Japan travel update

After the recent massive earthquake and tsunami disaster, it is not surprising that many travellers are thinking about cancelling their plans to visit Japan for the time being.

The city of Sendai in Tohoku, the worst hit region, will take a long time before things can return to normal. However, many other parts of the country have survived the nightmare in relatively good shape.

Airports throughout Japan, except the one in Sendai, are now back in operation. In Tokyo, due to electricity glitches, train services are running, although not at 100% of the schedule. In other gateway cities such as Osaka and Fukuoka, hotels and ground transportation systems are functioning as usual.

Many airlines offices in Bangkok will return clients' money and waive refunding fees upon requested, but that is applicable only for flights to Japan before tomorrow, March 17. Because of this, and the fact that the period from late March to early May is Japan's famous cherry blossom time, most tour agencies will continue with their planned trips after then.

However, there are still chances of aftershocks and volcanic eruptions such as that of Mount Shinmoedake on Sunday. There is also an increasing possibility of radioactive contamination due to explosions at a nuclear power plant.

Source = bangkokpost