Government Wants 20 Million Foreign Tourists In 2020

[Russell]

She oozes creepiness....somebody sick Debito on her. Definitely a worthy cause.

When I have a schedule, it's no problem....it's when I have no idea when I will arrive and am stuck driving, calling them to change times and all that becomes a pretty annoying inconvenience. If it's not prepaid, fine....but when it is, they shouldn't need update calls about arrival times being later than expected. (who is the customer here?)

I never prepay my hotel room before arriving at the hotel, though I always register my contact details via their web pages.

Are there even hotels that require prepayment if you reserve directly on their web pages?

Some do but I also use discount booking sites that require/offer prepayment.

If you prepay they should keep your room without conditions.

BTW, if you put your arrival date late and actually arrive early, your room may not be ready yet (=occupied by someone else for a short period).

[kurogane]

(who is the customer here?)

AND IT'S OUTTA THE PARK AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


NEWBIE ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEWBIE ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry, couldn't resist.

So, yezzbut....................I think I always phone anyways, regardless. I think it's just an aspect of the whole Renraku thing. I hate it too. Drives me F'in batty, actually. I usually go for a mid range check in time, and if more than a bit early or late I phone. And at least at Toyoko Inn and the other decent Free Breakfast mid range chains (Su-Pa???) they are always super appreciative, and I almost always get a nice high floor corner room. Is it true that higher floor rooms are less popular amongst The Natives? That might be part of it.

BTW, isn't that APA President woman a freak???? She must be one of those Model Obahan like the Indonesian president's concubine or those hideous plastic call girl sisters. Her husband looks like a wax museum monster as well.

[matsuki]

If you prepay they should keep your room without conditions.

BTW, if you put your arrival date late and actually arrive early, your room may not be ready yet (=occupied by someone else for a short period).

Direct from the hotel confirmation mail:

チェックイン時間を過ぎるとキャンセルとして取り扱われることがございますので、遅れる場合は必ず宿泊施設に連絡してください。

キャンセル料は以下の通り頂戴いたします。
当日 ：宿泊料金の100％
不泊については以下の通り頂戴いたします。
連絡なしの不泊/不着 ：宿泊料金の100％

That being said, I've never been cancelled on and been charged for showing up late anything before....but according to their policy, that's what they claim will happen.

(who is the customer here?)

NEWBIE ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEWBIE ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/color][/size]

sorry, couldn't resist.

I know I know...but this is in the tourism promo thread (Japan for newbs)

...and let's not forget this is also the land where customers expect action when they demand to have replacements delivered to them at 3am on a sunday morning, where a scratched box or dog eared corner of a package are grounds for a return or refund, and where I've seen customer get violent with staff...only to have the staff get on their knees and apologize.

I think it's just an aspect of the whole Renraku thing. I hate it too. Drives me F'in batty, actually. I usually go for a mid range check in time, and if more than a bit early or late I phone. And at least at Toyoko Inn and the other decent Free Breakfast mid range chains (Su-Pa???) they are always super appreciative, and I almost always get a nice high floor corner room. Is it true that higher floor rooms are less popular amongst The Natives? That might be part of it.

Probably...it's just unnecessary and inconvenient.

BTW, isn't that APA President woman a freak???? She must be one of those Model Obahan like the Indonesian president's concubine or those hideous plastic call girl sisters. Her husband looks like a wax museum monster as well.

Yes, she reminds me of a few filthy rich J-people I've met over the years...many are stuck up and above human...but a few are at this creepy "worship me" level. Disgusting to say the least...but most times I've encountered them, they were paying for food and drinks so we all just grin and ignore the ogre in the room.

[Russell]

If you prepay they should keep your room without conditions.

BTW, if you put your arrival date late and actually arrive early, your room may not be ready yet (=occupied by someone else for a short period).

Direct from the hotel confirmation mail:

チェックイン時間を過ぎるとキャンセルとして取り扱われることがございますので、遅れる場合は必ず宿泊施設に連絡してください。

キャンセル料は以下の通り頂戴いたします。
当日 ：宿泊料金の100％
不泊については以下の通り頂戴いたします。
連絡なしの不泊/不着 ：宿泊料金の100％

That being said, I've never been cancelled on and been charged for showing up late anything before....but according to their policy, that's what they claim will happen.

Well, if they cancel, they have no ground to charge you a cancellation fee, is it?

If you cancel, then it is reasonable from them to ask you to pay such a fee.

[matsuki]

If you prepay they should keep your room without conditions.

BTW, if you put your arrival date late and actually arrive early, your room may not be ready yet (=occupied by someone else for a short period).

Direct from the hotel confirmation mail:

チェックイン時間を過ぎるとキャンセルとして取り扱われることがございますので、遅れる場合は必ず宿泊施設に連絡してください。

キャンセル料は以下の通り頂戴いたします。
当日 ：宿泊料金の100％
不泊については以下の通り頂戴いたします。
連絡なしの不泊/不着 ：宿泊料金の100％

That being said, I've never been cancelled on and been charged for showing up late anything before....but according to their policy, that's what they claim will happen.

Well, if they cancel, they have no ground to charge you a cancellation fee, is it?

If you cancel, then it is reasonable from them to ask you to pay such a fee.

Don't you read that as we cancel if you're not checked in by the specified time....and 100% cancellation fee for same day/no (late) show cancellations?

Like I said, never happened to me...just a PITA that I need to keep them updated as to my arrival time on a prepaid reservation under threat of no room or refund. (hence me choosing the latest possible check-in time option...can't always know when I will arrive but when they expect you there at 11pm, you'll always be "early" and I've yet to have a "sorry, your room isn't ready" situation)

[Russell]

If you prepay they should keep your room without conditions.

BTW, if you put your arrival date late and actually arrive early, your room may not be ready yet (=occupied by someone else for a short period).

Direct from the hotel confirmation mail:

チェックイン時間を過ぎるとキャンセルとして取り扱われることがございますので、遅れる場合は必ず宿泊施設に連絡してください。

キャンセル料は以下の通り頂戴いたします。
当日 ：宿泊料金の100％
不泊については以下の通り頂戴いたします。
連絡なしの不泊/不着 ：宿泊料金の100％

That being said, I've never been cancelled on and been charged for showing up late anything before....but according to their policy, that's what they claim will happen.

Well, if they cancel, they have no ground to charge you a cancellation fee, is it?

If you cancel, then it is reasonable from them to ask you to pay such a fee.

Don't you read that as we cancel if you're not checked in by the specified time....and 100% cancellation fee for same day/no (late) show cancellations?

Like I said, never happened to me...just a PITA that I need to keep them updated as to my arrival time on a prepaid reservation under threat of no room or refund. (hence me choosing the latest possible check-in time option...can't always know when I will arrive but when they expect you there at 11pm, you'll always be "early" and I've yet to have a "sorry, your room isn't ready" situation)

Yep, I read it in the same way as you, but I find that unreasonable, because they would break the contract by canceling.

Regarding check-in time, from now on I will set the time a bit at the late side when in doubt. No need to set it at 23:00h for me, though.

[Samurai_Jerk]

A boom in foreign tourism boosts Japan's economy

A record 13.4 million people visited Japan in 2014, an increase of nearly 30% from a year earlier. Records were set in each of the first five months of this year; arrivals were up 50% in May alone.

Japan had predicted that 15 million foreign tourists would visit this year. At the current pace, arrivals could surpass 18 million.

"The target was 20 million visitors by the 2020 Olympic and Para Olympic Games. But with the trends, there's no telling what it's going to be," said Motoshige Itoh, a professor at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Economics.

Tourism is one of the few bright spots in Japan's economy. After two decades of little or no growth, Japan is just beginning a slow recovery that is by no means certain.

Foreign visitors spent about $16.8 billion in Japan last year, up 43% from a year earlier. Japan set a goal of 2.28 trillion yen — about $18.5 billion — in annual tourist spending by 2020.

[Coligny]

Tourists like cheap third world countries...
Until 2013 japan was an expensive thrid world country...

[kurogane]

OOOK..............The Toyoko Inns are going to be packed to the rafters. Is there a slightly more upmarket chain anybody knows of? I am not a fan of the third world experience offered by Ryokans and Minshuku.

[Samurai_Jerk]

OOOK..............The Toyoko Inns are going to be packed to the rafters. Is there a slightly more upmarket chain anybody knows of? I am not a fan of the third world experience offered by Ryokans and Minshuku.

Try Airbnb for big cities at least. I looked into rooms in Tokyo and Osaka for some friends who visited earlier this year. I couldn't believe how reasonable the prices were in Japan. 1K studios in good central locations starting at five to six thousand yen a night for one person. Go up to the 10,000 to 20,000 yen range and you're looking at some pretty nice places. Most of them include free portable 4G wi-fi too.

[yanpa]

Airbnb seems to be the reason why all of a sudden I keep seeing obvious tourists wandering around my local crappy shotengai late in the evening. As there is to be a cluster of places around the station according to the Airbnb website. Seems to be repurposed apartments (of the crappier kind (like olde Showa-era concrete buildings around the station which are always half-vacant and will probably be demolished at some point) rented out short term by at least one local real estate agent. Prices looked pretty reasonable, 4k/night-ish for something not too fancy.

[kurogane]

Oooook. Nerima area BnB's don't pay you to stay there!?!???

Thanks guys. Good idea, the AirBnB. Sounds worryingly close to trying new things, but could be worth a go. I was surprised to see how relatively expensive the Asakusa area ones were, but I suppose that's a location premium.

[matsuki]

I stayed in a スーパー（狭い）ホテル on sat....hadn't been to one of those in a few years and it was surprisingly good and flexible. (my idiot partner forgot to book a room so they threw us in a "Loft bed" room for only slightly more. (basically a reg single room with a bunk bed)

[Coligny]

You are bi-curious nao ?

[matsuki]

You are bi-curious nao ?

No, but I think his wife could kick my ass. He's hobbit-sized and she's ork-sized.

[yanpa]

I stayed in a スーパー（狭い）ホテル on sat....hadn't been to one of those in a few years and it was surprisingly good and flexible.

Yeah, I prefer those to Toyoko Inn. They seem to have started out in western Japan but are certainly spreading through the Tokyo area. There's even one in Kabuki-cho now that must have sprung up relatively recently.

[Yokohammer]

I stayed in a スーパー（狭い）ホテル on sat....hadn't been to one of those in a few years and it was surprisingly good and flexible.

Yeah, I prefer those to Toyoko Inn. They seem to have started out in western Japan but are certainly spreading through the Tokyo area. There's even one in Kabuki-cho now that must have sprung up relatively recently.

There's one in Sendai too.

I stayed at one in Gion in Kyoto because it was all that was available at the time, but it turned out to be perfectly doable for the price.

[matsuki]

Yeah, price was really good, breakfast was pretty awesome for a budget hotel, the ofuro downstairs was great after a day on your feet.

[kurogane]

What is better about Super? They seem to be about 2-3000 per night more expensive than Toyoko, which is fine if they offer something else or are just better. I find Toyoko bland and the rooms are too small, but it is like McDonald's: same thing every time.

[matsuki]

What is better about Super? They seem to be about 2-3000 per night more expensive than Toyoko, which is fine if they offer something else or are just better. I find Toyoko bland and the rooms are too small, but it is like McDonald's: same thing every time.

They were cheaper than Toyoko in my experiences. Newer hotels on this side of the cuntry so a much cleaner "budget hotel" atmosphere as well as offering all kinds of complimentary comforts like memory foam pillows, extra towels, etc. on a convinient rack. Hot springs ofuro in the one I stayed...not sure if that's standard. Breakfast was much much better than other budget hotels and they kept making fresh batches of the food so it was all yakitate and plenty available.

[kurogane]

That sounds nice. Where I have looked they're no cheaper (Kyoto & Tokyo), but they do look like a Toyoko + extra operation. Some of the Toyoko places I have stayed at regularly for the past 10 years or so are actually getting rather grubby, and those rooms are pretty small. I don't mind rice and pickles for breakfast so that usually works anyways but that Super brekky does sound nice.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I was surprised to see how relatively expensive the Asakusa area ones were, but I suppose that's a location premium.

I was surprised to see that comment so I did a quick search. Looks like prices in Asakusa have gone up a lot since March. I guess someone told them that Japan is the hot new travel destination.

[kurogane]

Yeah. On a quick browse I didn't see any places that looked nice enough to cost as much as they seem to. Most seemed more than Toyoko Inn/Super Hotel. Is there a sort of hipster niche tax effect to AirBnB? I haven't met many normal people that use it very much, but all the people I know that swear by it are the sort that make me retch just a tiny bit when they explain why (nice people and all, but...). I have noticed that in Vancouver people will pay 20-30 more a night to avoid a hotel and stay at an AirBnB "that's just like staying in a friend's living room". Which is exactly where I would say: OoooK!! and choose a hotel.

I don't even know any North American chains anymore, but is there a Japanese chain that is sort of Sheraton/Fairmont level, for say 120-150 a night? I think I am tired of being a cheapo anyways, could be fun to live my age.

[Russell]

Govt to seek foreign visitors’ info for ‘omotenashi’ scheme

The government will establish a system that transcends language barriers and smoothly provides “omotenashi” hospitality services to foreign visitors.

Foreigners will be asked to volunteer personal information such as their religion, languages, food preferences and chronic diseases.

This information will then be passed on to hotels, restaurants, hospitals and other institutions in Japan.

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry has included funds in its fiscal 2016 budget request for a prototype system.

It aims to put the full system into practical use by fiscal 2020, when the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be held.

Under the envisaged system, foreigners entering Japan will be asked to register their personal information using a personal computer or smartphone application at an airport or on a plane.

A new organization will be created by the public and private sectors to manage the information in an integrated manner, allowing access only by authorized hotels and restaurants.

Foreign visitors will be able to find participating hotels and restaurants using a smartphone application.

Restaurants will be better able to deal with such customers as Muslims who do not consume pork or alcohol, and vegetarians, even though they do not understand foreign languages.

Meanwhile, foreigners will be able to smoothly receive treatment at medical institutions if they suffer a sudden illness while staying in Japan.

The ministry is considering developing a website or an application to connect foreign visitors and restaurants and other facilities in Japan.

The ministry also hopes to extend participation in the system across the nation, and plans to create a new council comprising private companies, local governments and other bodies in preparation for the establishment of the envisaged public-private organization.

Link

Would be fun to register Pastafarianism as a religion and get redirected to spaghetti restaurants.

But really, which moron came up with this idea?

And I do not even want to think about this country's lack of ability to protect personal information like pension records...

[Yokohammer]

Would be fun to register Pastafarianism as a religion and get redirected to spaghetti restaurants.

Or register yourself as having a communicable disease and get redirected to the next flight out of the country.

[Russell]

Would be fun to register Pastafarianism as a religion and get redirected to spaghetti restaurants.

Or register yourself as having a communicable disease and get redirected to the next flight out of the country.

Would they even let you board your flight at your departure point?

And I wonder whether there will be limitations on how this information will be used. I'm thinking about criminal prosecution for something in which this voluntary information can be used against a person.

My advice to tourists: do not register anything at all!

[matsuki]

Foreigners will be asked to volunteer personal information such as their religion, languages, food preferences and chronic diseases.

Cause people love to volunteer such info to governments?

[kurogane]

But really, which moron came up with this idea?

That is so forehead slappingly silly it's rather sweet. Thanks for the laugh, Russell. Can you even imagine the unintended hilarity this will cause?

Since you are Muslim your waitress was happy to carefully remove all pieces of delicious Chashu pork meat from your bowl of Ramen. Please enjoy the savoury broth for which we are famous.

I have always enjoyed the culling effect touring Japan has on principled dietary contrarians, but I suppose the Unassailable Fact that Japanese are vegetarians will always overpower first hand accounts of The Horrors. Probably not a bad idea if it were to be done properly. cue loud laughter

[Samurai_Jerk]

Yeah. On a quick browse I didn't see any places that looked nice enough to cost as much as they seem to. Most seemed more than Toyoko Inn/Super Hotel. Is there a sort of hipster niche tax effect to AirBnB? I haven't met many normal people that use it very much, but all the people I know that swear by it are the sort that make me retch just a tiny bit when they explain why (nice people and all, but...). I have noticed that in Vancouver people will pay 20-30 more a night to avoid a hotel and stay at an AirBnB "that's just like staying in a friend's living room". Which is exactly where I would say: OoooK!! and choose a hotel.

You can set the filter to only show places where you're renting the entire apartment. That seems to be most of them anyway. At least in Japan. Not sure about other markets. I think it's a better deal if you're traveling with a group. Hotels are so cheap in Tokyo compared to other major cities that you're usually better off with a hotel if you're solo.

I suppose the Unassailable Fact that Japanese are vegetarians will always overpower first hand accounts of The Horrors.

Have you actually heard someone say that before? I've heard complaints about the lack of vegetarian options in a "Buddhist country" but never someone go so far as to say they thought the Japanese were vegetarians. Aren't the Japanese most famous for raw fish and Kobe beef?

[kurogane]

Hey,
Yeah, thanks on the AirBnB thing. I would want the whole place to myself, those seem to run 10,000 per night or so in Asakusa, and like you said in that case it's Toyoko, Super, or this newer Sunroute option. It really is remarkable how cheap Tokyo hotels are. In Vancouver you might get one for about $120 CAD, and the hotel itself will be fine (Ramada, Holiday Inn, etc) but the neighbourhood will be somewhere below Sketchy grade.

As for the Vegetarian Japan thing: once they are there The Horrors begins, as you have seen, but trying to convince dogmatic Veggieheads and Sooshi connoiposeurs back here is almost as hard as suggesting that free public WiFi can be hard to get in downtown Tokyo. I think it's a Stuff White People Like thing: they aren't ever going to Japan anyways, and hell hath no fury as a white pseudo-cosmopolitan deprived of his illusions.