travel news review

12 April '99
Japan Airlines has banned smoking on all international flights as of last week. Some relief is at hand, however, for those smokers struggling to make it through a long flight. A small, cigarette-shaped, plastic tube will be given to passengers to help suppress the urge to smoke. An airline spokeswoman said the substitutes were 'for oral gratification'. The smoking ban came after surveys showed that most passengers support non-smoking flights.

12 April '99
The town of Atami, on Japan's Izu-hanto Peninsula, has converted a former hotel into an art gallery in an effort to boost tourism. The once popular hot spring resort has, like many Japanese resorts, experienced a decline in visitor numbers. Tourist numbers have fallen by over 200,000 in the last three years. The previously closed hotel now houses art exhibitions, the first of which featured works from young, local artists. Atami tourism officials plan to revamp other hotels as tourist attractions. Atami is an easy day-trip from Tokyo, and a bullet train will get you there in less than two hours.

24 March '99
The latest Japanese super-express bullet train made its first commercial run last week. The Nozomi 700 was designed for greater passenger comfort and space, rather than for record speeds. Nonetheless the train travels at 285 kph (177mph) and reaches from Tokyo to Hakata, in southwest Kyushu, in just five hours.

4 March '99
After four years of renovation at Tokyo's Narita Airport, Terminal 1 will reopen on 16 March. There are now 156 check-in counters as well as showers, restaurants, duty free stores and small shops. While most of these services were available at the newer Terminal 2, renovations to Terminal 1 will improve services for all passengers.

5 February '99
A new zoo is scheduled to open in Yokohama on 24 April. The zoo will be the largest in Japan, covering an area of 53.3 hectares (131.6 acres). All the animals will be enclosed in areas as 'natural' as possible with no cages or small enclosures. The new zoo may not appeal to everyone but it could nevertheless be a good day out.

11 January '99
The fastest and best known train services in Japan, the bullet trains, know as shinkansen or super expresses in Japan, will be removed from service during 1999. The shinkansen will be replaced by a new and, believe it or not, faster train service. The original bullet trains commenced running in Japan in 1964, with the first service between Tokyo and Osaka.

23 December '98
Air travellers in Japan can enjoy the benefits of a domestic fare price war between established airlines and a new discount carrier, Skymark. Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan Air have all announced new discount fares on popular domestic routes. Skymark has been offering fares for almost half the price of the established fares. As a second discount airline, Hokkaido International Airlines Co., was launched last week, the domestic fare price war may continue for some time yet.

Japan Airlines has announced a new service between Tokyo and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The flights will leave Tokyo on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and will return from Dallas on these same days. The new flights will commence on 15 March next year. Japan Airlines has also announced it will discontinue its Tokyo-Atlanta flights from March next year.

21 December '98
Reduced passenger demand for flights to and from Japan has seen a considerable drop in the number of international flights in the past few months. United Airlines has cancelled its flights between Kansai International Airport and Honolulu and Northwest Airlines has cancelled flights from Nagoya to Honolulu.

Spain's Iberia Airlines has cancelled its Madrid - Tokyo flights and Air France recently announced it will cancel its Paris - Nagoya flights next March. The Asian economic crisis is seen as the cause for the drop in the number of Japanese travelling abroad .

11 December '98
A number of shrines and temples in the ancient Japanese capital of Nara have been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Todai-ji Temple, the largest wooden building in the world and home to the Great Buddha, Kofuku-ji Temple and Kasuga Taisha Shrine are included on the list. This is the second World Heritage listing for Nara; in 1993 Buddhist monuments at Horyu-ji Temple were added to the list. Nara is the second most popular tourist attraction in Kansai after Kyoto. Its many museums, temples and parks make the city a rewarding sightseeing destination.

9 November '98
The US airline, Northwest Airlines, now accepts air ticket reservations and ticket purchases through its Japanese web site. Northwest Airlines is the only non-Japanese airline to offer online ticket sales in Japan and the site also covers flights by Northwest Airlines partner, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The Northwest Airlines site is in English, all ticket sales are in yen, and but there will also be a Japanese version of the online ticket site shortly.

21 October '98
Typhoon Zeb has now swept over three countries, killing more than 100 people and causing untold destruction. Last week more than 80 people died in the Philippines when Typhoon Zeb hit the northern islands, causing floods and landslides that swept away flimsy homes. Over 30,000 people were evacuated and thousands of hectares of rice paddies were destroyed. Zeb reached 'super typhoon' status at its peak, with winds measured at over 241 kph (150mph). In Taiwan the typhoon caused further damage and domestic flights to Kaohsiung and nearby islands were cancelled. Zeb has been the first typhoon to hit Japan in eight years, and it struck on the weekend, causing hundreds of landslides and killing at least 10 people. Its typhoon status has since eased into a tropical storm.

21 September '98
It's a combination of money and raw fish that makes for a long life in Japan. Japan now has more than 10,000 residents over the age of 100 and claims to have the world's longest living population. The average life expectancy for women in Japan is 83.82, while for men it is 77.19 years. Its is believed Japan's high income levels, high levels of health care and traditional low fat diet have all contributed to the high numbers of people living past 100.

21 September '98
Smoking will be banned on Japan's major airlines, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, from early 1999. Smoking will be banned on All Nippon Airways from 28 March, and on Japan Airlines from 1 April. All Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways domestic flight are non-smoking.

31 August '98
British Airways direct flights from London to Osaka have been cancelled following a year of poor passenger demand. The airline had operated three flights per week Osaka but falling passenger numbers and the general economic decline in the Asian region has resulted in poor returns on the route. British Airways will continue direct flights from London to Tokyo.

5 August '98
Boots, the British health and beauty company, is about to open up shop in Japan, following the signing of agreement between Boots and Mitsubishi Corporation. The stores will stock a range of medicines and cosmetics, including international brands as well as the Boots own No 7 cosmetics. Boots will open four stores in Tokyo next year and if all goes well, the company expects there will eventually be at least 400 Boots stores across Japan.

28 July '98
More than 7700 convenience stores in Japan will shortly be able to sell All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines airline tickets. All Nippon Airways electronic tickets will be available in convenience stores in August, while JAL tickets will be available in October. Japan Travel Bureau (JTB) will install and maintain the electronic ticketing system.

22 July '98
Japan Air Systems, Japan's third largest airline, has announced a ban on smoking on all domestic flights. Japan has been one of the last countries to ban smoking on airlines. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways will ban smoking on domestic flights later this year. The move to ban smoking on domestic flights is a real win for non-smokers in Japan, a country that has a large smoking population and very few rules about where and when you can smoke.

15 July '98
A new railway station will open later this year at Haneda Airport, Tokyo's domestic terminal, linking it to the city's central metropolitan area. The operators of the Haneda line also plan to offer a new line which will directly link southern Haneda Airport Station with northern Narita International airport, enabling passengers to transfer between the two airports without changing trains.

8 July '98
A heat wave in Japan has claimed seven lives and dozens of people have been hospitalized with heat-related illness, mainly sunstroke. The temperature in Tokyo peaked at 36°C (97°F) on the weekend and caught many Japanese unprepared. Temperatures in Tokyo generally remain around 25°C (80°F) during the summer.

1 July '98
The Japanese Transport Ministry has approved an extra 202 air services per week from TokyoÆs Narita Airport. The announcement allows for extra time slots when airlines can take-off or land at the airport. Under the arrangements Japanese carriers will be able to run 43 more flights a week, while US carriers will only be allowed nine extra flights.

27 May '98
A fire in the Edo-period hall at the Todai-ji Buddhist temple in Nara has damaged 13 statutes, some of which date from the 8th century. The main Buddhist statue in the hall, Senju Kannon or Great Buddha, was damaged, as was the sitting image of Ganjin. Both of these statues are recorded as among Japan's significant cultural assets. The Edo-period hall is in the Todai-ji temple complex, which comprises about 30 halls with hundreds of Buddhist statues, many designated as national treasures of Japan.

20 May '98
Three of JapanÆs major airlines - Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan Air System - have announced a ban on smoking on all domestic flights. Currently the airlines have banned smoking on many shorter domestic flights and the total ban will come into effect on 1 September for JAL and JAS flights and 1 October for ANA flights. The airlines have made no announcement on banning smoking on their international flights.

6 May '98
The oldest amusement park in western Japan will close at the end of May. The Tamateyama Amusement Park in Osaka opened in 1908 but in recent years it has not been able to attract visitors and suffered financial losses. Park owners may in the future reopen the park as a nature reserve.

22 April '98
Foreign residents in Japan starving for information in their native languages will be pleased with the announcement that a Tokyo-based company plans to produce weekly multilingual video magazines this summer. The two hour video magazine will feature news and TV programs broadcast in eight languages - Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai and Urdu/Hindi.

15 April '98
Despite Buddhism having an estimated 300 million followers, Buddhist leaders met recently in Japan to look at ways to increase the popularity of the religion, especially among the young. Buddhism has suffered declining numbers of followers in recent years, particularly in South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan. Buddhist leaders blame increased materialism among the young and the growth of other religions, such as Christianity and Islam, for the decline in the number of followers.

At a cost of more than US$7 billion, the worldÆs longest bridge has opened in Japan. The suspension bridge, which is 3.8km (2.4mi) long, connects the city of Kobe with Shikoku Island in the south west. Local authorities hope the bridge will attract tourists to the island of Shikoku, which is predominantly rural and far from the standard tourist trail.

8 April '98
Self-service service stations have finally made it to Japan, more than twenty years after self-serve petrol was first made available in other parts of the world. Only a small number of stations have been converted to self-serve as most oil companies, not sure how the idea will take off in Japan, are waiting to see what customer response is to the new self-serve stations.

11 March '98
Katsuo Katugoru surprised both himself and his fellow Tokyo tube passengers last week when his underpants suddenly inflated to 30 times their original size. Katsuo, who wears his rubber underwear to allay fears of being drowned in a tidal wave, continued his Michelin man impression until a passenger stabbed his bum floaties with a pencil.

18 February '98
Foreigners living in Japan can now turn to ‘Q&A: A Guide to Your Life in Japan’, a new government guide book to be published in late February. The 376 page guide is produced by counselors in the Tokyo government, and covers a huge range of information on subjects such as marriage, medical treatment, insurance and welfare. It comes in English, French, Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Japanese and draws on the ten years of experience of the Foreign Residents' Advisory Center in Shinjuku.

14 January '98
Three new bullet train services have been announced in Japan. The new services will operate between Hachinohe and Shin Aomori in Northern Honshu, Nagano and Joetsu in Central Honshu and Funakoya and Shin Yatsushiro in Kyushu. The construction of the lines will commence in March this year.