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JNTO The Japan National Tourist Organization’s website provides fantastic information about modes of transport, lodgings, dining, and the many things to see and do in Japan. The site also provides maps, links, and travel stories from visitors. Multiple languages are available. Japan Guide An absolutely fabulous site for planning trips, the site gives a brief overview of a variety of interesting places and more importantly some maps and directions to get there. Not every site of interest is listed, but the database does an admirable job. There is also information about customs, methods of transportation, and festivals as well as extensive forums where you can post and answer more specific questions. The site is in English. Hyperdia This site is invaluable in planning train trips. By plugging in departing and destination points and adjusting a bevy of choices you can receive a list of travel options using a variety of trains, ferries, and even airplanes to reach your destination. The program also estimates the time and financial cost involved. The only thing you need to watch is getting the settings right. There are usually multiple stations listed for each name you enter (Hiroshima, Hiroshimako, Hiroshimaeki), and the service automatically enters the departure time as the hour you're using the website, both of which can mess up your results. The site is completely in English. Japan Railways Owning most of the track in Japan, JR is a huge conglomerate. This page gives basic information about the kinds of tickets that can be bought and how the train system operates. It also provides links to all of the sub-categories of the larger company (i.e. JR-West, JR-Shikoku, etc). The site is available in multiple languages although Japanese is the most thorough. JR West JR West is the branch of the larger conglomerate that serves the Chugoku region, i.e. Hiroshima. This is the page in Japanese…. English JR West And in English which is otherwise hard to find on the website. The English version is much more limited in scope and information than the Japanese counterpart but the translation is good. Still, neither version is easy to navigate, nor do they often give you very good information. ANA All Nippon Airlines is one of the major companies that flies around the archaepelago as well as to other nations, including the United States. Their website, available in English or Japanese, provides information about flights and allows you to reserve tickets. JAL Japan Air Line is the other major company in Japan. As with ANA, you can make reservations on the website itself, which is written in Japanese or English. |