The e-mail address for enquiries to the Japan National Tourist Organization in Australia has changed to jnto@tokyonet.com.au.
Getting There
Passengers flying Japan Airlines (www.japanair.com) are now able to use their own wireless laptops to view live news, financial reports, and sports shows when flying on certain aircraft equipped with an enhanced JAL Inflight Internet Service. Passengers flying between Tokyo and London, New York, or Chicago can also hook up to high-speed Internet access during their flights. Japan Airlines has also increased its nonstop service between Chicago and Tokyo, with two flights daily. On flights from Chicago or New York to Tokyo, passengers traveling business and first class are offered "Free Style Dining," allowing them to order their second meal any time they wish. Finally, in other JAL news, the airline has completed the first step in becoming a member of Oneworld, an airline alliance that includes American Airlines.
Passengers flying Virgin Atlantic (www.virginatlantic.com) on the London-Tokyo route can now learn basic phrases or brush up on their language skills by tuning into a Japanese language course offered by the airline's inflight entertainment system.
Tokyo
Get the latest by reading our What's New: An Online Update for Frommer's Tokyo.
Hakone
The Hakone Ropeway between Owakudani and Togendai is closed until the end of May 2007 due to an installation of a new system. During this time, buses will transfer travelers between the two stations. The ropeway remains in operation from Sounzan to Owakudani.
Kyoto
Hyatt Regency Kyoto, 644-2 Mawarimachi, Higashiyama-ku (tel. 75/541-1235; www.hyatt.com), is the newest luxury hotel in Kyoto. Occupying the former Park Hotel in the historic Higashiyama district near Sanjusangendo Hall, it offers 188 rooms which combine traditional Japanese aesthetics with modern conveniences, Japanese and Italian restaurants, a spa, and fitness center. Among its finest features is an 850-year-old Japanese garden.
Osaka
After almost 30 years in a former out-of-the-way Expo site, the National Museum of Art, Osaka, closed down and relocated to a completely underground facility on the western edge of the centrally located Nakanoshima district at 4-2-55 Nakanoshima (tel. 06/6447-4680; www.nmao.go.jp), about a 20-minute walk from Osaka JR Station. It features global art from ancient to modern times in changing exhibitions, as well as works by modern European, American, and Japanese artists. It's open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm.
Naoshima
Naoshima, an island in the Seto Inland Sea known mostly for its Benesse House Art Museum and other contemporary works of art, is now the unlikely home of the world's first permanent museum devoted entirely to James Bond. Chosen because of its setting in Raymond Benson's 2002 novel The Man with the Red Tattoo, Naoshima has opened the 007 The Man with the Red Tattoo Museum in Miyanoura, just a minute's walk from the ferry dock (tel. 087/892-2299). Free to the public, the small museum aims to promote Naoshima as a Bond location on a national scale (the Japanese have always been big Bond fans), introduce visitors to James Bond 007 novels, and exhibit memorabilia related to the novels and films. It's open daily 9am to 5pm.
In other Naoshima news, the island has opened an encampment of PAO (Mongolian yurts) at Tsutsuji-so (tel. 087/892-2838), offering inexpensive lodging for ¥3,675 ($35) per person. Equipped with beds, a table and chairs, the yurts are located on a beach not far from the Benesse House Art Museum. Set meals, which cost extra, are served in a communal dining room.
Fukuoka
Work has started on Fukuoka's new JR Hakata Station building, slated for completion in 2011 to coincide with the opening of a new Shinkansen bullet train which will link Fukuoka with Kumamoto in 24 minutes. Hakata Station, Fukuoka's main train station, will remain open during the renovation. Meanwhile, Fukuoka has submitted a bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics to the Japanese Olympic Committee, which will make a decision August 30. Competing against Fukuoka for the honor is Tokyo, which last hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964.
In nearby Dazaifu, the Kyushu National Museum (tel. 092/918-2807), which opened in October 2005, welcomed 1.34 million visitors in its first six months, nearly eight times the initial projections. In May, the museum announced partnerships with two museums in South Korea, which will bring collections from the Buyeo National Museum and the Gongju National Museum to Kyushu, further strengthening the Kyushu National Museum's aim to foster historic ties between the two nations.
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