The State of Foreign Tourism in Japan

Land Of Rising Tourism Hopes
A hip reputation offers a chance to boost lagging traffic—if Japan will seize it
By Ian Rowley
Business Week
SEPTEMBER 3, 2007

Tourism accounts for just 2% of gross domestic product in Japan, compared with 11% in Spain. While the number of visitors from other Asian countries has been rising, Americans and Europeans are getting scarcer. That's perhaps in part due to a problem that Doyel faced: The language barrier is close to impenetrable, and many streets in Tokyo don't have signs—even in Japanese, let alone English.

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Photography courtesy of Johnia!'s photostream on Flickr.

TimeandDate.com

On the road (or in the air) so much you don't know what time/day it is where you are/were/going? Gotta call someone on the other side of the planet and can't remember the country code?

Here's a pretty handy website - www.timeanddate.com - for keeping up with time zones, travel distances and lots more. What's especially helpful is its international dialing codes section, which makes international calls super easy.

New passport rules for Americans

New Passport Rules May Mean Delays
By MICHELLE HIGGINS
Image by Peter Kuper
New York Times
October 1, 2006


For years, an American adult needed only a valid driver's license and birth certificate to go back and forth between the States and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, Panama and most Caribbean islands. Children needed just birth certificates. But as of Jan. 8, passports will be required for almost everyone entering the United States through airports and seaports, no matter where they are coming from. The same requirement will go into effect for land crossings from Canada or Mexico on Jan. 1, 2008.

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