          
          
          
               GUIDANCE FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS
          
          Documents Required:  A valid U.S. passport is necessary to 
          enter and travel in Japan, and by law foreigners are 
          required to carry their passports at all times.  A visa is 
          not needed for visits up to 90 days (with a round-trip air 
          ticket) unless you plan to establish a business or work for 
          a Japanese firm, in which case visa applications are 
          available at the Japanese consulate nearest your U.S. 
          residence. Immunization and health certificates are not 
          required upon entrance.  If you will be staying longer than 
          90 days, you must obtain an Alien Registration Card, 
          available free of charge from the municipal office of the 
          city or ward where you are temporarily residing in Japan.
          
          Arrival Procedures:  Upon arriving in Japan, your passage 
          through both immigration and customs is usually automatic 
          as long as your passport (and air ticket if arriving 
          without a visa) is in order.  An oral declaration of 
          personal effects is all that is required unless you arrive 
          by ship, have unaccompanied baggage, or bring articles 
          exceeding the duty-free allowance.  If you expect 
          unaccompanied luggage to arrive after you, in order to be 
          exempt from paying duty later, a declaration form should be 
          filled out when you clear customs.  The duty-free allowance 
          is roughly $1,400 (200,000 yen).  You are allowed to carry 
          up to two cartons of cigarettes, 2 ounces of perfume, and 
          three 750 ml bottles of hard liquor into the country.  
          Japan has very stringent regulations on admitting plants, 
          vegetables, and other agricultural produce into the 
          country.  Since customs restrictions vary depending on 
          country of origin, it is advisable to check before your 
          departure with the Japanese Embassy or your nearest 
          Japanese consulate.  A few luggage carts are available at 
          the airport, but elsewhere you must carry your own baggage.  
          A few porters are available, but at principal rail stations 
          only.  Light packing is advised.  You should exchange U.S. 
          dollars for yen before leaving the airport, especially if 
          you are arriving at night or on a Sunday.  There is a 
          currency exchange counter inside the customs area of Narita 
          Airport (Tokyo).
          
          Business Hours:  Businesses usually operate Monday through 
          Friday from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM. Some may be open later 
          on weekdays, and many are open until noon on Saturday.  
          Banking hours are from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Monday through 
          Friday.  Most stores are open from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, 
          except department stores which close between 6:00 PM and 
          7:00 PM.  Restaurants are open from 11:30 AM to 10:00 PM.  
          Family restaurants as well as coffee shops start serving at 
          10:00 AM or earlier.  Bars and nightclubs open at around 
          5:00 PM.  Public transportation is not available after 
          midnight and taxis add an additional charge from 11:00 PM 
          to 5:00 AM.
          
          Holidays:  In addition to the holidays listed below, 
          Japanese firms and government offices observe year-end and 
          New Years Holidays, December 29th through January 5th; and 
          the Bon Festival, when many Japanese return to their 
          hometown to honor the deceased, August 13th through the 
          16th:
          
              January 1          New Year's Day
              January 15         Adult's Day
              February 11        National Foundation Day
              March 21           Vernal Equinox Day
              April 29           Greenery Day
              May 3              Constitution Memorial Day
              May 5              Children's Day
              September 15       Respect-for-the-Aged
              September 23       Autumnal Equinox Day
              October 10         Health-Sports Day
              November 3         Culture Day
              November 23        Labor Thanksgiving Day
              December 23        Emperor's Birthday
          
          Time:  Japan occupies only one time zone.  Japan Standard 
          Time, observed all year, is 14 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern 
          Standard Time (13 hours during daylight savings time in the 
          United States).
          
          Language:  The average Japanese person does not speak 
          English with any fluency.  Although some staff members at 
          major hotels, department stores, and restaurants speak 
          English, it should not be expected outside of these 
          situations.  While in the business environment English is 
          becoming more widely used, you should hire an interpreter 
          for important business meetings.  The Japan Export 
          Information Center or the Commercial Section of the U.S. 
          Embassy can recommend a specialist agency to fit your 
          needs.  The fee for an interpreter varies from about $230 
          to $615 per day (30,000 yen to 80,000 yen) depending on 
          ability.  You should carefully screen applicants as there 
          is no guarantee of quality.
          
          Climate:  Japan is characterized by a change of seasons.  
          Summers are muggy and hot, with a rainy season that begins 
          in June and continues until mid-July.  The rainy season is 
          followed by a period of clearer, hotter weather lasting 
          almost without interruption until the stormy typhoon season 
          in late August and September.  In general, fall and winter 
          are much drier than the spring and summer and little snow 
          falls on the Pacific Ocean side of Japan's main island of 
          Honshu.  Spring is beautiful in Japan with cherry and plum 
          blossoms in full bloom.  Generally, the weather and climate 
          in Tokyo is similar to that of Washington, D.C.
          
          Money:  There are no restrictions on the amount of money 
          brought into or taken out of Japan. Coin denominations are 
          1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 yen and paper denominations are 
          1000, 5000, and 10,000 yen.  Most consumer transactions in 
          Japan are in the form of cash.  Travelers checks can be 
          exchanged at major department stores, hotels, banks, and 
          retail establishments.  Credit cards are accepted at 
          hotels, department stores, and many shops and restaurants.  
          U.S. credit cards can also be used in cash-dispensing 
          machines in some banks and department stores to obtain yen.  
          It is safe to carry cash in Japan since there is a very low 
          incidence of street crime.  U.S. personal checks are not 
          practical to use on short visits.
          
          Telephones:  Public telephones are available everywhere for 
          domestic calls.  Local calls are 10 yen per three minutes.  
          International calls can be made inexpensively from 
          designated public telephones available in major commercial 
          areas.  Also available and convenient are prepaid telephone 
          cards at vending machines for use in public telephones.  
          U.S. telephone operators can be reached for collect and 
          credit card calls.
          
          Hotels:  World-class Western-style hotels are located in 
          all major cities and many smaller cities. Hotels are more 
          expensive in Japan but offer excellent service and many 
          amenities.  English is universally used in these hotels.  
          Business persons contemplating a trip to Japan should make 
          early reservations since space is limited.  Smaller, less 
          expensive "business hotels" are also an alternative. There 
          is a tourist information office and a hotel reservation 
          desk at Narita Airport (Tokyo).
          
          Transportation:  Japan maintains a clean, sophisticated, 
          and efficient transit system.  You can reach almost any 
          location by using buses, subways, and taxis.  The national 
          and private railways are prompt and convenient, and the 
          Tokyo routes can be navigated with a map and a little 
          effort.  Buses are more difficult because the routes are 
          more complicated and the signs mostly in Japanese.  If at 
          all possible, it is best to avoid traveling at rush hour in 
          Tokyo, as all modes of transportation are very crowded.
          
          Tokyo train and subway systems are very convenient and 
          relatively easy to understand; in fact, train lines are 
          color coded.  Commuter trains are well connected with long 
          distance trains.  Maps of the system are free of charge and 
          are available at subway and train stations.  Fares 
          correspond to distance traveled, and most local fares can 
          be purchased at vending machines.  Wall maps located in the 
          station identify destinations and related fares.  If you 
          are unsure of a fare, it is best to get the lowest fare and 
          upon reaching your destination the ticket taker will inform 
          you of the amount remaining.  Subway and commuter train 
          service usually ends at midnight.
          
          Taxicabs are expensive but plentiful, and available around 
          the clock.  There is an extra fee added to your fare 
          between 11:00 PM and 5:00 AM.  Taxicab drivers rarely speak 
          English.  You may wish to have a clerk at your hotel write 
          your destination on a slip of paper to show the driver.  In 
          any case if your destination is not well known you should 
          carry a map with the location marked in Japanese. Do not 
          open or close the passenger door of the cab -- it is 
          controlled by a lever operated by the driver.  Taxi drivers 
          do not receive tips.
          
          Restaurants:  Water is perfectly safe to drink throughout 
          Japan.  Japanese hold cleanliness in high regard and even 
          inexpensive coffee shops and restaurants are extremely well 
          kept.  A 10 percent tax is applied to bills over 2,000 yen, 
          and a service fee of 10-15 percent is included in all 
          hotel, nightclub, and restaurant bills.   In Japan tipping 
          is not customary.
          
          There are many different types of restaurants in Japan, 
          including hotel restaurants, fast-food, Western-style 
          restaurants, Chinese, and of course specialized traditional 
          Japanese restaurants.  Hotel restaurants are usually very 
          expensive.  There are many chain and independently owned 
          family restaurants in Japan where food is good and 
          inexpensive.  The lunch meal is the best value in eating 
          out in Japan.
          
          Upon entering a traditional Japanese restaurant or a 
          Japanese home, shoes must be removed at the entrance and 
          are replaced by slippers.  These should be worn as long as 
          the floor is plain wood; in the tatami (straw mat) area, 
          slippers come off and you walk in stocking feet.  When 
          eating in Japanese restaurants, an attempt to use 
          chopsticks will bring attention, approval, and even 
          appreciation from waitresses and hosts.  When offered sake, 
          beer, or other drinks at a dinner party or in a club, the 
          glass or cup should be lifted an inch or two from the 
          table.  The custom is that you fill your partner's glass or 
          cup, not your own.
          
          Emergencies:  Throughout Japan, if police assistance is 
          needed, dial 110.  The police officer who answers the phone 
          probably will not speak English; however, he or she will 
          transfer you to someone who does.  In the event of an 
          accident or fire, dial 119 from anywhere in Japan.  Pay 
          phones usually have a red button which is a direct line to 
          emergency assistance.
          
          Electrical Power:  Japanese electrical power is 100 volts 
          alternating current.  The frequency is 50 Hz in Tokyo, 
          while in Nagoya and west of Nagoya (Kyoto and Osaka) the 
          frequency is 60 Hz.
          
          Measures:  The metric system is used in Japan, and 
          temperature readings are measured in centigrade.
          
          
