the imperial palaces in Kyoto or marveling at Mount Fuji is on the cards, including travel insurance in your trip planning could be a smart idea.
Your World Nomads policy may include:
- Trip cancellation and interruption cover
- Overseas emergency medical expenses
- 24/7 access to our dedicated Emergency Assistance team
- Cover for 150+ activities and sports
- Lost, delayed or stolen baggage cover
What should you look for in a travel insurance policy for a trip to Japan?
An emergency situation affecting your travel plans could spell disaster for you and your wallet. A sick parent, natural disaster, ski accident in Niseko or swiped phone in Shibuya can derail your trip. Travel insurance is designed to cover losses resulting from these types of unforeseeable and emergency circumstances.
A travel insurance plan that includes trip cancellation and interruption coverage can help protect your travel investment and should also provide cover for your baggage and personal effects, as well as emergency medical cover in case you become sick or injured while on your trip. Travel insurance does not cover everything, so read your policy in full to ensure it meets your needs.
What’s covered
Trip cancellation and interruption
Illness and accidents can happen unexpectedly. If you get sick or injured and a doctor says you can’t travel, you may be able to recover non-refundable, prepaid costs. If you need to cut your trip short due to a sudden family death or a serious medical emergency, your policy’s trip-interruption benefits may cover the cost of your expenses to return home, along with your unused, prepaid, non-refundable trip costs.
Since natural disasters like earthquakes, cyclones and tsunamis can happen in Japan, you may also be protected under your plan’s trip cancellation and interruption covered risk for travel advisory. If, after you have booked your trip and purchased your World Nomads travel insurance plan, an official Canadian government body or health authority issues an advisory against travel to a destination, country or region listed on your itinerary, you may be eligible for trip cancellation or trip interruption benefits.
When you file a claim for cancellation or interruption, you will need to submit documentation of all your unused, non-refundable, prepaid trip costs and associated expenses.
Overseas emergency medical expenses
You may want to consider travel insurance that can cover overseas emergency medical expenses, as Canada and Japan do not have reciprocal healthcare agreements. If you become sick or injured without the right cover for emergency medical expenses, you will have to pay any out-of-pocket medical costs, dental expenses or even worse, emergency medical evacuation back to Canada.
Medical care can be expensive and bureaucratic in Japan. While Japan offers universal health care for residents and those staying more than a year, everyone else is expected to carry some form of travel insurance with coverage for the treatment of sudden illness or injuries with them at all times. Doctors may refuse to treat you without it.
If that Sumo wrestling match gets a little rowdy and you’re injured in the crowd, or you twist your ankle climbing up the stairs to a Kyoto temple, travel insurance may cover your emergency medical expenses. And in the event of severe illness or injury, if a doctor recommends that you be transported to a hospital in your home province for emergency medical treatment, you may be covered for a medical evacuation or repatriation.
For information on COVID-related coverage, read our Travel Insurance & Covid-19 article.
24/7 Emergency Assistance
Handling a medical or other emergency can be daunting, but with a World Nomads travel insurance policy, you’re not alone. Our 24/7 Emergency Assistance Team may help you find appropriate medical care, liaise with doctors and other medical personnel, and help with arrangements including upfront payment of medical care if deemed necessary.
Japanese is not the easiest language for travellers to master. If you’re having a medical emergency and can’t find an English-speaking doctor, World Nomads may be able to help with translation services.
Coverage for sports and activities in Japan
If you’re headed to Japan to paddle board on Iriomote Island, bike around the Noto Peninsula or surf one of Japan’s many Pacific swells, World Nomads offers travel insurance coverage for more than 150 activities, sports, work and volunteer experiences. Your World Nomads policy also may provide cover for sports equipment and gear if it is damaged, lost or stolen during your trip to Japan (except while in use). You must list your planned activities when you purchase your policy. More adventurous pursuits may require that you pay an additional premium.
Delayed, lost or stolen baggage
When travelling to Japan, especially if your itinerary requires connecting flights, your luggage could take a detour. And petty theft like pickpocketing can be common in tourist areas, even in safe countries like Japan. World Nomads may cover the loss, theft or damage to your baggage, sporting equipment or personal belongings.
if your baggage is delayed by your airline or ground carrier for 12 hours or more while you are on your trip, your baggage-delay benefits may reimburse you for personal care items and a change of clothes until your bags catch up with you.
Travel insurance may also provide reimbursement towards the cost to replace lost or damaged baggage, personal belongings and sporting equipment. Read your policy in full to understand how depreciation can affect your claim.
If your bags or possessions have been damaged, lost or stolen, file an incident report with the relevant authorities immediately. You’ll need this documentation and receipts when you file a claim. Travel insurance is secondary to the baggage loss benefits provided by your common carrier. And remember, travel insurance won’t cover losses due to policyholder recklessness (e.g. overindulging in Sake and leaving your expensive jacket in a bar).
What’s not covered?
There are exclusions that apply to your travel insurance coverage. Things that won’t be covered by travel insurance include but are not limited to:
- Medical evacuation or repatriation for any incidents or events related to drug or alcohol abuse, or that is not pre-authorized by our emergency assistance team.
- Trip cancellation for events that occurred before your policy was purchased (natural disaster, strike, etc.)
- Leaving your possessions behind, or not being careful with your belongings and they get stolen.
This is only a summary of coverage and does not include the full terms and conditions of the policy. It is important you read and understand your policy as it contains benefits, conditions, exclusions and pre-existing condition exclusions. If you do not understand your coverage, or if you have questions, just ask us.
Travel Insurance Benefits: how we can take care of you
Trip Cancellation
Protect your hard earned vacation from unexpected cancellation.
- Explorer Plan: $5,000
- Standard Plan: $2,500
Trip Protection
- Unexpectedly hospitalised?
- Travel buddy unfit to travel?
- Close relative suddenly dies?
We’ve got your back.
Emergency Medical Insurance
Take the pain out of medical or dental costs.
- Explorer Plan: $10 million
- Standard Plan: $5 million
Emergency Medical Insurance
- Need meds quick?
- Accidentally injured?
- Suddenly sick?
We’ve got your back.
Emergency Evacuation & Repatriation
We’ll get you to hospital or home quickly.
- Explorer Plan: $500,000
- Standard Plan: $500,000
Emergency Evacuation & Repatriation
- Banged up abroad?
- Need a hospital urgently?
- Medivac home?
Help starts here.
Protect your gear
Covers the theft, damage or delay of your bags, tech and sports gear.
- Explorer Plan: $3,000
- Standard Plan: $1,000
Protect your gear
- Passport stolen?
- Airline lost your gear?
- Bags delayed?
Help starts here.
- Emergency Medical Expenses
- Emergency Dental for Injury or Sickness
- Bedside Companion Travel and Subsistence
- Emergency Professional Services
- Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation
- Return of Travel Companion/Dependent Children
- Return to Your Trip Destination
- Return of Remains
- Travel Accident
- Flight Accident
- Trip Cancellation
- Trip Interruption
- Trip Delay
- Baggage and Personal Effects Theft or Damage
- Baggage and Sporting Equipment Delay
- Travel Documents Theft or Damage
- Sporting Equipment Theft or Loss by a Common Carrier
- Covered Adventure Sports listed in Policy
Assistance Services Included
- LiveTravelTM Emergency Assistance
- Worldwide Travel Assistance
- Adventure Travel Hotline
- 24/7 Security
- Travel Medical Assistance
- Bag Trak
24/7 emergency assistance
Whether you need medical or dental assistance or advice, emergency evacuation or travel assistance, our team are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year before and during your trip.
Are you in need of emergency assistance right now?
Telephone +1 866 878 0192 (toll-free from Canada and the Continental U.S.) or +1 416 646 3723 (collect from anywhere else in the world)
Contact the teamTravel insurance. Simple & flexible.
Travel insurance for independent travelers and intrepid families. Nobody wants to think about all the things that could go wrong on their trip, but these things can and do happen. So be prepared and get your travel insurance today.
Before your trip, check the latest government advice – for your destination and any travel alerts including important COVID-19 coverage advisory and limitations.