Something like 5 years ago, I sent an email to JNTO (Japan National Tourist Office) suggesting that if they wanted more people to visit Japan, they ought to lobby JR to have Nozomi shinkansen covered by the JR pass.
I never heard back. Until today.
No, they didn't finally address my original email. They sent me the December issue of something called "Visit Japan Today! December Issue." It has articles telling me many useful facts, like how to take sushi home as a souvenir of a Japanese vacation (hint: the sushi is either wax or plastic models).
But tips like that weren't the REAL reason for JNTO to suddenly re-discover my email. Here's the inside poop, straight from the JNTO horse's mouth:
■ Announcement of the holding of the Visit Japan Club
Around next March a community site to be managed and operated by the Tourism Agency and the Japan National Tourism Organization will start.
In this site, you can exchange views with worldwide people interested in Japan through blogs and bulletin boards, and obtain interesting goods through campaigns and photo contests.
We await your positive participation together with your friends.
We will inform you when the site will open once such details are decided.
Take THAT, Yokoso Japan promotion!