????????One of Japan's most luxurious trains is the Kintetsu Ise Shima Liner which runs from Nagoya and Osaka Namba stations to Kashikojima on the Ise Shima Peninsula in Mie Prefecture.The train has a European-style "saloon" carriage, a "deluxe" carriage and a trolley service for refreshments.The train usually stops in Tsu, Uji Yamada, Toba and Kashikojima from Nagoya Station.Journey time from Namba Station in Osaka to Toba is around 2 hours. From Nagoya the time is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. A special "weekday four" ticket cuts the price to 2,980 yen per adult from Osaka or 2,500 yen from Nagoya if you travel as a group of four people.© JapanVisitor.comYahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a Japanese Hotel with BookingsJapanese FriendsRough Guide To JapanTagsJapan travel Mie Kintetsu Nagoya Japanese trains

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Seoul is an increasingly popular and increasingly cheap getaway for residents of Japan.All the major airports and many of the provincial airports have flights to Incheon Airport, just outside Seoul, including Hiroshima.Just over an hour's flying time away, Seoul offers great food, cheap prices and a vibrant atmosphere.You can also reach Busan by hydrofoil or ferry from Hakata.Korean FriendsRough Guide To KoreaTagsKorea Seoul

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JR??????-??The 148km-long JR Hohi Mainline which runs in the Aso caldera region of Kyushu connects Kumamoto, Oita and Beppu, east-west across the island.Running from Kumamoto, it goes down the slopes via a switchback slowly zigzagging back and forth until it reaches the town of Tateno. At Tateno the JR Hohi Mainline connects with the Takamori Line (???) run by Minami Aso Railway. Look out for the long station names on this line, one being "Minami Aso Mizuno Umareru Sato Hakusui Kougen Eki" - probably the longest in the country.©: JapanVisitor.comYahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a Japanese Hotel with BookingsJapanese FriendsRough Guide To JapanTagsMount Aso Japan Trains Kyushu JR Japanese trains

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?????The back story of the "Do It At Home" campaign on the Tokyo subway appeared in the Japan Times this weekend.Since April 2008 a monthly poster has appeared in the 168 Tokyo Metro stations and on the 3,300 train carriages of its nine underground lines.Previously the posters have featured a young woman applying her make up on the trains and talking on her mobile phone. Other targets have been drunks sprawled over the seats, young people taking up too much room and a commuter shaking their umbrella over fellow travelers on the stairs.The man responsible for the striking manga-like designs is 35-year-old Bunpei Yorifuji, a fan of American artist Edward Hopper and ukiyo-e master Hokusai. Yorifuji bases his monthly designs on common complaints made to Tokyo Metro's Customer Relations Center (Tel: 03-3941-2030).Two mainstays of the campaign are a disgruntled man and woman - the pair with large opaque glasses - who represent the average law-abiding Tokyo commuter. Yorifuji refers to them as a married couple: "The glasses obfuscate the emotion and better reflect the discomfort," he adds.Yorifuji's work is now so popular it is the subject of spoofs such as the one below from hitotoki.Tokyo Metro has been running its "manner poster" campaign since 1974.© JapanVisitor.comYahoo Japan Auction ServiceHappi CoatsEdward HopperTagsJapanese phones Tokyo subway

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????Tsukiji Fish Market (aka the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market) is the largest marine products market in the world. Japan consumes around 17% of the globe's marine products and a large proportion of that passes through the gates of Tsukiji.Overall over 700,000 tons of marine products from around 400 species are handled annually at Tsukiji by seven major fish wholesalers.There has been a fish market in Tokyo since the city's earliest beginnings under Tokugawa Ieyasu in the early 17th century. Tsukiji in its present location dates from 1923 when Tokyo's main fish market was located here after the Great Kanto Earthquake.Now a major tourist attraction, Tsukiji is open Monday-Saturday (with some weekday closures). Check the official site for the calendar. There are a number of excellent sushi restaurtants to sample fresh seafood around the market.AccessTsukiji (English website)Chuo-kuTsukiji 5-2-1Tel: (03) 3542 1111Tsukiji Station, Hibiya Line, exit 1, Google Map; Higashi Ginza Station, Hibiya and Asakusa Lines, exit 5; and Tsukiji-ichiba Station, Oedo Line, exit A1.Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a Japanese Hotel with BookingsJapanese FriendsTsukiji: the fish market at the center of the worldTagsTsukiji Tokyo fish market

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???????A fun day trip from Nagoya is to ride the rapids on the Kisogawa River in Inuyama.Take a Meitetsu train from Jingu-mae, Kanayama or Nagoya station to Inuyama-yuen. The boat station is a short 5 minute walk over the railway line. There are shuttle buses from Inuyama Bridge to Ota Bridge (30 minutes) at 9.15am, 10.15am, 11.15am, 12.15pm, 1.15pm, and 2.15pm.The boats depart from Ota Bridge for Inuyama Bridge at 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. There is an additional 4pm departure between July 20-August 31. The whole period of the boat operation is March 10-November 30.The journey takes about an hour and costs 3,400 yen for an adult and 1,700 yen for children.Along the way enjoy the rapids, weird rock formations and the plentiful wildlife and flora. There are cormorants and hawks to see on the way down.If you are making your own way to the launch point the nearest stations are JR Minota Station on the Takayama Line or Meitetsu Nihon Rhein Imawatari Station on the Meitetsu Kanikawa Line.Reservations2-6-5 Mikado-choMinokamo City505-0024Tel: 0574 28 2727Yahoo Japan Auction ServiceBook a Japanese Hotel with BookingsJapanese FriendsRough Guide To JapanTagsInuyama Japan Rhine Nagoya

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???????View a slideshow of recent images of Japan on the JapanVisitor Blog.© JapanVisitor.comRough Guide To JapanTagsJapan images Japan photos

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