Traveler’s Notes . . .

Phones at the Russian National Tourist Office in New York, tel. (212) 758-1162, have been going unanswered, and the office is “temporarily closed due to financial difficulties,” according to Olga Egoshina, director of the Moscow City Tourist Office in New Jersey. The Russian federal government has been in crisis due to the falling ruble. Egoshina said her office, which is funded by the city of Moscow, has not been affected; tel. (888) 966-7269. . . . Japan Airlines plans to ban smoking on international flights starting April 1, 1999. . . .