GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES

Like so many things in modern society, Japan's favorite travel season is a creation of the mass media. "Golden Week" - a tour operator's dream in a country starved of real vacation time, where three-day weekends are the longest many people ever get away for, was not dreamed up by a savvy travel marketer. No siree. It was the movie industry that came up with the name; it coined the term as part of a campaign to persuade people to take advantage of the "golden opportunity" the string of national holidays gave for catching the latest flick. No one really remembers if the campaign actually brought in more punters but one thing is certain: "Golden Week" became firmly fixed as the season to travel. Without the familial obligations that O-bon and O-shogatsu bring, GW became the treasured time when Mr. Tanaka got a few days to play golf, Miss Nakamura shopped in Hong Kong and the Suzukis finally made it to the beach in Hawaii. These days GW is somewhat a victim of its own success and, recession or not, don't expect people to miss out on the longest GW in years just because The Economist and The Wall Street Journal are all doom and gloom. Prepare for bedlam on road, rail and plane - and don't forget to enjoy the break!


SOLID GOLD

The start of Golden Week is April 29, which was originally a celebration of the Emperor Showa's birthday. Following his death in 1989, the holiday was renamed Greenery Day and it is now intended to be a day for the appreciation of nature (not that anyone seems to have noticed that). Some companies give their employees an extra holiday on May Day but the next official holiday is Kenpo Kinen-bi (Constitution Day) on May 3, which commemorates the day when the present democratic constitution took effect in 1947. May 4 is known by the incredibly original name of "National Holiday" (Kokumin-no-Kyujitsu) and was a relatively recent addition to the calendar following a Diet-approved act to create more holidays (at least the Diet actually did something sensible for once). It fits snugly between Constitution Day and Children's Day (Kodomo no Hi) on May 5. Originally Children's Day was known by the name Tango no Sekku (Boy's Festival) and was the male counterpart to the girls' Hina Matsuri (Doll's Festival) on March 3. It is now legally the day to celebrate the growth of both male and female children, but the old tradition of favoring male children on this day continues.

If you're thinking of using this year's GW to head overseas and you still don't have reservations, you may want to think again. For a start, most flights out of Japan are full and have been since January; secondly, prices for GW rocket out of all proportion. Why not take advantage of the "golden" opportunity GW gives to explore Japan itself. Surprisingly, there are quite a few travel deals to be had - even during the peak period.


PLANES, TRAINS AND... BUSES

By Rail
From Tokyo there are a number of "Free" tickets available, which give reduced round-trip tickets and unlimited travel in a specific area. They can be purchased at any "Green Window" (Midori no Madoguchi) at a JR station. All of the tickets are available at child rates, too. All trips made on JR that are more than 600 kilometers one way are subject to a 20percent discount if you buy the ticket as a round trip.

The Yamagata Free Kippu (JY12,440) is valid for seven days. It includes round-trip non-express train fare (Green Car, Shinkansen and express supplements carry an additional charge) and gives you access to all trains in the area.

The Izu Free Q Kippu (JY13,190) includes round-trip train fare by Shinkansen or Odoriko-go Special Express from Omiya, and allows you to travel on all trains, including the non-reserved seating cars of express trains, as well as most of the buses in the Izu area. It is valid for four days but unfortunately it is unavailable between April 27 and May 6.

The Nara Yamatoji Free Kippu (JY17,140) includes round-trip express fare and unlimited travel on JR trains and buses in the Nara area for eight days.

The Minami Bozo Resort Free Kippu will take you south of Tokyo and allows you to travel there and back by unreserved express and limited express train (not including the NEX). From Tokyo the cost is JY7500 for a three-day ticket, which also gives a discount on the Nambogo sightseeing bus.

The Ise Shima Free Kippu costs JY16,930 and is valid for round-trip express travel, regular trains and JR buses in the Ise area.

Further afield the islands of Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu offer island-wide unlimited travel tickets at very reasonable prices.

The Hokkaido Free Pass is JY23,750 for a single ticket or JY43,220 for two tickets (children are charged the same as adults). The ticket is valid for seven days on all trains and can be purchased from any JR station Green Windows or JTB. Unfortunately, it is not available between May 3 and 5.

The Shikoku Free Kippu operates in the same way and costs JY15,700 for a three-day ticket (children are half price). The ticket is available from JR stations and JTB and is valid at peak times.

In Kyushu things go more up-market with the Kyushu Goyuken (JY20,900 adult; JY12,740 child), which gives unlimited travel on the special express train Green Car (not including Shinkansen or JR buses) for three days. The ticket is available from JR stations and JTB and is valid at peak times. Another option is the Kyushu Ladies Pass, which carries the same restrictions as the previous ticket. It is available to groups of two to four women travelling together and is priced as follows: JY28,540 for two people; JY39,760 for three people; JY49,950 for four people. This ticket is only available through JTB or at the Green Window of JR Kyushu stations.

By Bus
Long distance buses offer a cheaper alternative to the train. While daytime journeys tend to drag a little, the overnight option is a good way to save on the cost of a room. All buses are air-conditioned, have fairly roomy reclining seats and some even show bad movies from the '70s. The journey between Tokyo (Shinjuku) and Osaka typically takes eight hours and costs around JY8450 one way. Heading north to Aomori on a nine to ten hour ride will set you back JY10,000. Tickets for all major bus companies can be purchased at most travel agents.

Domestic Air
To get real bargains by air it is necessary to book about two months before you wish to travel in order to qualify for a supaa hayawari (super early discount) ticket. These are typically 40% cheaper than the standard price and there are a limited number per flight. Booking about a month before you can qualify for a ,em>hayawari (early discount) ticket which is usually around 20percent cheaper than standard. The catch with these tickets is that they are valid only for the flight indicated and are not transferable - if you miss the flight you can cash in the ticket for a fraction of its value and then buy a full fare ticket. (My advice, having lost money doing this once, is to be absolutely sure what time the flight leaves and get there on time!) Even without a discount ticket, air travel has become much cheaper in recent years due to increased passenger volume and competition from new airlines such as Air Do and Skymark. Certainly over long distances the plane is often cheaper than the train. The prime routes between Tokyo, Fukuoka, Okinawa and Sapporo are pretty chock-a-block most of the year, but if you pick the day and time shrewdly, the odd vacancy can be hunted down. Enlist the help of your travel agent or call the airline direct.


GOLDEN NUGGETS

Those lucky enough to have secured a place on a flight out of the country should be pleased to hear that you no longer have to remember to keep some yen back to pay for the passenger service ticket at the airport. The PSFC (JY2040 adult, JY1020 child) is now included in the price of airline tickets (as most airport taxes elsewhere are) so there is one less barrier between travellers and duty-free.

This year has also seen improvements in the rail links to Tokyo's airports. The extension to the Keihin Kyuko line has at last made transferring between Narita and Haneda a lot simpler and quicker. The Airport Kaisoku Tokkyu train now connects the two airports in 102 minutes at a cost of JY1560. Furthermore, the journey from Haneda to Shinagawa is down to a pretty impressive 14 minutes (compared to 27 on the Monorail from Hamamatsucho) and comes in at a pretty competitive JY400.

March 13 saw the launch of the latest version of the Shinkansen. The Nozomi 700 is the most recent high speed, sleek-beaked train to hit the Chuo Shinkansen route between Tokyo and Kansai. The new train travels at 500km/h, 200 faster than its hardly shabby predecessor. Until the maglev Shinkansen passes its final few tests and its new track is constructed, the Nozomi 700 is definitely the classiest way for the temporally challenged to get to Osaka. Just don't expect to get a bargain basement seat this Golden Week!


CONTACT INFO

JTB Tel: 03-5620-9411
Kinki Nippon Tourist Tel: 03-3251-7788
Tokyu Tourist Corp Tel: 03-5704-3750
Nippon Travel Agency Tel: 03-3572-8741
Japanese National Tourist Organization Tel: 03-3216-1901
JR English Helpline Tel: 03-3423-0111 (10am-6pm)
Tourist Info Hiroshima Tel: 082-247-6738
Tourist Info Kyoto Tel: 075-371-5649

Airline Reservations
JAL Tel: 0120-255931
All Nippon Air (domestic) Tel: 0120-029222
Japan Air System Tel: 045-212-2111
Skymark Tel: 03-3433-7670