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Day: September 5, 2022

TOUR

Japan Relaxes Border Restrictions By Allowing Entry Of Non-Guided International Package Tours

by Tracy J. Chu

Good news for people heading to Japan. Starting on September 7, Japan allows for non-guided international package tours. Along with this, the cap on the number of tourists entering the country will also be increased.

However, visitors are still required to book their trips via agents and then obtain visas. Along with this, media reports state that tourists will have to follow guidelines issued for isolation if they are tested positive for covid-19 in Japan. Only people with Japanese nationality and people with long-term and pre-issued tourist visas are allowed.

With the ease in border restrictions, the tourism industry is eagerly looking forward to waiving programmes that allow tourists to visit the country without the need for a visa. According to media reports, Japan is hoping to get in line with the other Group of Seven countries to provide smooth entry to visitors.

According to Japan National Tourism Organisation, approximately only 1,44,500 foreign tourists arrived in Japan via group tours in July.

Japan has in place one of the most strict border restrictions. They had also barred the re-entry of foreign residents for several months during the first wave of coronavirus.  Starting from June this year, Japan reduced most of its travel restrictions and allowed visitors to enter in tour groups only if they were accompanied by guides.

According to reports, in 2019, Japan had recorded 31.9 million foreign visitors and had aimed to secure 40 million in 2020 before the covid-19 pandemic outbreak.

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ADVENTURE

Orchestra springs back to life with tale of sexual adventures

by Tracy J. Chu

Music critic Peter McCallum reviews some of the most recent performances around the city.

Australian World Orchestra
Opera House Concert Hall
September 23
★★★★½

The Australian World Orchestra sprang back to life with a surge of libidinous impulsiveness in the opening flourish of Strauss’ tone poem Don Juan, after barely a flicker – a superbly well-timed flicker – from conductor Zubin Mehta’s venerable baton.

Zubin Mehta conducts the AWO at the Edinburgh festival earlier this month.

Zubin Mehta conducts the AWO at the Edinburgh festival earlier this month.Credit:J Shurte

There is always a particular kind of unstoppable energy behind this occasional, always welcome, gathering of Australia’s global musical diaspora – one imagines Henry V greeting the happy few at the Agincourt reunion – and Strauss’ lusty tale of sexual adventure released it explosively in one sardonic wink.

This time there was the additional vividness of colour that the Opera House’s newly refurbished concert hall brings. Suddenly, courtesy of Strauss’ brilliance in orchestration, it was all there – the warmth of the horns, the golden sheen of the upper strings, the brilliant miniature glistening of the woodwind, the triumphant blandishments of the brass and the sharp elbows of raucous percussion.

Beneath all this were the visceral stirrings of the basses whom Mehta placed behind the first violins to create a particularly impressive blend of brilliance and power. As concertmaster in the first half, Rebecca Chan’s tone in the violin solo was sweet and distinctive like fine silk and Nick Deutsch’s oboe sound mixed creamy roundedness with a tiny kick of salty sourness.

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The second piece in this all-Strauss program, Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, was a change of tone, presenting, as this piece always does, the problem of making a light musical statement with a massive orchestral apparatus. The 86-year-old Mehta led Australia’s happy few through a shifting parade

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TRAVELLING

How To Find Cheapest Airline Tickets For Holiday Travel

by Tracy J. Chu

Holiday travel is just around the corner, and affordability is top of mind for many people. From April to August this year, searches for ‘ cheapest airline tickets ‘ surged by more than 240% in the U.S. During this same period, the top-searched questions related to air travel included “when is the best time to book a flight?” and “how to find cheap flights?”.

To learn more about finding the best deal on your next flight, the Google Flights team has shared an analysis of five years’ worth of historical airfare data with Travel Noire to look for any reliable patterns in the data.

Here’s what Google Flight found to guide you along the way :

Cheapest days to fly

 

Getty Images

Getty Images

Historically, it’s been cheaper to fly in the middle of the week than on the weekend — especially Sundays. On average, flights that depart on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday have been 12% cheaper than weekend departures. If you exclude international destinations, the potential savings jump even higher to 20%.

Nonstop flight versus taking a layover

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Getty Images

Willingness to take a layover is one of your best bets to save money when you fly. On average, nonstop fares have been 20% higher than a flight with stops.

The ideal number of days before departure to book a flight

Spirit airlines

Spirit airlines

For U.S. domestic flights, prices have usually been their lowest 21-60 days out, with average prices bottoming out 44 days before departure. But keep in mind that these patterns may not hold true for your specific route, so planning and booking early is usually a good idea.

Best time to book flights for Thanksgiving or Christmas

Getty Images

Getty Images

For domestic Thanksgiving travel, you’ll want to plan a bit further ahead. In the past, the lowest prices have usually

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VACATION

Do Teachers Get Paid Maternity Leave? Do They Get Vacation Days? These Answers and More

by Tracy J. Chu

Teaching is a profession where it can be hard to take a day off.

Teachers generally don’t get vacation days like other professional workers, since they don’t have to work during school breaks, including summer. They do get sick and personal leave, but navigating teacher leave policies can be tricky: Teachers are the most important school-related factor influencing student achievement, and their presence matters. Research shows that when teachers are absent for 10 days or more over the course of a school year, student outcomes decline.

But at the same time, teachers say they’re burned out and are experiencing high levels of stress. Experts say teachers should be able to take time off when their physical and mental health requires it.

“It’s important to balance the needs of teachers with the needs of students,” said Shannon Holston, the chief of policy and programs at the National Council on Teacher Quality, a Washington-based research and advocacy group. The NCTQ maintains a database of teacher leave policies in 148 districts—the 100 largest districts in the country and the largest in each state.

It has also become increasingly difficult to find enough substitute teachers to fill absences. Some teachers have said they feel guilty taking time off, especially for mental health reasons, because their work is often added to their colleagues’ plates.

Meanwhile, some policymakers have said that additional leave benefits—like paid parental leave—can be effective recruiting tools for teachers, especially during this difficult job market.

Here’s what you need to know about the landscape of teacher leave policies.

How many days a year do teachers get off?

On average, teachers get 10 sick days and three personal days a year, according to the NCTQ. These days typically roll over from year to year, so veteran teachers often accumulate large

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