TokyoTomo Travel Guide

Japan Transocean Air (JTA), a JAL Group subsidiary, has launched a new product to make exploring Japan easier and more affordable. The “OKINAWA Island Pass”, can be used on any JTA operated flights connecting 5 domestic routes within Okinawa prefecture. The new pass makes travelling around the stunning subtropical islands of Okinawa an inexpensive and convenient option for tourists to the area.

On 5th January 2010, JAL launched flights from Narita International Airport in Tokyo to Okinawa’s Naha Airport, allowing smoother transfers to the popular tourist destination from outside Japan. Previously JAL travellers arriving at Narita Airport and then had to transfer to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, which is 75 minutes away, for JAL flights to Okinawa. The new Narita JAL services to Okinawa make for much smoother and faster connections.

OKINAWA Island Pass
Eligible passengers: Overseas residents visiting Japan
Applicable Routes: Flights from Naha to Ishigaki, Miyako or Kumejima. Or from Ishigaki to Miyako or Yonaguni
Applicable Flights: JTA operated flights only
Applicable dates: 6th January – 11th March 2010 (inclusive)
Fare: JPY 9,000 per sector
Ticket conditions : Minimum purchase of 2 sectors, maximum purchase of 5 and tickets must be purchased before arriving in Japan.

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Japan is the top advanced country of robots, and one of the origin is the karakuri-ningyo (wind-up doll) that dates back to Edo period. Making full use of traditional woodworking techniques, our ancestors created an amazingly delicate movement of dolls that never lets us bored. The ultimate manufacturing handed down over generations. This is an introduction to the attractive wind-up dolls that goes beyond machine, marveling the western world.

The history of wind-up dolls dates back to the old times described in “Konjaku Monogatari (Tales of Times Now Past)” written in Heian period, and developed as the mass entertainment of the festivals in Edo period. Wind-up dolls falls roughly into two types; “Dashi-karakuri” maneuvered by festival floats, and “Zashiki-karakuri” that move with a spring. For 270 years, this karakuri-ningyo culture have been inherited for generations by “Tamaya Shobei,” the karakuri ningyo master in Nagoya.

“Cha-hakobi-ningyo (Tea delivery doll), ” a wind-up doll that starts to move when you put on a teacup on the tray, is a Zashiki-karakuri introduced in “Karakurizui” written by Hanzo Hosokawa, an inventor of Edo period. The doll became famous when the seventh generation of Shobei Tamaya first made a replica in 1969. The doll with the tray moves straight for a meter and stops. After you pick up the tea cup and place it back on the tray, the doll turns around and comes back. For the motor, whiskers of a whale is used instead of the spiral spring.

“The quintessence of wind-up doll is to make it all by wood,” says Mr Shoji Takashina, who is the 9th generation of Shobei Tamaya, after his father (7th) and brother (8th).

“The large difference between Western wind-up doll (automata) s the materials used. While automata is made of metals, Japanese karakuri is made of seven kinds of selected woods for every single parts from the body to the spring, using different trees according to the purpose. Oil nor anti-friction is used because trees are living substance, but we can keep the dolls moving for over 200 years if we keep on repairing.

Considering the nature of the tree, the quince gear is made by sticking eight sector form along the slash grain. Repeating the delicate work, it takes a year to finish the doll. Wind-up doll is the crystallization of traditional wooden culture and Japanese ingenuity.

The true value of Tamaya Shobei lies in the fact that he produces all the parts by himself, from face, gear and to the costume. Of all, he devotes the longest time on making “Kashira (head).” The head is carved out of 200 year-old Japanese cypress dried for over 10 years. For the facial expression, the techniques of Noh mask is used, changing the expression by different angles. It takes 10 years to acquire the coloring technique, repetitively using shell powder (pigment) as the base and the top coat.

“Wind-up doll is not a robot imitating human movement. The gawk movement is the taste. Also, being a wooden doll, it shows different moves depending on the temperature and humidity. You will be bored at once if it always has the same exact movement.”

Having the atelier within the city of Nagoya, ninth karakuri-ningyo master is visited by engineers of large enterprises. Though times go by, “karakuri-ningyo” has “something” that touches the “spirit of manufacturing” technical experts share.

Source: Travel Vision

Travel Vision Inc. provides information on the travel industry in Japan via "Daily Travel Vision", a Japanese-language e-mail newsletter, and the "Travel Vision" website. There are nearly 110,000 people working in the Japanese travel industry, and Travel Vision is proud to be bringing travel news to more than 30,000 people through Daily Travel Vision.

Following the application filed on January 19 by Japan Airlines Corporation, Japan Airlines International and JAL Capital for under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law, the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan (ETIC) announced an outline of its restructuring plan for Japan Airlines. The plan focuses primarily on the airline’s safe and stable flight operations on the premise that credits for commercial transactions and leasing fees obligations are protected. The other protections include the frequent flyer mileage and the complimentary coupons issued to its shareholders. The restructuring plan also includes the continued support by the government and the financial institutions. In terms of strategy for the turnaround plan, listed by the ETIC are “Further safety enhancements,” “Aircraft downsizing and Improving operational efficiency,” “Streamlining of workforce and organizational structures and Drastic improvement in flexibility” and “Establishing organizational structures allowing for prompt on-site decision-making.” By implementing these strategies, the ETIC, Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan, aims for JAL’s major turnaround by March 2012, forecasting operating revenue of 1,358.5 billion yen with operating income of 90.4 billion yen to be achieved in March 2013.

Commenting on Japan Airlines’ present situation, Toshio Nakamura, Representative Director and CEO, the ETIC, pointed out that the airline had failed to make adjustments for its scale of business operations and organizational structures in response to the sluggish market demand due to “Excess fleet of large aircraft,” “ Unprofitable routes,” “Surplus workforce,” “Inflexible organizational structures” and “Delays in decision-making.”

With awareness of these burning issues, Japan Airlines aims, under the rehabilitation plan, to address downsizing of aircraft, withdrawal from the unprofitable routes, pursuit of the alliance benefits, streamlining of the workforce and build-up of organizational structures focusing on the on-site business operations. In regards to downsizing of aircraft fleet, the airline will retire all Boeing 747-400s together with aging aircraft MacDonnell Douglas MD-90s, replacing them with cutting-edge small and midsized aircraft including regional jets. A proactive introduction of new state-of-the-art aircraft will help improve fuel-efficiency and provide flexibility in aircraft availability.

While JAL will pull back “drastically” from the unprofitable routes, it will inaugurate new services on profitable routes. Overall, however, the routes will be substantially slashed. Compared to April 2009, the international routes will be reduced from 93 to 79 while the domestic routes will be decreased from 136 to 119 by April 2011. On the other hand, by leveraging the alliance benefits, JAL aims to secure its route network.

The JAL Group has approximately 52,000 employees in total including non-regular and temporary staff. In streamlining the workforce and the organizational structures, the airline will slash its present workforce to some 36,000 according to a decrease in overall capacity offer. Personnel costs will also be cut by reviewing drastically various allowances and the seniority-based wage system. Under the improved organizational structures allowing for the on-site decision-making, JAL endeavors to address build-up of an organization which allows flexible, timely and appropriate decision-making to meet any changes in the business environment. In order to support the new structure, JAL will invest in IT systems. The airline will also improve its personnel system in such a way that employees who achieve visible results will be promoted.

Also, the pending volume incentive scheme and kickback for travel agencies will be protected as commercial transaction credits which include verbal contracts concluded regionally by respective branch offices. In addition, also protected are credits for sales commission payable by JAL’s subsidiaries including JALPAK and JAL TOURS. During the course of the rehabilitation plan, the existing contractual relationship will be scrutinized, however.

Meanwhile, in order that Japan Airlines is able to concentrate on its core business, it will sell and liquidate the subsidiaries with the exception of aviation-related business including hotel and travel services and focus its corporate resources on aviation service which is the core business. As far as the pension scheme is concerned, now that two-third of the plan participants and pension recipients agreed to the revision of the pension system, Japan Airlines will revise the provisions therein and reduce the benefits according to the agreement reached subject to a final approval by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Source: Travel Vision

Travel Vision Inc. provides information on the travel industry in Japan via "Daily Travel Vision", a Japanese-language e-mail newsletter, and the "Travel Vision" website. There are nearly 110,000 people working in the Japanese travel industry, and Travel Vision is proud to be bringing travel news to more than 30,000 people through Daily Travel Vision.