The "Land of the Rising Sun" is a country where the past meets the future. Japanese culture stretches back millennium, yet has also adopted (and created) the latest modern fashions and trends.
Japan is a study in contrasts and contradictions. Many Japanese corporations dominate their industries, yet if you read the financial news it seems like Japan is practically bankrupt. Cities are as modern and high tech as anywhere else, but tumbledown wooden shacks can still be spotted next to glass fronted designer condominiums. On an average subway ride, you might see childishly cute character toys and incredibly violent pornography - sometimes enjoyed by the same passenger, at the same time!
Japan has beautiful temples and gardens which are often surrounded by garish signs and ugly buildings. In the middle of a modern skyscraper you might discover a sliding wooden door which leads to a traditional chamber with tatami mats, calligraphy, and tea ceremony. These juxtapositions mean you may often be surprised and rarely bored by your travels in Japan.
Although Japan has often been seen in the West as a land combining tradition and modernity, and juxtapositions definitely exist, part of this idea is obsolete, and is a product of Japan being the first major Asian power to modernize as well as Western patronization and heavy promotion by the travel industry. Keep in mind that continued demolition of some of Japan's historic landmarks goes on apace, as with the famed Kabuki-za Theater demolition. Still, with the proper planning, and with expectations held in check, a trip to Japan can be incredibly enjoyable and definitely worthwhile.
Tokyo
Tokyo
Tokyo is the capital of Japan. At over 12 million people in the official metropolitan area alone, Tokyo is the core of the most populated urban area in the world, Greater Tokyo (which has a population of 35 million people). This huge, wealthy and fascinating metropolis brings high-tech visions of the future side by side with glimpses of old Japan, and has something for everyone.
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Sumo is a competitive full-contact wrestling sport
where a rikishi (wrestler)
attempts to force another wrestler out of
a circular ring (dohyō) or to
touch the ground with anything other than the soles
of the feet.
The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is
practiced
professionally. Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo,
and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the
use of salt
purification, from the days when sumo was used in the Shinto
religion. Life as
a wrestler is highly regimented, with rules laid down
by the Japan Sumo
Association. Most sumo wrestlers are required to live
in communal "sumo
training stables", known in Japanese as heya,
where all aspects of
their daily lives—from meals to their manner
of dress—are dictated by strict
tradition.
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Hiroshima gained worldwide prominence because it bore the devastating impact of the first atomic bomb during World War II. The city’s devastation was so tremendous and far-reaching that many people believed it would never recover. But they were proven wrong—Hiroshima in fact has shown to the world that there is life after destruction. Today, this Japanese city stands proudly with its notable landmarks and attractions that are frequented by visitors from across the world.
Peace Memorial Park. The top attraction in the city is the 120,000-square meter Peace
Memorial Park, where a ceremony to commemorate the Hiroshima bombing
takes place every year. The event is open for foreign visitors.
After the bombing in 1945, all the structures in Hiroshima were
totally damaged, except for one - the Prefectural Industrial Promotion
Hall. The structure that survived the bombing is presently known as the
A-Bomb Dome (Genbaku Dome), which sits within the Peace Memorial Park.
The history of Hiroshima and the stories of the historic bombing are
told in the Peace Memorial Museum, the major facility in the park.
Kyoto
Japan’s fifth largest city, Sapporo, was once a small fishing town that has been developed into a significant tourist destination. The world took notice of Sapporo when it hosted the 1972 Olympic Winter Games, the first winter Olympics to be held in Asia. Now, the capital of Hokkaido is famous in the world for three reasons: its beer, fresh seafood, and miso-flavored ramen. Sapporo is also well known for its extreme winter season, which explains the popularity of the snow festival held every year in this city.
Sapporo is a clean and peaceful city that’s full of parks, streets lined with trees, and shopping arcades. Tourists have plenty of attractions to visit and activities to enjoy in Sapporo. One of the major attractions in the city is The Clock Tower (Tokeidai), which is the symbol and major landmark of Sapporo. A very interesting tourist spot in the city is the Sapporo Brewery building where visitors can take a tour of the Beer Museum and taste the world-famous Sapporo beer.
Mount Moiwa, also known as the backyard ski resort of Sapporo, is a favourite skiing venue for tourists.
Jozankei Onsen is a unique natural attraction with its hot spring. The century-old botanical garden in the Batchelor Memorial Museum is worthy of visit as well. For families spending their holiday in Sapporo, the Maruyama Zoo offers a fun and memorable travel experience.
Sapporo Snow Festival
This annual event, which draws an increasing number of local and international visitors, is one of the largest winter activities in Japan and is popular internationally. Every February, Sapporo transforms into a winter wonderland with its white snow and crystal-clear ice. Millions of spectators line up in Sapporo to view the numerous lovely ice sculptures and snow statues along the major street in Susukino, Satoland grounds, and Odori Park.
Sapporo has an active night-life, thanks to the myriad of nightclubs and bars in the entertainment district of Susukino. So if you are in for a night of partying and clubbing, Sapporo won’t disappoint you.
A striking thing about Sapporo is its contrasting temperature between summer and winter. Its winter season runs from December to March, while the wet and hot summer season is from June to September. This city has a higher snowfall than other cities in the world, which peaks to 72 inches in January. Its thick snow makes Sapporo an unbeatable winter sports destination, and visitors usually enjoy skiing and snowboarding in the city.
Kyoto
Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over a
millennium, and carries a reputation as its most beautiful city. However,
visitors may be surprised by how much work they will have to do to see Kyoto's
beautiful side. Most first impressions of the city will be of the urban sprawl
of central Kyoto, around the ultra-modern glass-and-steel train station, which
is itself an example of a city steeped in tradition colliding with the modern
world.
Nonetheless, the persistent visitor will soon discover
Kyoto's hidden beauty in the temples and parks which ring the city centre, and
find that the city has much more to offer than immediately meets the eye.
Osaka
SapporoOsaka
With a population of 2.5 million, Osaka is Japan's third
largest and second most important city. It has been the economic powerhouse of
the Kansai region for many centuries.
Osaka was formerly known as Naniwa. Before the Nara Period,
when the capital used to be moved with the reign of each new emperor, Naniwa
was once Japan's capital city, the first one ever known.
In the 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi chose Osaka as the
location for his castle, and the city may have become Japan's capital if Tokugawa
Ieyasu had not terminated the Toyotomi lineage after Hideyoshi's death and
moved his government to distant Edo (Tokyo).
Japan’s fifth largest city, Sapporo, was once a small fishing town that has been developed into a significant tourist destination. The world took notice of Sapporo when it hosted the 1972 Olympic Winter Games, the first winter Olympics to be held in Asia. Now, the capital of Hokkaido is famous in the world for three reasons: its beer, fresh seafood, and miso-flavored ramen. Sapporo is also well known for its extreme winter season, which explains the popularity of the snow festival held every year in this city.
Sapporo is a clean and peaceful city that’s full of parks, streets lined with trees, and shopping arcades. Tourists have plenty of attractions to visit and activities to enjoy in Sapporo. One of the major attractions in the city is The Clock Tower (Tokeidai), which is the symbol and major landmark of Sapporo. A very interesting tourist spot in the city is the Sapporo Brewery building where visitors can take a tour of the Beer Museum and taste the world-famous Sapporo beer.
Mount Moiwa, also known as the backyard ski resort of Sapporo, is a favourite skiing venue for tourists.
Jozankei Onsen is a unique natural attraction with its hot spring. The century-old botanical garden in the Batchelor Memorial Museum is worthy of visit as well. For families spending their holiday in Sapporo, the Maruyama Zoo offers a fun and memorable travel experience.
Sapporo Snow Festival
This annual event, which draws an increasing number of local and international visitors, is one of the largest winter activities in Japan and is popular internationally. Every February, Sapporo transforms into a winter wonderland with its white snow and crystal-clear ice. Millions of spectators line up in Sapporo to view the numerous lovely ice sculptures and snow statues along the major street in Susukino, Satoland grounds, and Odori Park.
Sapporo has an active night-life, thanks to the myriad of nightclubs and bars in the entertainment district of Susukino. So if you are in for a night of partying and clubbing, Sapporo won’t disappoint you.
A striking thing about Sapporo is its contrasting temperature between summer and winter. Its winter season runs from December to March, while the wet and hot summer season is from June to September. This city has a higher snowfall than other cities in the world, which peaks to 72 inches in January. Its thick snow makes Sapporo an unbeatable winter sports destination, and visitors usually enjoy skiing and snowboarding in the city.