Some news on Japan from Business Travel

http://www.ausbt.com.au/qantas-will-begin-direct-melbourne-tokyo-flights-in-december

http://www.ausbt.com.au/travel-tip-the-jr-rail-pass-for-business-travellers

http://www.ausbt.com.au/travelling-to-tokyo-grab-a-suica-or-pasmo-travel-card

Cheap ways to travel Japan

This was a cheap travel Japan article written by Terrie Lloyd

 http://www.japaninc.com/tt857_cheap-ways-to-travel-japan

Hostels in Japan recommended by Nick a traveler and my favorite budget business hotel chain Toyoko Inn.

By Carole Goldsmith Copyright 2016 All Rights Reserved 

Nick a colleague of mine and a recent traveler in Japan has recommended the following hostels in Japan. I have not stayed there but he has. 

Space Hostel Tokyo 

http://spacehosteltokyo.com/

J Hoppers, Osaka 

http://osaka.j-hoppers.com/

K's House Kyoto 

http://kshouse.jp/kyoto-e/

Santiago Guest House Hiroshima

https://www.facebook.com/santiagoguesthousehiroshima/?fref=nf

I don't stay in hostels anymore and I like the Toyoko Inn Chain located across Japan.

https://www.toyoko-inn.com/eng/ 

Toyoko Inn Benefits - 

                Your own room and bathroom. 

                Great free breakfast and country hotels best breakfasts

                Close to railway stations and you can see top of hotel from station

                Reasonably large room for Japan and every amenity you need. 

                Comfortable beds and pillow. 

                Free Wi Fi. 

                Discounts for members - stay 10 nights and one night free. 

                Early check in (3 PM) for members

                Toyoko Inn Narita - rooms are larger than other Toyoko Inn Hotels

               

                Excellent booking system and customer service 

                Smoke free lobby and rooms

                Computers in lobby with printing service for guest

                Budget prices for these great business hotels

                Spotlessly clean and very well managed across Japan. 

                Luggage storage if you are returning.

                Sterilized night gowns and clean slippers plus extra 

                amenites at front desk. 

                You can also book Kuro Neko Yamato Transport at reception

                and Kuro Neko will transport your luggage to your next 

                destination at a reasonable cost. 

Book early as the rooms fill up quickly: 

                https://www.toyoko-inn.com/eng/hlist_with_address.html

        

                

Understanding Japan - article

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/04/14/japan-bucket-list-things-you-need-to-do-to-really-understand-japan/

Japan budget travel article

Interesting Japan budget travel article which however lacks a few important budget travel tips - such as using the Suica / Pasco cards in cities across Japan and use CitiBank debit cards in CitiBank ATM's in Japan and globally - no fees.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/asia/japan-on-a-budget-tokyo-kyoto-and-the-bullet-train-a6687556.html

How to hire the next Steve Jobs for your business

How to hire the next Steve Jobs for your business: Nolan Bushnell co-founded Atari and was the co-creator of the GPS and touch screen, but Bushnell’s other claim to fame is that he was the first person to hire Steve Jobs.

Ohnoyama Koen Naha - a beautiful large park (near Mercure Naha) to run around exercise in and explore.

Ohnoyama Koen Naha, Okinawa. 

 By Carole Goldsmith Copyright ©2015 All Rights Reserved

Greetings from Naha Okinawa.

I just went for a run around Ohnoyama Koen Naha which is three minutes walk across a small bridge from Mercure Naha where I am staying.

How wonderful to be near such a large park and to see green trees / bushes / flowers and hear birds singing. I ran around the park and did yoga over a 3/4 hour period.

Here is a link to the Park's Location . http://wiki.worldflicks.org/ohnoyama_park.html

Trip Advisor pictures.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298224-d7384780-Reviews-Onoyama_Park-Naha_Okinawa_Prefecture_Kyushu_Okinawa.html

The Mercure Naha http://www.mercure.com/gb/hotel-8725-mercure-okinawa-naha/nearby.shtml is a good hotel with all the facilities one needs in the room. Rooms are small as is the case in most Japanese hotels, I always ask for a non smoking quiet room on a higher level.
Floor 12 is all non smoking.  There are two supermarkets nearby and a restaurant at the Mercure.

I am paying Y49,000 for four nights and that does not include breakfast and it should.

I pay around Y5300 per night a Toyoko Inn Narita and the rooms are huge and breakfast is included.
See my comments on Trip Advisor - http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g298161-d302013-r260439834-Toyoko_Inn_Narita_Kuko-Narita_Chiba_Prefecture_Kanto.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT

The Mercure Naha is to the right of Tsubogawa monorail station, so when you leave the railway ticket checker, turn right and you can see the Mercure ahead of you. Catch the lift down to ground level. There is a convenience store ahead of you and then the Mercure. Large lobby and very helpful staff who speak both English and Japanese.

I will check out the town and port today to get my tickets to Kume Island.

The Monorail company have an all day pass for Y700 so I will buy one of those.

cheers

Carole Goldsmith

Transport your luggage with ease with Kuroneko - Yamato Transport. .

Transport your luggage with ease with Kuroneko - Yamato Transport. 

By Carole Goldsmith - Copyright © 2014 / 2015 - All rights reserved 

Having your luggage transported from hotel to hotel or  from the airport to your hotel or home, makes traveling in Japan, so easy.  No more luggage to carry on transport, it is transported for you at a very economical cost by one of Japan's leading transport providers - Kuroneko or Black cat - Yamato transport.

You can see the Kuroneko or Black Cat symbol on yellow background at hotels and convenience stores throughout Japan in your travels. This excellent economical luggage transport service will assist you greatly in your travel.

Ask your hotel or local convenience store to make the booking with Kuroneko or book it yourself if your Japanese is good enough. Arrange the booking and have your luggage ready the morning or the day before you are traveling to ensure its delivery in time to your next destination.

I have used this service many times in Japan to transport my luggage from one hotel to the other or to the airport. This has been arranged by the hotel staff.  Also I have booked the service through my local convenience store when I lived in the Tokyo suburbs and booked it through to Narita airport in Tokyo. At airports ask airport staff for directions to Kuroneko / Yamato Transport or TA-Q-BIN. See more below on TA-Q-BIN.

Kuroneko is economical, fast and oh so  convenient. My friends have used it to transport their ski equipment and luggage from the Japanese ski fields to Narita airport.

TA-Q-BIN or door to door next day delivery service.
http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/en/personal/ta_q_bin/
TA-Q-BIN is a next day delivery service (excluding certain areas) which sends your parcel or luggage to anywhere in the country, 365 days a year.

Rates
The delivery rates are here, but you will probably find it a lot easier to call and book or get your local hotel or convenience store to arrange the booking. The price will depend on the size of the item,

http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/en/send/ta_q_bin/list/









http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/en/send/ta_q_bin/list/