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13-night Rural Explorer and 14-night Diving Japan tour in Okinawa, its fi rst dive tour, while JTB has added a group tour taking in summer festivals (August 1-9 for £2,989pp). New operators adding Japan include Trafalgar (
trafalgar.com/uk) while Ffestiniog Travel (ffestiniogtravel.
com) has re-instated its Japan steam train tour. Hotels: Late 2014 saw the opening of Ki Niseko and Kasara Niseko Village Townhouse, both in Niseko, and Millennium Mitsui Garden Hotel and Aman hotel, both in Tokyo. Hot 2015 openings include Hotel Unizo in Tokyo (January); Sai no Niwa in Kanazawa (March); Uza Terrace in Okinawa (summer); and the renovated Kai Kaga
ryokan in Ishikawa (November). Transport: Virgin Atlantic (
virgin-atlantic.com) ends its London-Tokyo service on January 31 but low- cost carrier AirAsia (
airasia.com) will start domestic and international fl ights by this summer. ANA (
ana.co.jp/eng) is increasing the baggage allowance in both economy and premium class from 23kg x 1 to 23kg x 2. Rail developments include the Hokuriku Shinkansen line extension, opening March 14, which will slash the Tokyo to Kanazawa journey time from four to 2.5 hours, and the Hokkaido Shinkansen extension from Aomori to Hakodate, which will open by spring 2016.
Tourism talk “2014 was a great year for Japan’s tourism industry, with visitor numbers having risen 27% to 11 million year on
year from January to October 2014, with UK visitors up by 14% to 184,700.
“Japan has always been an amazing holiday destination but now it is signifi cantly cheaper to visit. In September the annual Post Offi ce Travel Money Long Haul Report showed holidaying in Japan to be more affordable than Mexico, Vietnam, USA, Canada, Australia and Dubai. Plus, Air France/KLM consistently offered fantastic fares to Japan throughout 2014, including some under £500, with tour operators and cruise companies offering Japan holidays for under £1,000. “The JNTO is targeting 20 million visitors by
2020. Our strategy for the UK market includes attracting visitors to areas beyond Tokyo and Kyoto; increasing indirect fl ight capacity; promoting Japan for adventure holidays; and encouraging repeat visitors. We also continue to offer online training at
seejapan.co.uk and offl ine trade support (contact Yumi Takakubo on
trade@jnto.co.uk). Kylie Clark, Head of Marcomms, JNTO
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL BY KARL CUSHING
“The gathering storm clouds were an unwelcome portent for my planned helicopter ride over the sprawling volcanic caldera of Mount Aso on Kyushu. This was doubly frustrating as the excursion promised even more excitement than usual as the volcano had chosen to erupt for the first time in 19 years. Thankfully the following dawn brought blue skies and I was soon excitedly hotfooting it back to the launch site in Kumamoto’s Cuddly Dominion park. Buzzing around an erupting volcano in a tiny whirlybird may sound like folly but it was incredibly good fun. As we banked around the majestic spectacle my camera clicked wildly in pursuit of a killer shot of the ash plumes belching forth into the crystal-clear autumn sky. At Yen 7,500 (around £40) for a five- minute flight it’s a bargain. ‘How do you top that?’ I wondered before being drawn into watching some miniature pig racing in Cuddly Dominion. So random, so Japan.
NOW TOKYO IS EVEN CLOSER FROM THE QUEEN’S TERMINAL
Japan’s only 5-star airline, ANA, now flies daily from London Heathrow’s new Terminal 2 to Haneda, Tokyo’s most central airport, just fifteen minutes away from the heart of the city.
WIN a Rimowa suitcase and more!
Visit
www.ANAcompetition.com Terms and conditions apply
www.ana.co.uk
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