Being our first visit to this wonderful country of Japan, we plan an extended stay to see more of Tokyo and Japan itself. We encourage our members to consider longer stays as well. We also encourage you to use the CirqueCon Forum to discuss other possible activities. There is lots to see!

Here are some interesting websites of things to see and how to get there. It's an ever-evolving list; we'll add more sites as we find them. If you find interesting ones, send them along!

List last updated: March 13, 2008

[ Things to See | Transportation | Miscellaneous ]

THINGS TO SEE

JAPAN

A Map of the country of Japan (NEW 3/11):
http://www.ease.com/~randyj/alljapan.jpg

Japan Guide (a good country-wide information source):
http://www.japan-guide.com/

The Yokoso! (welcome) to Japan site:
http://www.visitjapan.jp/

An offshoot of the Yokoso! Site (in English):
http://www.japantravelinfo.com/top/index.php

The Japan National Tourist Organization:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs site for tourism:
http://www.mofa.go.jp/link/visit.html

InfomapJapan Magazine website:
http://www.infomapjapan.com/

See it before you go. Videos of Japan sights (NEW 3/11):
http://www.travercial.com/AS-JAPAN.html

A fun, different take on Japan (NEW 3/11):
http://www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/

TOKYO

Asia Rooms Tokyo Guide (lots of links to articles on specialized topics like Sightseeing, Museums/Parks/Gardens, Amusement Parks, Eating and even Etiquette & Behavior):
http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/japan/tokyo/index.html

Japan Museum Pass (admittance to a number of museums on one card. The current card on the site will expire in March, but another one should be forthcoming.):
http://www.japantravelinfo.com/press/press_item.php?prid=40&past=0

Tokyo Convention & Visitor’s Bureau (NEW 3/11):
http://www.tcvb.or.jp/en/index_en.htm

Professional Travel Guide’s section on Tokyo (NEW 3/11):
http://www.professionaltravelguide.com/tokyo/Destinations-136964

Look for places to eat! (NEW 3/11):
http://www.bento.com/tokyofood.html

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL TOKYO

Main Tokyo 2008 Site (Japanese and English):
http://www.cirquedusoleil.co.jp

A nice all-Japanese brochure discussing Tokyo 2008:
http://www.cirquedusoleil.co.jp/press.php

A YouTube video of a monorail drive-by of the Cirque Theater under construction:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=k3EUchRAAuU

TOKYO DISNEY RESORT

Main Tokyo Disney Resort Site:
http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/index_e.html

Maps of the Resort and Parks for Download as PDF Files:
http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tdr/english/plan/mapdownload/index.html

If you need more convincing on how cool Tokyo Disney Resort is, check out this MiceAge review:
http://www.miceage.com/kevinyee/ky110607a.htm

A GREAT page of information, with lots of other interesting links (NEW 3/11):
http://www.mousesavers.com/tokyo.html

A fun fan site from Chris (NEW 3/11):
http://www.tdrfan.com/

Another fan site, this one from Joe (NEW 3/11):
http://www.jtcent.com/main.php

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN

In Osaka, a three hour train ride from Tokyo
http://www.usj.co.jp/tandc/e_index.html

OTHER THEME PARKS

There’s more than just Disney and Universal. Japan is known for their wide variety of Theme Parks! A trip report about a theme-park vacation (with pics) (NEW 3/11):
http://www.themeparkreview.com/japan2004/japanguide1.htm

TRANSPORTATION

GETTING FROM THE UNITED STATES TO TOKYO, JAPAN

Traveling Internationally With Children (a good resource article):
http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-advice/important-documents-for...

GETTING AROUND TOKYO

Tokyo has an excellent subway/rail system. A good PDF brochure (4.4 meg) with a map and details on how to ride:
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pdf/pamph_welcome.pdf

A wider map of some of the subway and rail lines going through Tokyo:
http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tdr/english/plan/access/train.html

Another version of the Subway Map (NEW 3/11):
http://www.tokyometro.jp/rosen/rosenzu/pdf/rosen_eng.pdf

A large (1.1 meg) PDF map of Tokyo Rail Lines can also be found here:
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/info/map_a4ol.pdf

Tokyo Disney Resort is on the red "29-Keiyo Line" at the station marked "Maihama."

GETTING TO TOKYO DISNEY RESORT FROM NARITA AIRPORT

The main Narita Airport site (NEW 3/11):
http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/

Narita Airport Direct Bus (of course Disney would have their own bus from Narita):
http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tdr/english/plan/access/narita_bus.html

Limousine Bus has buses that go from Narita Airport directly to hotels in the Tokyo Disney Resort Area - USD $22.00 for a one-way ride:
http://www.limousinebus.co.jp/en/timetable/narita/tdr_h.html

Japan Rail also has an "express" style train that runs from Narita:
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/nex/index.html

GETTING AROUND JAPAN

Japan has an expansive 12,000 mile system of "bullet" and other trains, which can be seen here:
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/

They have timetables divided by section of the country at:
http://japanrail.com/JR_timetableandfare.html#a3

JAPAN RAIL PASS

This offers a pass to rail transit for overseas visitors, and may be purchased up to three months before departure. But read the info if you don't plan many long-distance trips. Approximately USD $250.00 per person for 7 days:
http://www.japanrail.com/JR_japanrailpass.html

Another site that discusses the Japan Rail Pass:
http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en003.html

MISCELLANEOUS

CULTURE AND MANNERS

Culture notes from Planet Tokyo (NEW 3/11):
http://www.planettokyo.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/nav/navid/26

CURRENCY

Some suggest it’s good to get some Japanese Yen in your pocket before you get there, as exchange rates can be quite variable.

Watch our dollar weaken against the yen here (NEW 3/11):
http://www.xe.com/ucc/

Travelex sells foreign currency to US buyers (NEW 3/11):
http://www.travelex.com/us/

PACKING

A great automated packing checklist site:
www.dontforgetyourtoothbrush.com

CELL PHONES IN JAPAN

Most US cell phones won’t work in Japan. If you need to stay in contact, consider a rental!

An overview of the Japanese Cellular Phone System (NEW 3/11):
http://euc.jp/misc/cellphones.en.html#blame

Cellhire (cell phone rental) (NEW 3/11):
http://www.cellhire.com/jtb/eng/index.htm

Rentafone Japan (cell phone rental) (NEW 3/11):
http://www.rentafonejapan.com/index

Telestial (cell phone rental) (NEW 3/11):
http://www.telestial.com/rentals_SP01.php