Travellers are offered new routes into Japan following the decision by Taiwan’s leading independent airline, EVA Air, to extend its northeast Asian network.

The carrier has launched a Taipei to Okayama service and will add Asahikawa as a further destination on May 2nd.

It is also increasing frequency on its Taipei-Hakodate route from two to four flights a week from May 1st.

The additions bring to 11 the number of destinations EVA Air serves in Japan from its international hub at Taipei, with 67 flights a week.

The Taipei-Okayama route operates on Wednesdays and Saturdays, departing at 10.15 and using McDonnell Douglas MD-90 aircraft.

Return flights operate on the same day at 16.15.

Okayama is only 40 minutes south of Japan’s third-largest city, Osaka, by high-speed train. EVA passengers have the option, therefore, of flying into Okayama but leaving Japan with its daily Osaka flight – or vice versa.

Located in central Hokkaido, Asahikawa is the second-largest city in the region and the coldest in Japan, making it a popular winter sports destination.

EVA Air will operate an Airbus A330-200 on the route, departing Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport at 10.05 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Flights back to Taipei depart the same day at 20.00.

The expanded schedule to Hakodate provides 09.50 departures on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, with same-day return flights departing at 15.45.

EVA’s other Japan gateways include both Narita and Haneda airports in Tokyo, Fukuoka, Komatsu and Sendai, in addition to Okayama, Niigata, Osaka and Sapporo.

From EVA’s European gateways in Europe, including London-Heathrow, Oceania and North America, passengers can make one stop in Taipei and easily connect onward to most major business and leisure destinations in Asia.