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Looking for free stuff? Maps? Travel information? Here's how...

If you contact the Japan National Tourist Organization located in Chicago, you can request free documents about Japan. Contact information can be found on their website.

JNTO sent me a package of stuff about an inch thick. This included everything from maps of major cities, to places to find cheap hotels in Japan.

The most obviously useful items that I received included:

• Maps of Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto-Nara, and the Narita Airport.
• An extensive list of hotels in Japan, prices per night included. ($100-$150 for single)
• Document from Japan Economy Hotel Group listing affordable hotels. ($60-$80 for single)
• A 100 page Japan Travel Manual.
• 'Your Guide to Japan', a 50 page book with info on museums, shopping and other attractions sorted by region.
• Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara walks. Walking tours of the cities with detailed maps.
• Railway Timetable. For JR super expresses and limited expresses, and some major non-JR lines.

Your local Embassy can also provide you with some free goods if you contact them. I contacted my Embassy in Chicago inquiring about maps and such, and they referred me to the Japan Information and Culture Center in Washington D.C.

When I called the Embassy to ask for stuff I got the answering machine. I went ahead and left my information, not really expecting to get anything, but hey! They hooked me up. Some of the stuff I received was duplicated in the package from JNTO, such as the maps of Tokyo and such, but most of it was still unique.

The contents of the package included:

• Japan FAQ Sheet - Geography, People, Economy, and Holiday information.
• Copies of 'Japan Access' which is an informational paper on Japan published for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by Kodansha. These Japan Access papers cover everything from Baseball to the Geography and Climate of Japan.
• Nipponia Magazine - Discovering Japan
• Japan Now - Also available online: Japan Now
• Enjoy Japan and the World Cup flyer
• Tourist Map of Tokyo - mostly bilingual, some names only English
• Tourist Map of Japan - mostly English, some names in Kanji.
• Maps of Tokyo and Japan in Japanese.
• Tokyo English Edition map - A small only English map, with additional information on key areas in Tokyo.
• Japan Overview - Generic information about Japan. Nothing new here...
• Views of Japan - Same old...
• Enjoy Japan and the World Cup! - This shows that they are up to date with their information.

I was considering taking pictures of each item individually, and getting into more detail... but I'm lazy, and you don't want to see that anyway. If you really want the info, just call them and request it for yourself. Hey, it's free!

There is a lot of information available for those who are interested. Some of it is incredibly useful, and some of it is just fluff. Overall, I would strongly recommend at least requesting this information if you are thinking of visiting Japan.

For more information check out the Japan Travel Info Page.

- Created 6/2002

Travel in Japan: Drive: Housing Links: Choose a home: Surprises: J-News: Not Japan: J-Food: Jyan-ken-pon: Essential Vocabulary: Book List: Free Maps: Re-Entry Permit: Dani: Riding Trains: Yahoo Transit