'Welcome to the Olympics in the pandemic era': What it's like for an Aussie arriving in Japan
Touching down in Tokyo for the Olympics Games it's clear there is one thing missing: excitement.
No big mascots at the airports dancing when you step off the plane, no bands playing, no media throng descending on the athletes as they walk through the gates.
In its place there are reams of paperwork to navigate, a COVID-19 saliva test upon arrival and apps you must download on your phone so authorities can trace your every move.
Welcome to the Olympics in the pandemic era.
READ MORE: Olympic Village workers test positive for COVID-19 in Tokyo
Today Show reporter Christine Ahern has landed in Tokyo for a very different style of Olympic Games. Christine Ahern
I have been fortunate enough to cover five previous Olympic Games, and every one of those had their own challenges.
Athens almost didn't get finished on time, Beijing and London had threats of terrorism, while crime ran rampant in Rio.
Sydney had its obstacles too, but staged before the events of 9/11, it was one giant care-free street party we can only dream of today.
Tokyo though will be a Games like no other.
READ MORE: Delayed Olympics video game releases in Australia
Everyone is asked to undertake a saliva sample COVID-19 test. Christine Ahern
On the day we arrive the city is plunged back into its fourth state of emergency as it battles another surge in COVID cases.
Restaurants, bars and clubs are forced to shut at 8pm and the sale of alcohol in many businesses is banned. The party is over before it even began.
After touching down in Tokyo, It takes us three hours to get through the airport and past all the strict protocols before we can finally head to the hotel.
No one is exempt from these procedures, including the athletes.
Japan is doing everything it can to keep more cases from coming into the country.
Just like the athletes we have to head straight to our accommodation.
READ MORE: Palaszczuk not travelling to Tokyo 'would be a disaster'
Planes en route to the Olympics are deserted with passengers deliberately sat apart onboard. Christine Ahern
For the next two weeks, we can only be in our hotel or at a designated Olympic site.
Lunch and dinner is from the nearby mini-mart we are allowed to frequent for 15 minutes. COVID tests are daily.
Athletes are confined to the village, and will fly out straight after their events.
But despite all the rules and regulations, they are just happy the Games are on, one year after they were postponed.
READ MORE: Professor says upcoming Olympics will be 'very different'
One of many paperwork and registration checks at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Christine Ahern
Australian sailor Nia Jerwood, competing in her first Olympics at 23, is on our near-empty plane into Tokyo.
"They are there to keep us safe, and I'm just here to do the best I can in the sport," she says of the protocols.
Jerwood says she is not bothered by competing in front of empty stands.
"I'm a sailor so I don't really mind … I'm just relieved to be here competing," she says.
There might be no crowds, no parties, no clubs, no fun, but for these athletes just being here in Tokyo is a victory in itself.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
