Originally Posted by
hailstorm
Japan has never once been "locked down", because the Constitution doesn't allow for it. Any time the streets of Tokyo became bare, it was entirely due to the self restraint of its residents. But they are no longer willing to refrain from doing things in numbers significant enough to have any effect on the usual crowding, so we're kind of in unchartered territory here.
The one card that the government hasn't played yet is requesting a broader variety of establishments to close, such as in the first emergency. I think that that's the only thing left that can be done to bring the numbers down until more of the population can be vaccinated.
Until they close Ginza shopping and the likes again, crowds are not going to subside substantially compared to now. To the untrained eye, Ginza does look crazily busy, but it is not really. Though of course the majority of the crowds that are gone are the foreign visitors. I think local Tokyo visits are back up to normal.
Domestic flights are still quite empty. I was in Sapporo for a quick stint Thursday, and while first class and Class J were full, Y was more than plenty open. If you want social distancing flying domestic these days, just stay in the back rows.