Tokyo Narita airport’s baggage claim has become a cardboard box hotel for arriving international passengers awaiting their coronavirus test result.
Asian governments that initially controlled the coronavirus outbreak are increasingly concerned about local transmission originating from imported cases as residents return home from outbreak hotspots in Europe and North America.
Narita’s cardboard beds provide a waiting space for international arriving passengers who cannot be picked up by family and friends in a private car.
To limit the possible spread of coronavirus, the Japanese government prohibits passengers from using public transport. Connecting domestic flights cannot be taken. Even taxis are a no-go, although it would be an expensive proposition at upwards of US$300 given Narita’s distance from Tokyo.
The cardboard beds have a futon that is “pretty good,” according to an online review from a passenger who arrived at Narita on an All Nippon Airways flight from Vietnam. The passenger spent one day at the makeshift waiting location.