Japan is much revered for its strong sense of culture and heritage.  In fact it is often thought that the Japanese are a very strict people with a low tolerance of those not adhering to the social etiquette.  This is not at all true and even though the Japanese do have a strong sense of pride in their culture, they do not take offence if a stranger is not familiar with the local customs.  And there are a host of situations requiring a variety of different customs and etiquette to remember.  Such as in a restaurant you are presented with a hot or cold towel, depending on the season, prior to eating to wash your hands with.  For more etiquette rules go to http://www.seejapan.co.uk/fvisitor.html

Of course, it’s not just the etiquette that Japan is known for.  If you do want to travel to Japan then its capital, Tokyo, should be your first stop.  Often known as a sci-fi heaven full of high tech gadgetry and skyscrapers that rival New York, this is a place of contradiction where futuristic buildings sit alongside ancient monuments.  Places to see are Imperial Palace, Yoyogi Park and the Asakusa area.  A two centre holiday in Tokyo and Kyoto is an ideal contrast between new and old Japan.  In Kyoto you can see hundreds of elaborate temples, Buddhas and Zen gardens.  Central Kyoto has the usual urban sprawl apart from the Imperial Palace. Also, you can see a tea ceremony, Geisha, Katsura Imperial Villa [& gardens] and Himeji castle nearby. 

The northernmost capes have a Siberian climate and while 1,800 miles (2,900km) south are subtropical islands from which, on a clear day, you can see Taiwan.  As Richard Lloyd Parry so eloquently puts it in his Time book of Japan, “Amid such richness there are a thousand holidays to be had, and an efficient public transport system which makes travelling long distances a pleasure. In a well-organised fortnight, it is possible to ski in Hokkaido, bathe in hot springs in the Japan Alps, then take in kabuki theatre in Tokyo, temple architecture in Kyoto, modern history in Hiroshima and a cruise across the Inland Sea to end up sunbathing on a beach in Okinawa.”

To get there try www.ba.com, www.japantravel.co.uk, www.expedia.co.uk