Japan is truly timeless, a place where ancient traditions merge with modern life as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Japan is truly timeless, a place where ancient traditions merge with modern life as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Traditional culture
On the surface, Japan looks extremely modern, but traveling through it offers numerous opportunities to connect with the country's traditional culture. Spend the night in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn), sleeping on futons and tatami mats, and wandering the worn wooden corridors to the bathhouse (or go one step further and sleep in an old farmhouse). Meditate with the monks or learn to whip bitter matcha (powdered green tea) into a foam. From the splendor of a Kyoto geisha dance to the understated beauty of a Zen rock garden, Japan has the power to captivate even the most jaded traveler.
Food
Wherever you are in Japan, it seems like you are never far from great food. Restaurants often specialize in just one dish, perhaps after generations have spent perfecting it, and pay close attention to each stage, from sourcing the freshest local ingredients to preparing the dish attractively. And as you will quickly discover, Japanese cuisine has great regional variations. The plentiful hot pots in the mountains are, for example, dramatically different from the delicate sushi the coast is famous for. It's also intensely seasonal, meaning you can visit at a different time of year and experience totally new flavors.
Outdoor
Japan is a long, thin archipelago, highly volcanic. It has more than two-thirds of mountains, with bubbling hot springs at every corner. In the warmer months there are excellent walks, through groves of cedar trees and fields of wildflowers, to soaring peaks and ancient shrines (the latter founded by wandering ascetics). In the winter this is all covered in snow and the skiing is world class. (And if you've never combined hiking or skiing with soaking in an onsen, you don't know what you've been missing.) Meanwhile, in the southern reaches, there are tropical beaches for sunbathing, snorkeling and diving.
Ease of travel
Japan is incredibly easy to get around - you can take an entire trip using nothing but its immaculate and efficient public transportation. The shinkansen (bullet train) network now stretches from the southern tip of Kyūshū (the southernmost of Japan's main islands) to Hokkaidō (the northernmost), and reasonably priced rail passes make it affordable. Major cities have metro networks that are signposted in English and these days we are seeing and hearing more English everywhere. But if you're looking to get off the beaten track and out of your comfort zone, you can have that experience too.