Very Iiiiiiiinteresting!

Rumors abound, people! Listen up...

Here's the scuttlebutt from around the interwebs: The Japanese government may be giving away 10,000 free plane tickets to Japan beginning in April 2012. In the face of tanking tourism since the earthquake/tsunami of 3/11, this is supposed to be an effort to revive travel interest and show the world that Japan is still awesome and not a radioactive deadly zone of danger (and 20ish mile radius around Fukushima aside, it's not. I promise!).

The deal is still in the works and hasn't been approved yet, but if it is, I'm guessing lots of people will want take advantage of a free trip to Japan. I've read various rumors about getting one of these 10,000 tickets (like an application essay about why you want to travel to Japan and the requirement of publicly sharing your travel experience via blogging, tweeting, etc.), but who knows what the real deal is.

In any case, if this actually happens, we best get some visitors up in Misawa! No excuses- free flight, free place to stay at Casa de Garson, two friendly personalized tour guides... what more could you ask for? This is the stuff of dreams, people.

You can find plenty of rumors, but the official word is that the initiative is "still under examination for government budgetary approval and is at this moment undecided." If approved, the official announcement will be posted on Japan National Tourism Organization's website. So keep a lookout! I'll keep you updated here as well.

Corey and I will probably/most likely/who knows have at least a year left in Japan after we both get back later this winter, so the timing should work out splendidly!

Bottom line: come visit us!!!