The Land of the Rising Sun

Working in the travel industry, I’m often asked which is my favourite country. I love lots of different places for lots of different reasons; for relaxing, for culture, for landscape, for sightseeing, for beaches, for wildlife, for activity, but mostly I love places that are totally and utterly different to anywhere else, that have their own unique culture and identity and that are authentic and unspoiled. To that end, my top three countries for all those reasons are Tibet, Tanzania and Japan.

There are two times of the year recommended to visit Japan. Spring for ‘Hanami’ meaning cherry blossom viewing and Autumn for ‘Koyo’ meaning red leaf for the amazing colours. I’m lucky enough to have been in both seasons and I couldn’t pick between the two. Cherry Blossom is a time for families to picnic and party and appreciate the beauty of the flowers, so there is a joyous and celebratory atmosphere, but Autumn is staggeringly beautiful too; stunning colours and a time perhaps of quieter and calmer reflection.

Hiroshima peace park

beautiful quiet temples

Japan is such a contrast of the ultra modern and centuries old tradition; a model society of clean, quick, polite efficiency. The bullet train system is a wondrous thing. Spotless, punctual to the minute and quiet, it speeds you through the ever changing countryside in smooth, clean comfort. The driver bows as he boards, and the snack trolley is heralded by more bowing. All the seats spin to face the direction of travel and no one makes telephone calls or talks loudly in the quiet carriage. The underground system is surprisingly easy to use and is spotless. It even has glass display cases housing archaeological relics and art on the walls.

In Tokyo, beautiful wooden carved and painted temples sit amongst glass and steel skyscrapers and busy bustling streets filled with shops offering the latest technology or traditional tea sets. The people are incredibly respectful, shy, gentle and gracious in their help of the bewildered tourist trying to negotiate the underground system; no words, but a gentle tap on the arm and you’re led to where you want to be.

Kyoto is a delightful maze of narrow streets, tiny shops selling exquisite crafts (bring a spare bag - it’s all stunning) - we bought beautiful Kokeshi dolls, silk Kimonos, lacquerware, fabrics, inlaid bowls, exquisite omamori and chopsticks ; all superb quality at reasonable prices.

We admired Geishas wandering the streets of Kyoto in traditional dress, we walked the Nightingale floor at Nijo Castle, visited the Snow Monkeys bathing in the hot springs in Hell Valley, photographed a snow capped Mt Fuji, marvelled at stunning wooden temples in Nikko, relaxed in an Onsen, silently wandered the museum at Hiroshima and the Peace Park, went into the mountains at Nagano and explored Tokyo’s many districts. We saw Ikiabana, Sumo and Kabuki.

We ate beautiful fresh tempura prawns and sticky rice in tiny restaurants, sitting cross legged in booths high up in the roof, or at bar counters with just enough room for six people. We had tea in tiny cups overlooking perfect zen gardens, marvelled at the skill of the Teriyaki chef in a tiny wooden restaurant and tucked into delicious ramen noodles from a viewpoint high above Tokyo.

the snow monkeys bathing in the hot springs

utterly exquisite wooden temples

barrels of sake wrapped in straw as offerings at the meiji shrine

the shinkansen or bullet train

There is so much to see in Japan for all tastes, abilities and budgets. It has such a strong culture and identity that isn’t like anywhere else and that’s exactly why it’s in my top three.