1.🔊 TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s major tour bus firm Hato Bus Co. resumed its operations on Monday following the lifting of a coronavirus state of emergency for the Tokyo area, allowing passengers to enjoy fresh air and cherry blossoms in full bloom from an open top bus.

2.🔊 The Japanese government on Sunday lifted the state of emergency for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures, where restrictions had remained since early January, as the availability of hospital beds had improved in the region.

3.🔊 “I have been working from home for a long time and had no chance to go out. So, (cherry blossoms) cheered me up very much,” Masumi Ishii, a passenger, told Reuters after the tour.

4.🔊 On Hato Bus’s open-top sightseeing bus that departed Tokyo station on Monday, all the 25 seats available on the upper deck were filled with passengers. They enjoyed taking pictures and reached out for cherry blossom petals along the roads.

5.🔊 “Frankly, I am very happy that we could resume this course,” said Satomi Yoshizuka, a tour conductor. “We are taking measures and preparations so that our customers can attend without anxiety.”

6.🔊 Passengers are required to put face masks on and undergo temperature checks. Although the government, eager to jumpstart the economy, lifted the state of emergency, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga last week noted infections were creeping up and pleaded with citizens not to let down their guard.

Discussion

1.🔊 Have you ever tried the Hato Bus tour?

2.🔊 Would you like to go out for drinking?