Japan Lets You Use Your Passport to Get Free Wi-Fi

Although Japan is renowned for having some of the best customer service on the planet, for various reasons, including language and cultural hurdles, it isn't known as the most tourist-friendly destination.

Some of those hurdles also extend into the tech arena, namely, Wi-Fi. Although sidling up to a café in Europe or North America and grabbing a bit of free Wi-Fi for your mobile device is common, finding such wireless access in tech-centric Japan's major cities remains notoriously difficult. But that's about to change.

A new program launched by NTT (Japan's largest telecom), is designed to serve foreign tourists on the hunt for Wi-Fi. For those who haven't traveled to Japan, the program might seem behind the times, but for anyone familiar with attempting to find Wi-Fi in Japan, this is huge news. (YouTube is littered with video commentary from frustrated travelers marveling at the lack of Wi-Fi access in such a technologically advanced country as Japan.)

Now, when a traveler arrives at a Japanese airport, they can present their passport and register for a Wi-Fi card that offers free Wi-Fi coverage via 45,000 hot spots in the eastern Japan area including Tokyo, Hakone, Mt. Fuji, Yokohama, Nagano, Nikko, Kusatsu, Tohoku, Hokkaido and Fukushima.

Additionally, a traveler outside of the country preparing to visit Japan can download the iOS or Android version of the NAVITIME for Japan Travel app and obtain an ID and password beforehand. The app also offers an augmented reality mode that shows you a Street View-style image of the location where an available Wi-Fi hotspot is located.

However, the access only lasts for 14 days (or 336 hours), just enough to get you used to the free access, but not long enough to be truly useful for anyone planning an extended stay in Japan.

According to the Nikkei, the program is also being directed by the Japanese government, which plans to use the initiative to get more buildings in the country to offer Wi-Fi access.

The trial program, which began earlier this year, will last until September 2014.

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Windowless Jet Will Let You Virtually Ride on Top of Clouds

If you've ever wondered what it's like to fly in Wonder Woman's invisible jet, you may soon get a chance to find out.

Spike Aerospace announced plans to launch a windowless supersonic business jet that will feature video displays that take up most of the interior wall space. Outside of the aircraft, an array of cameras will send a live video feed of the exterior to the interior wall screens, giving passengers the experience of riding right on top of clouds.

And while some passengers might be uncomfortable seeing visuals of high-altitude travel from such an immersive perspective, many others will likely jump at the chance to get a never-before-possible window-seat view of the clouds.

Adding to the surreal nature of the experience will be the fact that the flights will travel at supersonic speeds of Mach 1.6 to 1.8. According to Spike Aerospace, this means the company's aircrafts will be able to travel from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just five hours, and New York City to London in just three.

In the concept illustrations depicting what the aircraft's interior will look like, the company also shows off a PowerPoint-style presentation superimposed on top of the outside scenery. Spike Aerospace hasn't gone into great detail on this point, but the graphic (above) indicates that the displays will be somewhat interactive, possibly allowing activities that range from gaming to working on spreadsheets.

But as amazing as that all sounds, consider the virtual-experience possibilities: Imagine the plane's display panels showing the aircraft gradually ascending into space in concert with the aircraft's real-life movements.

Sure, you wouldn't get to experience the weightlessness that a company such as Zero-G offers (and soon, Virgin Galactic, too) with its space-tourism service, but aside from that detail, such a scenario could become a popular way to mix virtual tourism with real-world travel.

According to Wired, the Spike S-512 supersonic jet will cost about $80 million to be ready for its public debut in December 2018.

IMAGE: SPIKE AEROSPACE

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