At surreal Olympics, a careful dance to push Tokyo tourism

Olympics host cities often offer the tens of thousands of visiting journalists excursions to advertise their tourist destinations

TOKYO -- The tour bus arrived after nightfall at the closed museum’s back door. Its passengers climbed out with reflective yellow bands dangling from their media credentials so they could be easily identified as journalists in quarantine for the Tokyo Olympic Games. The couple dozen in attendance had won a lottery to attend this after-hours tour of the museum that chronicles the city’s evolution from small fishing village to world-class Olympic host. They were ushered through the back door and into the otherwise-empty exhibition. The guide tried to put a positive spin on things. “It is open only for you,” she beamed. “You are VIPs.”