Iconic Japan

For a quick, jet-lag busting fix of old Tokyo, we recommend the eastern Asakusa district, home of the venerable Sensoji temple. Watch worshippers light incense and bow before the city’s oldest shrine, then enjoy the Japanese atmosphere of the surrounding streets, with their antique kimono boutiques and traditional kitchen utensil shops. For dinner, we recommend main Ginza branch of the famous Kyubey chain, where you’ll find out what real sushi should taste like. As with most high-end sushiyas, each piece is made in front of you and served one at a time. The flavours are nothing short of a revelation!

The capital’s most famous Shinto shrine, Meiji Jingu, is a popular venue for Japanese weddings and if you are lucky, you may see a bride and groom in traditional attire. Next, walk with your guide down Omotesando, enjoying the bustle and glamour of Tokyo’s ritziest shopping street. In the afternoon, you’ll experience the city from a totally different perspective as you take a cruise down the Sumida Gawa to Hamarikyu-Teien, and exquisite Edo-period garden encircled by skyscrapers, where you can pause for a green tea and a traditional sweet in the delightful lakeside teahouse.

Set amid beautiful surroundings in the mountains, UNESCO World Heritage listed Nikko is like a Japanese ink painting brought to life, complete with lines of moss-covered Jizo Buddhas sporting knitted crimson caps, stone lanterns backed by towering cedars, and a red-lacquer bridge framed by snowy white mountains. The oldest monuments date from 766AD, but the place really blossomed in the 1600s after the great Tokugawa Shogun who first unified Japan (and later provided the subject for James Clavell’s hit novel, ‘Shogun’) was enshrined here. One of the standout sights is burnished copper pagoda roof of the 8th-century Futarasan shrine.

Kamakura, a peaceful, breezy seaside resort, offers a pleasant respite from the bustle of Tokyo. In addition to the pounding surf of Sagami Bay, its main attraction are the dozens of Shinto and Buddhist shrines scattered across the wooded hills enfolding the town, some of which date back 1,200 years. A network of azalea-lined pathways winds through the woods separating the various monuments, the most famous of which houses a huge, bronze Buddha known as ‘Daibutsu’, cast in the 13th century.

Set amid spectacular mountain scenery, Tsumago is a wonderfully well preserved vestige of the old post road between Tokyo and Kyoto, with numerous Edo-period buildings to admire. Keen walkers will relish the chance to hike along the old imperial road from nearby Magome, which has been designated as a traffic-free trekking route and passes through delightful countryside and farmsteads.

You should have enough time in the afternoon to squeeze a spot of sightseeing. A good option would be the trip up to the Fushimi Inari shrine on a hillside overlooking the city – one of the most romantic spots in the region, where lines of inscribed, red-lacquer archways form beautiful covered walkways. After, stroll along the Philosopher’s Walk, a pleasant waterfront path lined with cherry trees, before dinner at Tako Nyudo, which specializes in Kyoto’s home-style of cooking, known as ‘obanzai’. We recommend the more-ish house speciality, ‘akashi yaki’ – pieces of delicately flavoured octopus fried in crispy egg batter.

Kyoto is the Japan of the imagination – a city of cherry trees, pagoda-roofed temples, geishas and tea ceremonies, all set against a backdrop of lush green hills and fine traditional architecture. An unparalleled wealth of period buildings survive here, from Edo-era wood-fronted houses to glittering medieval shrines crammed with sumptuous art. You’ll also have the opportunity to experience the art forms associated with them, from Japanese flower arrangement to rock gardening and the arcane costumes of Noh drama – all in their traditional contexts. And of course, there’s Kyoto’s sumptuous ‘kaiseki’ – the epitome of Japan’s uber-refined cuisine.

Nara ranks among the most charismatic cities in Asia, thanks to its extraordinary collection of antique buildings, many of which are more than a thousand years old. Its UNESCO-listed centrepiece is the spectacular Todai-ji Temple, home to a 500-tonne, 16-metre-tall, bronze-cast Daibutsu Buddha. The world’s largest wooden building, the shrine now resides in a leafy park where sacred sika deer roam free, scrounging titbits off visitors. The nearby museum holds a hoard of precious antiquities from the 7th century Shosoin Treasury, a selection of which are exhibited for just a fortnight each autumn.

Secluded behind a mud wall and row of trees, Ryonaji epitomises a perfect Japanese balance of mass and void: only fifteen stones and very few plants have been deployed in the harmonious ensemble. Equally intriguing and subtle is Saihoji ‘moss garden’, which you have to apply to see a month in advance (your TransIndus consultant will be able to facilitate this) and ‘earn the right to enter’ by copying Zen verses for half an hour – all part of the experience! For a pick-me-up, head for Tsuruya-Yoshinobu's handmade sweet shop at the junction of Horikawa and Imadagewa streets, whose traditional red-bean confectionery perfectly complements the frothy green house-tea. Nearby is Nishijin-Ori where beautiful kimonos are still made on old-style hand-looms.

Miyajima is home to one of Japan’s most revered Shinto complexes, whose pagoda roofs take shape above the treeline as you approach the island. Once you’ve explored the shrine, follow the pilgrims’ pathway behind it up the wooded slopes of Mount Misen to a sacred summit. The boulder-studded peak affords a wonderful view across the ocean and surrounding islets. You can catch a cable-car ride to within half an hour’s walk of the top, or climb all the way through dense forests of maple, cherry and conifers. You’ll spend the night in a particularly lovely ryokan inn on the island.

The horrors of August 6th, 1945, when the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, still cast a shadow of this impressive Japanese city. A museum in the Peace Memorial complex, close to the epicentre of the explosion, displays the few photographs taken in its aftermath, along with testimonies from survivors. Despite the fact that an entirely new, vibrant centre has since been built over the radioactive ashes, visiting the site tends to evoke strong emotions. Only by coming to Hiroshima, however, is it possible to fully comprehend the scale of the tragedy – and astonishing resilience of those who survived it.

Osaka is Japan's second city, but possesses a more down-to-earth feel than Tokyo. There are lots of great shops and restaurants, as well as a castle and fabulous aquarium. While in the city, don’t pass up the chance to sample its gastronomic speciality, ‘okonomiyaki’ – savoury griddle cakes prepared with a variety of delicious fillings.