Orient Your Attention to the East with These Japanipackages

August 4, 2003 -- The tourism industry in Japan seems to have awakened after a year-long snooze, devising bargains galore for foreign visitors. Even staid old Japan Air Lines is doing its thing, dishing up a bevy of packages to points across the country.

Fans of anime and manga take heed of JAL's "Hello Kiddies" tour. Starting from $1,804 for November 2003 to March 2004 departures out of Honolulu or Kona into Osaka ($1,141 into Tokyo), you'll visit theme parks and museums that center around Japan's unique forms of animation and graphic novels. The Tokyo tour includes Sanrio Puroland a theme park featuring Hello Kitty (a big hit with 7 year old girls and ravers alike) and Tokyo Disneyland. The Osaka tour features tours of a Tezuka Osamu Manga Museum (go Astro Boy!) and Universal Studios Japan. Each package includes roundtrip air on Japan Airlines (one of the world's best for service, safety and comfort), five nights of hotel lodging, admission to theme parks, escorted city tours, and most airport and ground transportation. Additional departures run between $40-$80 more out of Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, San Francisco and Vancouver. Prices are per person based on double occupancy and don't include up to $180 in additional taxes and security fees. Travel dates near Christmas and New Year's jump about $350 per person, so avoid that period if possible.

Music-lovers should take note of the "16th Annual JAL Otobutai Concert Tour Package," which runs from just $969, including roundtrip airfare from any of Japan Airlines' US or Canadian gateways, a complimentary ticket to one of the Otobutai concerts, five nights of hotel accommodations, a half-day city tour in Kyoto, and an airport limo bus transfer. This year, Obtobutai features Sarah Brightman and Yundi Li, who won first prize at the Chopin International Piano Competition. Your ticket gets you in to the concert, to be held at Manpukuji temple in Kyoto, on September 7, 2003.

If you want more than just Japan, the airline has a nine-day (seven-night) package to Tokyo, Kyoto and Hong Kong, starting from $1,537 per person (not including taxes and airport fees). In addition to the air transport and hotels, you get escorted tours plus most airport and ground transport.

For details of these three Japan Airlines packages, go to www.japanair.com/e/travelplan/vacation.

That indefatigable group in Washington State, Go-Today.com, is offering an equally enticing package to Japan which gives you three nights in Tokyo and three in Kyoto, with a full day tour of Mt. Fuji and Hakone. You can add on extra nights in either city or extend your return to see more of the country. Included are roundtrip air, the six nights in two hotels, the excursion, bullet train to Kyoto, and more, they say. The travel dates are from September 3, 2003 through March 31, 2004. The base price for this package starts from $1,049 for several east and west coast gateways.

For more information, or to book, go to www.go-today.com/JP_FGTK.ASP.

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