Japan
Getting there: main carrier is Japan Airlines, others include Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and All Nippon Airways.
Flight time: 11hrs 30mins.
Visas: not required for stays of up to three months.
Currency: 192 yen to the £.
Climate: mostly temperate with four seasons. Winters cool and sunny in south, cold and sunny around Tokyo; summer ranges from warm to very hot; spring and autumn mild. June and early July is the main rainy season.
Time zones: GMT+9hrs.
Language: Japanese. Some English is spoken in major cities.
Inoculations: typhoid and polio.