Need to know about Japan? Then keep reading and hopefully those most friendly of resources for useful information forums will be able to point in the right direction.

Obviously if you’re going to Japan, you’ll be eating raw fish, or as it is far more politely referred to sushi.  Tokyo is a big place, so you’ll need this tripadvisor thread to find the eateries at the pinnacle when it comes to providing the nation’s famed dish.

Then you’ll need to get to aforementioned eateries. Look no further than this thread on the Tokyo subway system. If you’re concerned about travelling in a country that has shunned the English alphabet, sign reading I imagine could be tricky, then fear not. Instead be comforted by Jo Trouble:

“Providing you don’t allow yourself to be easily overwelmed you’ll be fine. There are maps by all the ticket machines in English as well as Japanese. Have a look at the one in LP (or another guidebook) before you go so you have an idea of what you’ll be seeing, and where the places you want to go to are.”

After getting to the restaurant and you’ve polished off some sake, time to party? If so, then travel forum contributors are able to give you a nudge to the night spots that may or may not be just your scene…

Finally there is the morning after and what better way to spend it than taking in some culture and sights and for that Japanese Lifestyle duly obliges.

Sometimes, as I log onto my EeePC in the bath, I suspect I need to get out more. Great as the net is, there are times when online research is best combined with a little offline interaction: planning your Gap Year is one of them. It’s a big investment of your time and money, so you want to make it a trip of a lifetime.

So, if you’re thinking of becoming a Gapper - whether you fancy interrailing round Europe, working with kids in India or just bumming around hot sandy places - STA Travel have a whole series of Gap Year Travel Talks in branches across the UK where you can see presentations from a load of different companies, get exclusive discounts and freebies, and most importantly talk to a bunch of people who have already been on them, to get at the truth behind the hype.

STA travelbuzz lovely Juliette will be going to the Covent Garden talk next Monday 18th at 7pm so do come along if you want to meet her too - for this or any of the upcoming talks, go here to email STA and book a place. I sadly can’t come, but I went to a Latin America talk they did a while back which was excellent, so I should imagine it’ll be well worth your time trying to catch one near you.

If you can’t, you might want to look at the blogs from some of our Explorers just embarking on their Gap Years - Nick is heading to South America for both volunteering and adventuring; Tiffany is touring India and Africa; and Em is spending a year on a student exchange in Mexico.

Getting on top of a travel visa can be a nightmare. While a quick search on the internet can usually help answer the most common questions, it’s not always so easy if you’re starting out completely in the dark. Luckily, the internet is like a chocolate box full of knowledge in the gumpian sense. You can dip inside to get a taste of this useful information but, ultimately, you never know what you’re gonna get.

Fortunately, Lonely Planet is a discussion forum brimming with seasoned travellers best described as ‘the fudge one’. If you have any questions about your trip, chances are someone there will be able to help.

In this thread, Fendergrl97 needs to know how to get two visas at the same time to visit Kenya and Tanzania. If you’ve got an answer or have been asking a similar question, join the conversation by following this here link.

Following on from my previous expression of New Zealand love, below are a collection of links from across the web which should interest anyone with a taste for aquatic adventure in beautiful, exotic waters – which should include pretty much anyone.

Diving at Poor Knights Island – Joshua Zimmerman takes a dive in some of the waters featured in one of the best scenes of Finding Nemo (the one with the turtles riding the East Australian Current) and writes a full account of his experience, with photos.

New Zealand diving expert offers his impartial advice in this thread over at ScubaBoard. If you have a question, he seems like the right person to ask!

Whereshegoes updates her TravelPod blog with an elegantly written summary of her time spent diving in Milford Sound. They say you’d be lucky to get one good day at this location, so get Whereshegoes to pick your lottery numbers as she had two out of three. Which, as Meatloaf says, ain’t bad.

And finally, here’s some general advice on New Zealand scuba diving courtesy of NZS.com.

‘ Travel Bugs?!’ we hear you cry. Nope, we’re not talking about that nasty parasite you picked up in Pnhom Penh (although if you really want to…) In fact, STA Travel Bugs is a smashing new feature where we pluck an interesting travel question form the internet ether and get a bright-eyed , fresh-brained, bushy-tailed member of the STA Travel team to send in their answer. Whatever your opinion about STA Travel, they’re renowned for having friendly and well-informed staff members who know the professional details of the travel industry but also have experience from their own adventures. This is also a chance for you to agree, disagree and generally chip in with tips and stories, so jump over to the forum and add your own replies.

This week, Tim from Lonely Planet Forum wants to know more about Ecuador:

I have been booked onto a liveaboard from the 18-25 of August on the Galapogas. I will fly into quito early August. My flights to the Islands are book with the tour. What are the chances of me changing my flight ticket to get out to the islands earlier by say two weeks.
Is there a budget airline in Ecuador?
Is it worth trying to make it down to Machu Pichu in August?
Ideally I would arrive in Ecuador very early August and get out to the Islands on an earlier flight, Is this likely and more likely to happen from quito or Gyacuil?
is there lots of other great things to do in Ecuador?

Click here to read what Chris from STA Sheffield has to say… (more…)

If you’re the trust-fund baby of a shipping tycoon or a backpacker working from bar to bar across the globe, you can flit off round the world without having to lay down funds first. But if, like most of us, you sit somewhere in between - aiming for an established itinerary that is still stimulating and spontaneous, but doesn’t break the bank - it can be incredibly difficult to calculate just how much you need to save before a dream trip can become a real possibility. Over in The Student Room, The Boosh has asked just this:

if you are travelling and not working for 12 months, and have the plane tickets sorted, how much cash would you need in your bank?

Lots of people have chipped in to help. Louiscbrooks reckons that 3 months away cost him £4000 overall. Floob is just setting off for 5 months away and is budgeting for £1000 per month, ‘hoping to spend a maximum of £6500 in total (including tickets, insurance and jabs)’ and groovy_moose thinks this is sensible; she spent around £6500 over 6 months. Interestingly, if you haven’t got flights sorted, Elipsis reckons that ‘STA travel are probably the best people for round the world flights that i’ve seen’.

If you’re thinking of globetrotting, read all the advice, and if you’ve already been, share the love and add a comment with your own costs and tips.

When going on safari, there’s always the risk that a hungry lioness will mistake you for a wildebeest. That’s why my advice for such trips would be to simply avoid looking like lunch. Other people, however, are more helpful with their tips and a good example of such a person would be Lovemore Ncube, who has made a guest appearance on The Travel Diva blog to share her excellent twenty tips for planning a successful African safari vacation.

I’d be hard-pressed to think of someone I know who wouldn’t be aroused by the idea of a safari tour, and it’s often surprising how accessible such trips are. Just reading Lovemore’s advice made me realise how planning such a holiday needn’t be intimidating. Now all I have to do is convince the girlfriend that’s true….