Planning Your Trip to Japan
The Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) has moved its Sydney office to Level 7, 36-38 Clarence St., Sydney NSW 2000. Travelers should note, however, that no staff is on hand to answer questions; rather it's a self-service room stocked with brochures, open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. For more information, go to www.jnto.org.au.
The Japan National Tourist Organization's website (www.jnto.go.jp) now offers sample 3-day itineraries for various regions throughout the country, including Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kansai, and Kyushu. A 3-day model tour of the Tokai region, for example, takes in the Ise Grand shrines, Toba with its Mikimoto Pearl Island, Shima Spain Mura amusement park, and a sightseeing cruise of Ago Bay.
Japan Airlines (www.ar.jal.com) has increased the frequency of its flights between New York and Tokyo to 14 weekly flights.
The East Japan Railway Company (JR East) has introduced an internet reservation system that allows overseas visitors to make reservations on many JR East long-distance rail lines before even arriving in to Japan. The system covers all JR East Shinkansen bullet trains heading north from Tokyo to destinations like Sendai, Morioka, Akita, Yamagata, Niigata, and Nagano, as well as some JR East Limited Express trains to popular spots like Izu Peninsula and the castle town of Matsumoto in the Japan Alps. To use the system, travelers must first register (free of charge) with a credit card; reservations can be made from three days to one month prior to the desired date of travel. Holders of the Japan Rail Pass can also make reservations, which are free with the pass. Unfortunately, the reservations system does not apply to lines run by other railway companies, including the very popular Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen to Kyoto, Hiroshima and beyond. For more information, go to https://jreast-shinkansen-reservation.eki-net.com.
Tokyo
Narita International Airport, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in May 2008, is finally building a new rapid rail system that will cut travel time to downtown Tokyo from one hour to 35 minutes, with completion slated for 2010. Other upgrades include a new luggage screening system, which finally eliminates the annoying security X-ray machines that were previously posted at all check-in counters. Japan Airlines has made check in even easier, with self check-in machines.
As if Tokyo's taxis weren't expensive enough, new fares now start at ¥710 instead of ¥660 as soon as you sit down, and the 30% surcharge tacked on for night trips now starts at 10 instead of 11pm. Passengers should be sure to buckle up; a new traffic law requires back-seat passengers to wear seat belts (offending drivers must pay a fine). The law also requires that drivers aged 75 or older display a sign informing other drivers than an elderly person is behind the wheel.
Shangri-La (www.shangri-la.com) has announced it will open a new upscale hotel in Tokyo, on the top 11 floors of the Marunouchi Trust Tower Main Building. The 202-room property, with two restaurants and a spa, is slated to open March 2009.
When visiting the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1 (site of a Tokyo tourist office and an observatory), be sure to stop by the second floor for changing exhibitions highlighting other prefectures in Japan, including brochures and locally made products.
Kyoto
Kyoto city has a new tourist website; www.kyoto.travel, providing the latest on festivals, sights, and other information in the ancient former capital, as well as blogs written by foreigners living in Kyoto.
In other Kyoto news, smoking is now prohibited in the downtown area; though the law's admonition "to strive not to smoke" may not be worded strongly enough to serve as a deterrence, the ¥1,000 ($9.50) fine probably will.
To make Kyoto more user-friendly than ever, visitors can now pick up free city maps and tourist guides in English at 7-Eleven stores and Starbucks coffee shops throughout the city, all open 365 days a year. Meanwhile, Kyoto is still basking in its 2008 number-one slot as TripAdvisor's best Asian destination.
Osaka
After years of falling sales due to increased competition and a shrinking population, Isetan and Mitsukoshi merged in April 2008, creating the biggest department store company in Japan and overtaking the number one position from Takashimaya. Current department stores are retaining their respective names, though a new outlet opening in 2011 in Osaka will be the first to bear the Isetan Mitsukoshi name.
Hokkaido
The Hokkaido Railway Company has introduced a Flexible 4-Day Pass in addition to its regular 3- and 5-day passes, allowing for any four days of travel within a 10-day period. All passes can be purchased outside Japan or in Hokkaido. For more information, go to www2.jrhokkaido.com.
A 2-hour drive north of Sapporo in the popular ski resort of Niseko, the Hilton Niseko Village (tel. 0136/34 1111; www.hiltonresorts.com) opened July 2008, with a ski-in, ski-out lounge, an après-ski bar, and open-air hot-spring baths. In summer, guests can tee off on an 18-hole course designed by Arnold Palmer.
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