Travel

Flying to Japan

Both Japan Airlines (JAL) (www.jal.co.jp/en ) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) (www.ana.co.jp/eng ) offer international flights to Japan. Peak travel times to and from Japan are during the Cherry Blossom season in late March/early April, the Golden Week holiday (late April/early May), the Obon holiday (mid-August) and the New Year holiday (late December/early January.

Peach (www.flypeach.com/home.aspx ) is Japan s newest low-cost carrier and will commence international flights from July 2012. Operating out of Kansai International Airport (Osaka ), Peach will have flights to Seoul. Hong Kong. and Taipei. In 2012, AirAsia (www.airasia.com ) and Jetstar Asia (www.jetstar.com ) have also announced plans to start domestic and international services in Japan.

Travel by rail

The Trans-Siberian route to Japan is an interesting, if lengthy, trip. Connections can be made daily from London via Harwich or Dover through Europe to Moscow. The Trans-Siberian railway departs regularly from Moscow. Among the many tour operators that organise tickets for this is The Russia Experience (www.trans-siberian.co.uk ).

The Japan Rail Pass (www.japanrailpass.net ) is the most economical way for international visitors to travel all over Japan by rail. It can be used on all Japan Railways services including the shinkansen (bullet train), except for the super-express Nozomi shinkansen. The next fastest shinkansen. the Hikari, is just as convenient for high-speed rail travel in Japan. There are passes for seven, fourteen and twenty-one consecutive days. Passes must be purchased in advance outside Japan and validated on the day you begin to use the pass.

Getting to Japan by boat

There are international ferry services to Japan from Russia. China. Taiwan and Korea. Ticket prices are generally not cheaper than air tickets. The advantage of arriving in Japan by sea would be the chance to view some spectacular scenery. Major port cities are Osaka (www.osakaport.co.jp ), Kobe (www.kobe-meriken.or.jp/ ), Yokohama (www.yokohamaport.org/portal ), Shimonoseki (www.shimonoseki-port.com ), Fukuoka (port-of-hakata.city.fukuoka.lg.jp ) and Naha.