Japan

Japan offers a very wide range of attractions, from historical and cultural treasures to modern and futuristic sights and beautiful forests, mountains and sea coasts.

Kyoto
Nestled among mountains in Western Honshu, Kyoto has a reputation worldwide as Japan's most beautiful city. However, visitors may be surprised by how much work they will have to do to see its beautiful side. Most visitors' first impressions 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.

Hiroshima
Hiroshima is an industrial city of wide boulevards, criss crossing rivers and a dense city center. It is located along the coast of the Seto Inland Sea in the western Chugoku region of Japan. Although many only know it for the horrific split second on August 6, 1945, when it became the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, it is now a modern, cosmopolitan city with a lot of great food and nightlife.

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.

Osaka
Osaka is the second largest city in Japan, the central metropolis of the Kansai region. Veiled much with a commercial centric city touch, you may as well start from picking up the lively intonation of Osaka dialect, heard from the people as you ride on the escalators standing on the right, instead of the left in Tokyo; then discovering the contrast of popular food to eastern Japan, as you look for places to lunch.

Activities and Tours

Mt Fuji
Mount Fuji (Fujisan) is with 3776 meters Japan's highest mountain. It is not surprising that the nearly perfectly shaped volcano has been worshipped as a sacred mountain and experienced big popularity among artists and common people.

Daisetsuzan National Park
Daisetsuzan is Hokkaido's largest national park. It preserves a densely forested, mountainous area of virtually unspoiled wilderness, which equals more than ten times the size of Osaka City. It is a paradise for hikers, outdoor lovers, deer and brown bears

Kinkasan
Kinkasan (Golden Mountain) is one of the three holiest places in Tōhoku. Women were banned until the late 19th century. An overnight stay is ideal for those seeking tranquillity from frenetic Japanese life. The island features a pyramid shaped mountain (445m/1460ft), an impressive shrine, a handful of houses around the boat dock and mostly untended trails.

Kirishima National Park
Kirishima, in southern Kyūshū, is known for its superb mountain scenery, hot springs, the impressive Senriga taki waterfall and spring wildflowers. The day walk from Ebino kōgen village to the summits of a string of volcanoes is one of the finest volcanic hikes in Japan.

Travel Tip and useful information

Climate
Winter (December to February) The temperature rarely drops below 0°C in the plains along the Pacific coast during wintertime. Spring (March to May) The plum blossom is a good sign that the cold winter will soon end and spring is just around the corner. Summer (June to August) The Japanese summer begins in June with a three to four week rainy season. Autumn (September to November) Autumn always brings such freshness with a light breeze and cool temperature after the hot and humid summer.

Population
Japan's population is over 126 million. Most Japanese reside in densely populated urban areas. Japan's capital city is Tokyo. The population of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area including the city, some of its suburbs and the surrounding area is approximately 12 million.

Transport
The railway system in Japan has a high reputation for punctuality and safety. Bus service is available in all cities, but can sometimes be a bit difficult for non Japanese speaking visitors to use. Taxis are widely available and can usually deliver customers to addresses written in Japanese or on business cards. If the red light in the lower left corner of the windshield is lit, then the cab is free and it can be flagged down.

Time Zone
Standard time zone: UTC/GMT +9 hours

Currency and credit cards
The unit of Japanese currency is yen. Many automatic teller machines (ATMs) in Japan do not accept credit, debit and ATM cards, which are issued outside of Japan. The big exceptions are the ATMs found at the over 20,000 post offices and over 10,000 7 Eleven convenience stores across the country. These ATMs allow you to withdraw cash by credit and debit cards issued outside of Japan, including Visa, Plus, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, American Express and JCB cards and provide an English user menu.

Safety and Security
Street crime is extremely rare, even late at night. Of course, little crime does not mean no crime, and is not an excuse to ditch your common sense. Women travelling alone should take care as they would in their home countries and should never hitchhike alone. Pickpocketing does sometimes happen if you take your usual precautions in crowded places such as trains and at Narita Airport you should be fine.