With several vibrant cities, centuries worth of history, gardens, castles, museums, temples, seafood and scenery, there are many reasons to tour this island nation.
1) Coast through the serene scenery of Ueno Park, in Tokyo, home to three museums, a university of arts and a zoo and make a stop at Everyones Cafe, a garden café nestled in the lush greenery of Ueno Forest, where the menu features ingredients sourced from Tokyo.
2) Make a brief stop at Mt Fuji: the nation’s highest peak. At 12,388 feet, it is Japan’s most famous symbol. The dormant volcano sits between Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures and with great weather it can be viewed from Tokyo and Yokohama.
3) Make Osaka a destination and check out Dōtonbori, a vibrant, neon-lit entertainment and dining district in central Osaki and visit Osaka Castle, Osaka’s most visible tourist historical attraction where the eight- floor tower offers a stunning view of Osaka.
4) Partake in a Tea ceremony, or chanoyu, (the way of Tea) in Kyoto. An experience not to be missed, it is a historical ritual and process which involves a strictly determined series of movements and action.
5) Enjoy a cultural phenomenon with matcha chocolate, which is immensely popular in Japan due to its perfect balance of sweet white chocolate and the bitter taste of high-quality green tea powder. The trend leverages Japan’s deep cultural history with tea, turning premium, often artisanal, flavors into popular everyday snacks, such as the famous seven-intensity matcha chocolate bars.
6) Roam around with deer in Nara Park, a large park in central Nara, a city not far from Kyoto, where you will find thousands of Sika deer often bowing for special crackers merely roaming around the town. The park is also set against the backdrop of the ancient Tōdai-ji Temple, built in 751 and houses a massive 15-meter (nearly 50 feet) bronze Buddha statue.
7) Board a Bullet Train at Kyoto Railway Museum, one of Japan’s railway museums and learn about Japan’s extensive railway system, which is certainly a world-renowned, punctual network, central to daily life. With over 50 trains on display, it’s a collection that spans the complete history of Japanese railways from steam up to the Shinkansen.
8) Machines galore: Grab hot, cold food and drinks, fresh fruit, batteries, ice cream and even an umbrella from a vending machine. While vending machines and convenience stores did not originate in Japan, their popularity seems to have no limit, and Japan has the world’s highest density of vending machines per capita.
9) Learn to cook Ramen, a wheat noddle in a meat-based broth, and experience the essence of Japanese soul food, through a culinary class. Discover the rich history behind ramen and master the art of creating it from scratch.
10) With theme parks such as Disneyland in Tokyo, Universal Studios in Osaka and Legoland in Nagoya, all accessible via train, Japan offers world-class theme parks, blending international brands with unique local culture.
