by Sophia » Thu Aug 18, 2005 8:31 pm
The accommodation will be spartan and the food unpalatable, but stunning views are guaranteed on Japan's most expensive package tour.
Japan's biggest travel agency will charge 2.2 billion yen ($US20 million) a head for a week-long tour to the International Space Station (ISS), travelling on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, Kyodo news agency said.
JTB will offer the tours from October in a tie-up with Space Adventures of the United States, which has already sent two tourists into space, Kyodo said.
Would-be astronauts will be required to undergo six to eight months of preflight training.
Other itineraries in the pipeline include a trip around the moon for 11 billion yen and a zero gravity tour, which will take participants to an altitude of 100 kilometres for a relatively inexpensive 11 million yen.