(Many of these eager fans learned to their dismay, though, that the tickets they thought they had secured were not forthcoming. On June 10 travel agents reported that some 12,000 tickets for Japan's match with Argentina, which they had arranged to purchase from brokers, were never delivered. The agents canceled tours for 6,000 passengers, with the remaining participants being given a choice of whether or not to go despite the strong possibility of being left without tickets.)

Sans Hotels
The ultimate cut-rate tour is for three days and "zero nights," leaving Kansai International Airport on the evening of June 13. Offered by Japan Travel Bureau, one of Japan's top travel agencies, the tour includes transportation and tickets to Japan's first match on June 14. After participants touch down in France on a chartered flight, they will be escorted to the venue in Toulouse in time for the 2:30 p.m. match against Argentina. After the match, the group will be scurried back to the airport for a flight that evening, in time to be back at Kansai International Airport on the evening of June 15. With this tour, even people with full-time jobs only need to take Monday off to go see World Cup competition.

The tour, costing 255,000 yen (1,821 U.S. dollars at 140 yen to the dollar), went on sale on May 11, 1998, and applications were accepted for five days, during which time some 700 people applied for 290 spaces. The lucky winners were chosen by a drawing.

"I thought about dashing off to France by calling in sick," one lucky winner commented. "But I'd given up on the idea since I figured the truth would leak out sooner or later. So when I heard about this tour, which wouldn't affect my work that much, I pounced on it."

The excitement begins even before the particiants get to France. The in-flight video will be a documentary of Japan's historic road to France, and the meal will be katsudon (pork cutlet on a bowl of rice), a play on the word katsu, which also means "winning." Passengers will also be served cream puffs made to look like footballs.

A four-day package offered by another travel agency, forcing participants to spend two nights on a bus and one on a plane, has also sold out.

World Cup Business
Many enterprising firms are using World Cup fever to improve business performance. A temporary-staff agency launched a campaign to invite 20 members of its registered staff who worked 30 hours or more between January and April 1998 to the World Cup. As a result, around 8,000 people signed up with the agency, a jump of 40% from the year before. A company spokesperson claims that some of the new registrants quit their previous jobs after learning of the free-ticket offer.

A major chain of wedding halls is offering a wedding package that includes a honeymoon at the World Cup. "We want the newlyweds to stay at top-class hotels," a spokesperson said, "but because the hotels are charging premium rates, we can't turn a profit with the tour alone. We hope to come out ahead by including the ceremony and reception in the package."

For people who cannot journey to France, a number of restaurants are organizing special events to view satellite broadcasts of the games. One English-style pub will be airing six first-round matches featuring the Japanese and British teams, and it will restrict admission to those who have purchased tickets. The pub reports that all tickets have been sold out.