100 things to know before you travel in Japan

Just as there are dollar stores in North America, there are 100-yen stores in Japan. They have a variety of goods, CDs, books, snacks, drinks, body-care products, cosmetics, stationaries, plastic cases, kitchen stuffs, batteries, cell-phone chargers, etc. There are some items that you could find as souvenirs for your friends. Check out the web sites of 100-yen stores at CanDo (http://www.cando-web.co.jp/), and Daiso(http://www.daiso-sangyo.co.jp/).

When you reserve airline tickets through an airline company or a local travel agency, they will charge you more than a North American-based Japanese travel agency. Check out HIS USA (http://his-usa.com/), HIS Canada (http://www.his-van.com/), HIS Europe (http://www.his-euro.co.uk/), IACE USA (http://www.iace-usa.com/), IACE Canada (http://www.iace-canada.com/). The price for a return ticket from North America to Japan starts at $700, depending on the season.

While you will enjoy traditional parts of Japan, another thing to enjoy is going to amusement parks, something you would not usually think of as a primary reason for visiting Japan. There are many fun amusement parks and many of them boast a world's best...ex. highest freefall, fastest roller coaster, oldest roller coaster...etc...

Tokyo Disney Land and Tokyo Disney Sea are popular to travellers from Asia. If you are looking for a place you can go easily from Tokyo, then go to Tokyo Dome City, which is located in the middle of Tokyo. If you want a little more exciting and scarely stuff in Tokyo, try Toshimaen or Yomiuri Land. If you are visiting Nikko, don't forget going to Nikko Edomura to experience old traditional Japan and say hi to Japanese monkeys. Hakkeijima Sea Paradise is located in south of Yokohama and it's actually aquarium but has world highest freefall. What's hot in Osaka is Universal Studio Japan... don't forget that language is Japanese there.

If you need to withdraw some money in Japan, the best way will be to go to Seven Eleven! They usually have Seven Bank ATM machine (http://www.sevenbank.co.jp/intlcard/index2.html) and you can withdraw Japanese Yen using your credit card for just 210yen of handling fee. Seven Bank started this service in July 2007 and this will make your life much easier!.

What is the most popular sport in Japan? It is Baseball. Baseball has been the most popular sport since World War 2, and it is still the most popular. Japan's national team won the first World Baseball Classics in 2006. Their technique is at one of the highest levels. More and more players are at the top level in MLB, which proves the level of Japanese baseball.

There are two leagues in Japanese professional baseball: the Central League, and the Pacific League. They say the Central League is more popular, but the Pacific League is stronger overall. Yomiuri (Tokyo) Giants, Chunichi Dragons, Hanshin Tigers, Yakult Swallows, Hiroshima Carp, and Yokohama BayStars belong to the Central League. Seibu Lions, Rakuten Eagles, Nipponham Fighters, Lotte Marlins, Softbank Hawks, and Orix Braves belong to the Pacific League.