[registrars] More points about your trip to Japan.

[Bob Connelly <rconnell@psi-japan.com>]

Dear Colleagues:  Additional points about your trip to Japan for ICANN
and/or INET2000:

1.  One of the best tourist locations near Yokohama is Kamakura (About
25-30 minutes by train).  The bronze "Great Buddha"  ("Dai Butsu") stands
out of doors in a lovely park.  Another large wooden Buddha ("Hasei
Kannon") is about 300 meters away.  Wonderful view of the ocean from there.
  Many other shrines an temples (Shinto and Buddhist sacred sites) are in
the area.  I think there are about 54 such sites.  Kamakura was the capital
of Japan in the 1100's, second only to Peking in the world's population at
that time, they say.

2. Many good tourist sites in Yokohama city, Silk Museum, Doll Museum,
Marine Tower.

3. You will all be interested in the iMode cell phones.  They surf the
internet!!!  Millions of them in use.  Japan is going ape with cell phones,
I have heard 7 per every 10 persons in Japan.

4. Public testing of HDTV starts on 17 July.

5. Most of you have heard of "Akihabara" (some call it "Electric City").
It is on a direct line from Yokohama Station using the Keihin Tohoku Line
(commuter blue train).  There are Rapid Serve schedules (Kaisoku) which
skip less important stations, would get you there in perhaps 45 minutes.
However, I understand there is a smaller version of Akihabara in Yokohama.

6. A Japan Rail Pass is a real bargain.  You cannot purchase them in Japan.
 Try the JTB nearest you in your country.  One round trip to Kyoto costs
more than one full week travel on the Shinkan Sen ("Bullet Train").  If you
are considering any travel as far as Nagoya, it is probably economical, to
Kyoto or Osaka, a real bargain.

7. While speaking about bargains, there aren't many in Japan, far from
it;-{  Take the mini bar in your hotel room.  Recently I saw a newsletter
for business persons coming to Japan.  It recommended buying food and drink
from the ubiquitous "convenience stores" which abound all over Japan.  7/11
came here in the mid '70's.  In the last seven years, AM/PM have popped up
almost everywhere -- open 24 hours a day.  As a result the 7/11's and most
other convenience stores are open 24 hours a day.

8. As if that weren't enough, there are high quality, well maintained
vending machines almost everywhere, offering a broad range of beverages and
some foods.  (We had beer, sake, gin, vodka and whiskey in vending machines
till this month.  On 1 June 2000, they were all taken out of service.)
They make change and many of them say "Arigato Gosaimasu" as they deliver
the goods.  

9.  Oh, it will be hot and humid in July.  The weather is very much like
that of Washington D.C.

Regards, BobC