Hello Kitty, Ambassador of Tourism

Japan just named Hello Kitty as their ambassador of tourism in an effort to enourage more women to visit Japan. This article also tells us, “According to her official profile from Sanrio, Hello Kitty lives with her family in London.”

Huh? Shouldn’t living in Japan be a main part of the job? Especially for a fictional character whose fictional bio could have her living anywhere?

Ah, well. If Miss Ambassador visits the U.S., I hope we send both Mickey Mouse and Homer Simpson to welcome her.

Great Mount Fuji! Japan Is On Sale

For a limited time, Travel CUTS has some of their best tours of Japan on sale. (To get the sale price, you must be booked and paid in full by May 30, 2008.) What is there to do in Japan? Hmmm, let me think.

How about ride a bullet train, be a real foodie and sample all the tastes Japan has to offer, stay in a traditional Ryokan, visit the Kyoto Zen gardens, see the sunset over the Tori Gate, tour the resting place of the Tokugawa shoguns, soak in a traditional outdoor onsen, reflect on the past in Hiroshima, or delve into geisha culture in Kyoto.

Think that could keep you busy for a week or two? If you need more encouragement, go rent Lost in Translation, then contact a friendly Travel CUTS agent and say Konichiwa!

 

Photo courtesy of Luke Rees.

“Life’s An Adventure” Photo Contest

Attention student adventure travelers: Here’s your chance to show off and get something for it.

National Geographic Adventure magazine’s photo contest is open to legal residents of the United States, excluding Puerto Rico, age 18 and older. Submissions must be in by May 2, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. to be eligible, and you can get all the details on their site.

What’s that? You don’t have any photos of you doing something incredibly adventurous? Well then it’s about time you did. Start planning your travel adventure now and be ready for the next photo contest that comes up. How about a week of surf camp in Australia? Two weeks of extreme sports and hobbit-spotting in New Zealand? Three weeks observing the wildlife in Africa? Talk to our buddies at Travel CUTS and the Adventure Travel Company. They’ll have you flying, jumping, rafting, diving and more in no time, all at affordable student prices.

 

Go Around the World, Without Being Taken to the Cleaners

There are a few ways to get around the world in one trip, making several stops in far-off exotic locations. You could do something like Semester at Sea, cruising along at a good pace and checking out the sites at al the ports of call. You could get a sugar daddy/mamma to fund your dream trip. You could join the military… although that may not lead to much of a vacation right now.

Or, you can try to find a good deal on a RTW (round the world) ticket that will allow you to shape your itinerary and get where you want to go without paying for lots of expensive one-way flights. If the sugar daddy thing doesn’t work out, I highly recommend this option.

It’s pretty easy with smaller trips to hop online and search for a good fare, but RTW travel is a little different. Your costs will depend on which airline you choose, who their partners are, how many stops you want to make, where, and what time of year you plan on going.  You also need to take other forms of transportation into account. Maybe you want to fly to London then get a Eurail pass to visit several countries before flying out of Rome. Maybe you want to land in Sydney then do an Oz Experience trip up to Cairns, or a working holiday in Melbourne, before flying on to Auckland.

Really, what you need is a travel agent. An agent with RTW experience can help you put all the little bits together, help you decide what kind of discounts you can use to save some money (ISIC, IYIC, or hostel membership), and make sure that you give yourself enough time for each leg of the journey so that one missed flight doesn’t spell disaster for the rest of your trip.

Have a look at some sample fares from Travel CUTS and then give them a call to see what kind of incredible student adventure package they can put together for you. A travel plan this big needs the advice of an expert, and if you can find a student travel expert to help you , even better.