Mission accomplished for Japan’s Travel Volunteers?
January 12, 2012 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
by Hiroko Denno
As we reported back in November, the Travel Volunteer Project, which reached the finish line just over two weeks ago at the end of 2011, was one of the more ambitious and far-ranging PR-driven travel schemes we’ve yet come across.
The brainchild of a travel agency in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, the Project recruited two Britons who had never before set foot in Japan to travel the country’s 47 prefectures in 100 days, posting daily blogs from the road.
Its goal? To tell the world that Japan is as safe and fascinating as it ever was, regardless of the awful events of March 11 last year.
Of the 1,897 applicants from 85 different countries, photographer Katy Morrison and writer Jamie Lafferty were chosen to undertake the mission.
The couple embarked on their journey on September 15 from Kanazawa Station, returning there to complete the circuit on December 23, just two days before Christmas.
10 best travel products for 2012
December 22, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
Travel can bring out the idiosyncrasies in everyone. Just read this for some proof.
For all those looking to get teched up in 2012, we matched the most typical travel personae with the best new products.
1. The technological determinist: iPhone lens dial
You know the guy; he frowns at the girl with the Nokia E71 like she’s an escaped Amish milkmaid.
When it comes to photos, the technological determinist believes the iPhone breathes eternal digital life to all real-life experiences.
Travel advent calendar: 24 Christmas travel ideas
December 1, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
Too often the weeks leading up to Christmas are spent panicking about gifts, worrying about having too little food, worrying about having too much food and feeling guilty about opening 15 of your chocolate advent calendar windows on December 1.
We’ve found the solution.
Some great festivals, traditions and events take place around the world during December, so here’s a travel advent calendar you can open in one shot without crying.
Travel advent calendar: 24 Christmas travel ideas
December 1, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
Too often the weeks leading up to Christmas are spent panicking about gifts, worrying about having too little food, worrying about having too much food and feeling guilty about opening 15 of your chocolate advent calendar windows on December 1.
We’ve found the solution.
Some great festivals, traditions and events take place around the world during December, so here’s a travel advent calendar you can open in one shot without crying.
Travel Volunteers: Around Japan in 100 days
November 7, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
Amid the contradictory
headlines, claims and counter-claims about the state of tourism in Japan
post-March 11, one thing is clear — the triple disasters knocked the industry
and the people who depend on it to their knees.
Travel bookings
were down so badly at one travel agent in Ishikawa Prefecture, the firm moved
to take matters into its own hands and invite the world to come see for itself
that travel in Japan is as safe and rewarding as ever.
Taking action
“We couldn’t
wait for recovery action or plans conducted by someone,” says Aya Kihara of The
Real Japan agency. “After the earthquake, all reservations from overseas were
cancelled and we were about to go out of business, so we had to do something
ourselves.”
Is this the world’s weirdest travel guide?
October 20, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
Y’know, we always thought Lonely Planet, Fodor’s and the
other Big Travel Guides were missing a trick by failing to include an element
of romance in their chunky tomes, so it’s heartening to see a Japanese firm
stepping in to fill that achy, breaky gap for us.
Tokyo-based game developer Overdrive has taken that
particular step into the unknown with a new travel guide to Japan aimed at –
how can we put this? — gamers with an interest in touring Japan while meeting the
fictional woman of their dreams.
Survey shows Japan still top Asian travel spot
October 11, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
Usually, when anything from a credit card firm hits our desk,
we groan and file it in a drawer marked “Someday,” however the latest communication
from Visa had us pleasantly surprised, bringing with it some very
tourism-positive news for Japan.
The contents were the results of a survey the firm carried
out earlier this year to establish the travel
intentions of more than 10,000 people around the world.
Quake had little effect
Among the takeaway points was the result that travelers from Hong
Kong, Taiwan and Thailand want to visit Japan more than any other Asian
destination.
Who are the world’s biggest travel spenders?
September 29, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
Whether you’re lost in Manchester or climbing a mountain in North Dakota, there will always be a friendly Australian nearby. Australians are some of the most well-traveled people on earth and they’ve got the bill to prove it.
Results from this year’s Visa Global Travel Intentions Survey reveal that Australians were the highest spenders on travel, splashing out around US$ 3,636 on their last trip compared to the global
average of US$ 1,895.
The United Kingdom
was the top destination for Australians; around one third of respondents picked it as their most likely holiday destination in the next two years.
Have Working Holiday Visa, will travel
July 14, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
When Hong Kong started the Working Holiday Scheme (WHS) a decade ago, some people joked that it is just a way for countries to swap unemployed youths.
The scheme allows people between the ages 18 and 30 from Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Canada and Korea to travel and work in the scheme’s participating countries.
Participants of the scheme get to live in the country of choice for 12 months and take on short-term employment. The jobs they can find are limited mostly by their fluency in the local language, but many people value the year abroad as a way to experience more of the world.
Have Working Holiday Visa, will travel
July 13, 2011 by JapanGuide
Filed under Japan Today
When Hong Kong started the Working Holiday Scheme (WHS) a decade ago, some people joked that it is just a way for countries to swap unemployed youths.
The scheme allows people between the ages 18 and 30 from Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Canada and Korea to travel and work in the scheme’s participating countries.
Participants of the scheme get to live in the country of choice for 12 months and take on short-term employment. The jobs they can find are limited mostly by their fluency in the local language, but many people value the year abroad as a way to experience more of the world.
