What's New

Entry Requirements

Since late 2007, an anti-terrorism measure requires all foreigners entering Japan to be fingerprinted and photographed, despite the fact that terrorism in Japan has been mostly homegrown. Exceptions include children younger than 16, diplomats, and some permanent residents of Japan. Foreign travelers must also present passports for photocopying when checking into hotels and inns.

ATMs -- Getting cash has never been easier, thanks to 11,700 ATMs in 7-Eleven convenience stores throughout the country that now accept most foreign bank cards and credit cards. Better news yet: Most are open 24 hours.

Getting Around Japan

Nonsmokers can breathe easier now that most Japan Rail (JR) trains are entirely nonsmoking, including those in Hokkaido and those run by the JR East Group (covering Tokyo and Tohoku). JR Kyushu is now considering banning smoking as well.

Tokyo

After suffering more than 16 years under a sluggish economy, Tokyo is abuzz with many new developments, including new luxury hotels such as The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo, 9-7-1 Akasaka (tel. 800/241-3333 in the U.S. and Canada or 03/3423-8000); the new National Art Center, Tokyo, with its changing exhibits; the upscale Omotesando Hills shopping center in Harajuku; the huge urban development Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi, with Tokyo's tallest building; and a revamped Akihabara, which now boasts Japan's largest appliance store, an increasing number of anime and manga shops, and the Tokyo Anime Center.

Side Trips from Tokyo -- Architecture buffs are saddened to hear that Ryokan Inaba in Ito has closed; the cost of maintaining the 85-year-old inn, a registered National Treasure, was too great for innkeeper Mrs. Inaba. There's hope that the city will step in to preserve the venerable structure, just as it did when it turned an equally historic inn next door into a museum; even better would be a philanthropist who restores and keeps the inn running.

The Japan Alps

One of our favorite museums, the Inro Museum in Takayama, with its display of portable medicine cases and netsuke, has closed. Luckily, the mountain town has a wealth of other museums, including the new Showa Kan (tel. 0577/33-7836), which re-creates a Showa-era (1926-89) town and gives a nostalgic look into life in Japan in the not-too-distant past.

Kyoto

Fortunately, there aren't many changes in our favorite city, but the new Hyatt Regency Kyoto in Higashiyama-ku (tel. 800/233-1234 in the U.S. and Canada; www.hyattregencykyoto.com), is turning heads with its graceful blend of Asian and contemporary interiors, an 850-year-old garden that once belonged to an emperor, and a spa that offers everything from acupuncture to aromatherapy. Travelers' desires for modern comfort has trickled down to budget accommodations, prompting the fourth-generation owner of Kyoraku Ryokan (tel. 075/371-1260; www.ryokankyoraku.jp) and the sixth-generation innkeeper of Matsubaya Ryokan (tel. 075/351-3727; www.matsubayainn.com) to tear down their aging structures and rebuild. Kyoraku Ryokan is already open; Matsubaya Ryokan is scheduled to reopen in autumn 2009.

The Rest of Western Honshu

Nagoya has joined a growing roster of cities that make it easier to get around with a dedicated sightseeing bus, eliminating the 20-minute round-trip hike it used to take to get to the Tokugawa Art Museum.

In Kanazawa, the Ishikawa Prefectural Art Museum (tel. 076/231-7580; www.ishibi.pref.ishikawa.jp) is closed for a much-needed renovation until the end of 2008. Until then, some of the museum's wonderful collection of paintings, Kutani pottery, and other items dating from Japan's Feudal Era are on display at the Ishikawa Prefectural History Museum, 3-1 Dewa-machi (tel. 076/262-3236) -- with the exception, alas, of the art museum's national treasures.

Visitors have been flocking to Mount Koya since it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. To make access easier, cheaper, and more convenient, a discount ticket, called Koyasan Free Service, has been introduced that includes round-trip train travel from Osaka, the cable car to Mount Koya, unlimited bus travel atop the mountain, and slight discounts to attractions. Another great addition is the rental audio guide available at the Koyasan tourist office, which imparts invaluable information on Mount Koya's many historic sights and is almost like having a personal guide.

Okayama Prefecture began opening a handful of International Villas (www.harenet.ne.jp/villa) approximately 20 years ago, located in picturesque rural areas and open only to foreigners and their Japanese guests at very low rates. Low occupancy, however, has prompted the Okayama government to open all but one of the five villas to Japanese and foreigners alike.

In Kurashiki, some travelers may be disappointed to learn that Ryokan Kurashiki (tel. 086/422-0730; www.ryokan-kurashiki.jp), which used to be a rambling 17-room affair, filled with antiques and curios, has undergone a major renovation that reduced accommodations to only five luxurious two- and three-room suites, naturally at much higher prices.

Regrettably, one of Matsue's best museums, the Louis C. Tiffany Museum and Gardens, has closed. No word yet on where the world's largest Tiffany collection will resurface.

Shikoku

Takamatsu boasts one of Japan's most convenient and best public computer centers, courtesy of Kagawa Prefecture, which opened E-Topia Kagawa next to Takamatsu Station to boost its citizens' technical know-how. Best of all, use of one of the center's 28 computers is free.

Benesse Art Site Naoshima, Japan's top destination for cutting-edge art, opened three new Art House Projects in September 2007, doubling the number of old buildings that have been remodeled by artists into interactive art installations that you can visit with a general admission ticket (two other works require reservations). Of course, general admission has also doubled.

Kyushu

Kyushu's biggest news is that Ocean Dome, the world's largest all-weather indoor water park, closed in Miyazaki.

Tohoku

Kakunodate, one of northern Japan's most engaging former castle towns, is even more fun to visit now that several more Feudal-Era samurai houses have opened to the public in the Bukeyashiki district. Rental bikes at the station make it even easier to travel down memory lane.

Hokkaido

Obtaining information about Hokkaido, which constitutes its own prefecture, has never been easier now that the Hokkaido-Sapporo Tourist Information Center has opened in Sapporo Station in Sapporo. There's even a Japan Rail information counter here, where visitors can obtain JR train and bus schedules and get rail passes validated, as well as an Internet cafe.

Sadly, the Sapporo Beer Museum, which used to include tours of its brewery until it shut down in 2003 but continued to give free guided tours describing the brewing process, has now dispensed even with that, making a walk past displays described only in Japanese frustrating at best. Even worst, Sapporo brewery got rid of its outdoor beer garden, one of Sapporo's best summertime institutions. You can still dine in the brewery's historic Kessel Hall, though its name, the Sapporo Bier Garten, is a misnomer.

Hakodate, which opened as one of Japan's first international ports at the end of the Feudal Era but then languished as a mere stopover for travelers entering Hokkaido, has blossomed in recent years as a chic destination, with its burgeoning waterfront warehouse district with shops and restaurants and historic district of turn-of-the-20th-century Western-style homes, churches, and other buildings. Emblematic of Hakodate's rejuvenation is the Hakodate Danshaku Club Hotel & Resorts (tel. 0138/21-1111), a locally owned hotel that opened in 2007, offering suites with balconies and -- rare in Japan -- fully stocked kitchens. Who cares that it's named after a potato?

The best reason for visiting Sounkyo village in Daisetsuzan National Park used to be spectacular Soukyo Gorge. A rock avalanche, however, closed off road access. Although determined sightseers can catch glimpses of the gorge from a few vantage points, the main reasons for visiting Sounkyo now are its picturesque sights and hiking trails.