Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO)

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/(in English)

Intended audience
Foreign tourists who plan to visit Japan and look for information.
Any people who are interested in Japan.

Usefulness of content
Pros: A lot of information included, from basic travel guide (such as visa, tourist information center under “Essential Info”) to Japanese local cuisine (under “Japanese Delicacies”). Seven-Language selection.
Cons: Information architecture problem. Tons of information is not organized well. In fact there are some categories for travel-related information, but other information link is "scattered" in the front page without being included in any category. If two or more pieces of information are closely-related, they are sometimes set in the whole different section. For example, two Japanese culture pages, closely-related but not identical, are presented under “Japanese-in-depth” and in independent column. In short, the website looks just listing everything but without point to appeal. In addition, there is no accommodation information for the disabled. Some railroad companies’ map and schedule websites that link to the JNTO website are only available in Japanese.

Consistency of design
Not so consistent. Busy looking. It is totally different design between the homepage (front page) and other pages. The color (passage and page frame) is also varied, it may also give inconsistent impression to viewers.

Ease of navigation
Quite bad. As mentioned, the information is not well-categorized. It makes viewers tired until they reach the info. No “Featured Articles” link in the main body. It has “site search,” but it is impossible to narrow the search. “Browse the Map of Japan (under “find a location”)” is the most difficult page to navigate. Touch pad mouse is almost uncontrollable to point the region that viewers want to see.

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