Online Japan Travel Brochure - 5 Things To Look For

A trip to Japan is the dream travel destination for countless people worldwide. It takes a certain type of person who wants to travel to Japan. Any given person's interest in Japan usually comes about for one or more of the following three reasons:

the person has long held an interest in Japan from a pop-cultural perspective, including topics such as modern Japanese cinema, fashion, video games, anime (animated cartoons), or manga (comics)
they have an interest in Japan from a traditional and linguistic perspective, including art, literature, religion and the language
they have business ties to Japan or want to develop them

Despite the actual reasons for your own initial interest in Japan, it is likely that the more you study this unique country the more your interest has grown. The country holds a certain fascination for many Westerners due to its tremendous modern-era business success, its unique cultural traditions, and its strong influence on the world of modern popular culture.

If you are planning a trip to Japan, you are going to want to get better informed about your trip. Here are 5 things to look for in an online Japan travel brochure:

1. Updated frequently:

There is a lot of information available online about Japan. Make sure you choose a travel brochure that contains recently-updated information. While some information - such as details about ancient temples, museums and other cultural centers - does not change much, information about modern attractions, hotels and restaurants changes quite regularly.

2. Written by those who have lived and traveled in Japan:

Find a Japan travel brochure that was created by somebody who has actually lived in Japan (preferably in more than one place) and who has traveled extensively throughout the country. There is no substitute for experience when it comes to writing good travel information.

3. Created by a native speaker of English:

Find a website that was created by a person who speaks English as their native language. Slight nuances in the way your Japan travel information is written (if written by a non-native speaker) can lead to big errors or misunderstandings as you plan your big trip.

4. Covers a wide range of details and tips:

Look for a brochure that can supply you with a wealth of information about many topics, including Japanese food, popular attractions, airfare rates, and visa & customs information. You will need to have a good base of knowledge in each of these areas if you are to plan a successful trip.

5. Helps save you money by giving you tips on planning your trip well:

You will also benefit from finding an online travel brochure about Japan that does not just read like an encyclopedia. Instead, it is helpful to actually find information written from the perspective of somebody who is trying to make your trip as successful, fun and inexpensive as possible.

While planning your upcoming trip to Japan, be sure to find online travel information that meets each of these 5 criteria.

Traveling to Japan for pleasure or business? Make the most of your trip with tips and recommendations from: Learn About Japan.

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Global Online Marketing Profile 2010 Forecast - Japan

Market Opportunity

As a small island country, Japan has an overwhelming population of over 127,000,000. It is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. Of course, it doesn't come as a surprise that Japan's economy is the world's second largest, behind the United States.

Japan's economy is highly efficient and extremely competitive. It is ranked 19th among 111 countries on productivity. Japan's purchasing power parity in 2008 was $4.348 trillion.

Although the current recession has taken a big hit on Japan, IMF projects 2010 recovery; its outlook for Japan's economy growth for 2010 reached 1.7%. According to Japan Economy News, the average spending at households with two or more persons came to 266,044 yen (equivalent of $2794) in February of 2009. Disposable income of an average household was approximately 390,292 yen ($4099) in February. Based on a data release in Japan, retail sales increased 0.6% m/m in April of 2009. It was the first monthly increase since August of 2008. This suggests that there is still some stabilization in the Japanese economy.

Best Industry Segment

Although China still remains Japan's main import partner (20.5%), the United States is also becoming a key partner. United States trails behind China with 11.6% of Japan's import share.

The best industry segments for exporting to Japan, according to the CIA World Factbook, include machinery and equipment, fuels, food, chemicals, textiles, and raw materials.

Tariff and Regulation Landscape

According to FedEx, Japan's import duties usually range from 3 to 15 percent. Import taxes may vary according to product and content. For a complete list of tariffs on specific goods, one should refer to the tariff schedule on the Japan Customs website (customs.go.jp).

Japan also imposes restrictions on certain products including medical products, agricultural products, and chemicals. Many documents such as the Food Sanitation Act, Quarantine Act, Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Act, and Plant Protection Act are devoted to Japan's regulations regarding importing procedures. U.S. Exporters should familiarize themselves with such documents before exporting to Japan.

In addition, there are many customs clearance specialists and shipping agents who provide consulting on tariff issues. Many have offices in the United States.

Online Market Opportunity

Japan currently ranks third in terms of the number of Internet users in the world, following China and United States. According to Internet World Stats, there are approximately 94 million Internet users in Japan. This number was up by 99.7% since 2000. The online penetration rate is high at a 73.8%. It is predicted by eMarketer that by 2013, there will be 95.7 million Internet users.

According to comScore, in January of 2009, 6.8 billion searches that were conducted in Japan, which is up by 9% from last year. In addition to the prevalence of online searches, the Japanese online advertising market has boomed as well. The market was estimated to be worth around $4.1 billion, according to PricewaterCoopers. It is also predicted that in 2011, the online advertising market will be higher than $7 billion.

Online Language Preferences

The official language used in Japan is Japanese. Japanese is the 9>th most widely used language in the world. Other languages such as English, Korean, and local dialects are also used throughout the country. In many schools, English is taught to the students. Although this is the case, people are most comfortable using the Japanese language. Thus, Global eMarketer advises American companies to optimize their websites into Japanese in order to expand sales overseas.

Search Engine Profile

Unlike many other countries, the most popular search engine in Japan is not Google but Yahoo. The Yahoo sites led the ranking board with 3.5 billion searched in January of 2009. This number is up 13% from last year. With such extraordinary numbers, Yahoo sweeps the market with a market share of 51.3% while Goggle trails behind with 38.2%. Google sites received approximately 2.6 billion searches in January of 2009, which is up 5% from the previous year.

Additional search engines used in Japan include: Rakuten (2.2%), Microsoft (1.7%), and Others (4.6%)

Summary

With one of the world's strongest, economies and high online penetration rate, Japan provides many opportunities for companies to expand globally. For the above reasons, Global eMarketer rank Japan as a Tier 1 country for global online marketing opportunity.

Sussy Shi is a Global Market Research Analyst at Global eMarketer (GeM). GeM is an international business and marketing consulting firm that helps business expand globally from preparation, to implementaion through global online campaign management.

For more information, contact information[at]globalemarketer[dot]com, or visit our website at http://www.globalemarketer.com

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