Types of Japanese Trains

Above, passengers boarding the JR Yamanote Line in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There are many kinds of trains in Japan.

Some are fast, some are slow. Some travel long distances while others are for short inter-city commutes.

Japan Travel Blog (BY H.I.S. TOURIST INFORMATION CENTER) has an article listing the different kinds of trains in Japan.

It starts out with:

There are many types of train in Japan, some fast, some slower than other. 

Knowing types of train will get you to your destination faster. Let’s explore it together in our blog today!

To read more, go here.

Latest Blog Pick-Ups

The Japan Daily picked up a couple of blog posts from today.

The first is one about H.I.S. Co.'s plans to purchase an offshore island near Sasebo City in Kyushu to turn it into a casino resort.

The second was on The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan pre-vacation season sale that starts Friday, April 25.

To see The Japan Daily, go here.

H.I.S. May Buy Island Near Theme Park For Casino Resort

Above, many islands dot the Kyushu coast and may be candidates for a casino resort. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Sasebo may be known more than just the Saikai Bridge and the Hario Towers (featured in Rodan (1956)) if casino resort developers have their way.

The Japan Times reported:

H.I.S. Co.’s Dutch-themed Huis Ten Bosch amusement park along the Nagasaki coast is considering buying a deserted offshore island in an expansion to boost its appeal as a possible site for a casino resort. 

“We are planning to buy new land to offer more games at the Huis Ten Bosch theme park,” Hideo Sawada, chairman of the Tokyo-based travel agency and park operator, said in an interview last week. “There are a lot of deserted islands nearby.” He said at least ¥100 billion is needed to fund a gambling resort at the park. 

Huis Ten Bosch and sites across Japan are preparing to compete for possible gambling resort developments before the nation ends a ban on casinos, with preliminary legislation expected to be passed in the coming months. Global operators from Las Vegas Sands Corp. to Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. have said they are prepared to invest billions of dollars should they win permits for casinos in the world’s third-largest economy. 

Japan’s casino market could eventually generate $40 billion in annual revenue, trailing only China’s Macau as a gambling hub, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets estimates.

Above, the Shin-Saikai Bridge near Sasebo City. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Huis Ten Bosch is near Sasebo City (the train I rode on passed it while on the way to Sasebo in 2007) and is twice the size of Tokyo Disneyland, according to the article. There are many offshore islands near Sasebo, Nagasaki and Fukuoka, so any one of them could be a prime candidate for a casino resort.

To read more, go here.

Tokyo Maximum Tour Planned For September

Above, the Fuji TV building in Odaiba.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Destination Tours/H.I.S. International Tours are planning a special Tokyo Maximum Tour this coming September according to an article posted at Anime News Network.

According to the article:

LOS ANGELES, CA - April 15, 2013 - Destination Japan/H.I.S.' Tokyo Maximum Tour, one of their popular escorted tours, is now back and even more affordable and exciting than ever!! 

You will stay 5 nights at Shibuya Tokyu Inn conveniently located in front of Shibuya Station, and visit the 2013 Tokyo Game Show, which will be one for the books that you will not want to miss.

The tour includes visits to Akihabara (famous for being the electronics center of Tokyo) and Odaiba (G-fans are familiar with Odaiba being the location of Godzilla x Megaguirus).

For more details, go here.

Travel Promoting

The Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show (today's the last day) was fruitful for me as I was able to promote The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.  A lot of business cards were exchanged and several copies of the travel guide were provided.

One would think that with all the promoting I've done, people in the travel industry (especially those who are Japan travel-oriented) would already be aware of the guide.  Not so, from what I've found.  That is why anyone who has come up with a publication has to constantly promote and network so that the target audience can reached.

While at the travel show yesterday, the organizations I met with included:

Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). 

All Japan Tours (AJT). 

H.I.S. (Japan travel specialist with over 300 offices worldwide). 

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). 

Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau.

With JNTO, we had a deep discussion about "niche" travel markets as the Japan Tourism Agency has published the "Japan Anime Tourism Guide," which is available in several languages.   I emphasized that for many in the baby-boomer generation, their first exposure to Japan and Japanese pop-culture began through watching Godzilla and Gamera movies and the super-hero television shows such as Ultraman.

With the travel/tour specialists, I emphasized the same as with JNTO (in regards Japanese pop-culture exposure) and pushed them to consider tailoring Japan tours to kaiju enthusiasts using The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan and having it available for sale to their customers..

All in all, I thought the talks with these organizations were very useful and could lead into other things in the future.

I will be doing the same at next month's Los Angeles Times Travel Show (February 23-24).