Japan Discovery

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.

A fine little museum exhibits some of Hokusai’s most famous work, including the 36 Views of Mount Fuji and Great Wave of Kanagawa. Also worth a visit is the house of the artist’s main patron, the wealthy merchant and dilettante, Takai Kozan, whose Edo-period mansion houses an exhibition of Hokusai prints and Kozan’s own calligraphy. The town itself retains plenty of traditional Japanese character, with numerous old shops and sake breweries to explore if time permits.

Known in Japanese as ‘nihon saru’, the famous ‘snow monkeys’ attract admirers from across the globe. Their fame derives from their ability to live in a colder climate than any other non-human primate, which they manage thanks to regular dips in a specially designated thermal pool. Watching the macaques go about their daily lives is the real highlight of visits to Jigokundani. Babies hang upside down from tree branches, play chase and leap joyfully into the hot water, while their older relatives soak in the pool, peering wistfully into space or closing their eyes as the mayhem unfolds around them.

Higashichaya Pleasure District is a heritage enclave of double-storeyed, wood-fronted shops. The Shima teahouse offers insights into the cloistered life of the Japanese geisha (around 40 Geishas remain active in the neighbourhood). Also in Kanazawa, Kenroku-en garden is regarded as one of the country’s ‘Three Great Gardens’. Its stands of ancient pines, ornamental lotus ponds and pretty fruit orchards extend over 25 manicured acres, making it one of the largest in Japan.

A deservedly popular visitor destination is the Myoryuji shrine, commonly known as Ninjadera (literally ‘Ninja Temple’). It was built by the region’s rulers in the Edo period but was never actually associated with ninjas. The nickname derives from its convoluted defences of hidden tunnels, man traps, secret corridors and staircases – created to circumvent restrictions on fortress building imposed by the emperors in Tokyo. In the afternoon, wander through the adobe-walled compounds, narrow alleys and canals of Nagamachi district to the city’s iconic samurai castle – at its most splendid when framed by cherry blossom in the spring.

A good option for a first foray into Kyoto 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.

Koyasan was for centuries where the samurai used to come to learn esoteric secrets from the resident monks. Although sporting a veneer of modernity, the temples and pathways are still charged with the spiritual ambience of old Japan, especially when the mist swirls through its dense black cedar forests.

Time permitting, highly recommned extending your stay further into the Kii Peninsula and include the Kumano Koda, a UNESCO protected network of sacred pilgrimage trails connecting a series of ancient Shinto Temples that local people attempt to visit at least once in their lifetiem if not annually.

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 here, however, is it possible to fully comprehend the scale of the tragedy – and astonishing resilience of those who survived it.

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.

Osaka has a much 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.

Physically remote from the rest of Japan, the thatched villages of Shirakawa-go survived for many centuries from cultivating mulberry trees and spinning fine silk. Known as gassho-zukuri (‘hands in prayer’), its traditional A-frame houses nestle amid a bucolic landscape of rice terraces and wooded slopes above the Shogawa River. More wonderful old buildings survive in your next destination, Kanazawa. Once you’ve checked in to your hotel and freshened up, head over to the Nagamachi Samurai district, one of whose grand, shingle-roofed mansions – Nomura-ke – has been beautifully restored to showcase the lifestyle of the Samurai elite at its peak four centuries ago.

Asa-ichi (‘morning markets’) take place every day from 7am until noon in Takayama. We particularly like the one at Miyagawa, spread along the east bank of the river. Nearby, the old quarter of Sannomachi holds a bumper crop of 18th century buildings, several of which have been converted into museums where you can admire beautifully recreated interiors. Also worth a look is the Takayama Matsuri Yataikaikan, which holds a selection of elaborately lacquered antique floats used in the annual Matsuri festival. Later, jump on a bus to Hida No Sato, whose huge open-air museum offers a vivid insight into local life during the Edo period.

Keen walkers will relish the chance to hike along the ‘Nakesando’ – the cobbled imperial road from Tsumago to nearby Magome, which has been designated as a traffic-free trekking route and passes through delightful countryside and farmsteads. For supper, try the local ‘ayu’ – trout fished from the rivers of snow-melt that crash from the surrounding mountains.

Rising from the Pacific coast of central Honshu, Japan’s sacred mountain has inspired painters, printers, poets and Shinto mystics for many centuries. See why on the fifth day of your tour, as you ascend the massif to an altitude of 2,000m, from where the panoramic views will be (weather permitting) magnificent. Later enjoy a cruise in a replica galleon on Lake Ashi, followed by a cable-car ride over the forest tops to Hakone. Among the highlights of any stay in this area is the chance to soak in a naturally heated thermal bath, or ‘onsen’. Your hotel in the resort will have an excellent one.

A great source of quirky Japanese souvenirs in Tokyo is Oriental Bazaar, at 5-9-13 Jingumae, in Shibuya. It’s the most famous gift store in the capital, offering a wide choice of kitchen utensils, dolls, kimonos, yukata, curios and books. The staff speak English and the prices are restrained. Afterwards, head for the Tokyo Skytree in Ashiage, officially the world’s highest broadcast tower: the views over the city from the glass-floored Sorakara Point extend to Mount Fuji – a suitably spectacular end to your trip.