Japan is a diverse country with huge cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, but via its super-fast Shinkansen bullet trains, rural lands with rice farms, tea plantations, and mountainous forests dotted with bubbling hot springs are just a short journey away. Japan is renowned for its rich culture and deep-rooted traditions, but at the same time she has wholeheartedly embraced the modern world – but on her own terms. This is what simultaneously excites and confuses the Western traveler. We know Japan is a First World country – we drive her automobiles, fill out spreadsheets on her computers, and employ her architects, designers, and animation artists, but the moment we dig below the surface to discover the true Japan, we are baffled. We realize we are just peeling an onion, and there is so much we still don’t know and so much we want to learn. From automatic toilets that spray, wash and dry us; to shoe removal before entering a Japanese temple or inn; from communal outdoor bathing on a Cliffside, to an open-air torch-lit performance of a 1,000-year-old Takigi Noh play; from an ancient festival led by half-naked Taiko drummers and parishoners bearing the tonnage of portable mikoshii or shrines on their backs, to the fresh flavor and texture of the best bread and pastries outside France – this is the real Japan, the Japan of personal experiences and personal surprises.

Culture
A strong link to Japan's cultural past can be witnessed through the artwork of the Japanese people. Many older craftspeople – whose craft techniques have been in the family for multiple generations -- have been elevated to the status of “National Living Treasures”. To encounter these people in their rural communities is to encounter the real Japan. Here in the countryside, we can see the pottery with the influence of the earth, the textiles with the influence of the plant dyes, the ikebana or flower arrangements with the influence of the local flowers and plants, laquerware and engraved wood made from indigenous trees and the freshly caught pearls and shells, handmade paper made from mulberry and enhanced with lavender flowers – just to name two of the hundreds of varieties of wood fiber and rice paper made.

Japan absorbs the influences of the world to create a culture uniquely it’s own. Shintoism absorbed Buddhism. Potters absorbed and adopted the skills and techniques from Korean celadon and Chinese porcelain artists. Starting in the southern island of Kyushu and moving north, this influence can also be seen in the architecture of temples and machiya (merchant houses). Even the Chinese language influenced the sumie ink paintings, which eventually influences contemporary manga (comics). In Nagasaki and other ports where the Portuguese docked, European cuisine infiltrated Japan. Welcome tempura and Castella (Portuguese-style sponge cake).

Nevertheless, even more than foreign influences, the Japanese aesthetic revolves around simplicity and nature. This is evidenced in the sparse tatami-matted room, where a solitary scroll hangs in the tokonoma (corner) where a single ikebana flower sits below in a narrow vase. It is seen in the pristine, manicured gardens of rocks, bushes and moss, and even in Haiku poems – whose mere 17 syllables are the epitome of simplicity and perfection.

Surprisingly, the women of Japan were the producers of the first authentic Japanese literature because they were the developers of the Japanese writing system. Due to restrictions forbidding women to write with Chinese characters, they developed their own elaborate writing system, Hiragana.

History
Founding of Japan (before 710) According to mythology, Japan's ancient history is tied to the sun goddess, Amaterasu, who sent one of her descendants to the island of Kyushu to unify the people. Legend gives way to fact in the 4th century, when the country was unified under the Yamato Dynasty, who established court in Nara. In the 6th century, Buddhism, which originated in India, was introduced to Japan via China and Korea. In the early 7th century, Prince-Regent Shotoku, a great admirer of Buddhism and a beloved figure even today, carried out political reforms, established a constitutional government, sent Japanese scholars to China to study Buddhist teachings, and constructed a multitude of temples.

The Nara Period (710-784) In 710, a permanent court was established in Nara (Seven successive Emperors over 77 years) Buddhism flourished, and thousands of temples were constructed; Buddhism had tremendous influence on the arts, period, in 752, that a great bronze image of Buddha was erected at Todaiji Temple in Nara.

The Heian Period (794-1192) In 794, the capital was moved to Heiankyo (Kyoto). The Heian Period ushered in a new era of prosperity and peace, allowing the noble class to attain new heights in the arts and culture. (The Tale of Genji, the world’s first major novel)

The Kamakura Period (1192-1333) After the Genji clan emerged victorious in battles with the Heike clan, Yoritomo, the head of the Genji clan, established a military government in a fishing village called Kamakura and became the nation's first shogun, or military leader. This marked the beginning of Japan's 700 years of shogunate rule (it was only in 1868, in the Meiji Restoration, that the Emperor was restored to power) and the ascendancy of the warrior caste, known as samurai.

Muromachi and Azuchi-Momoyama Periods (1336-1598) A new feudal government was established at Muromachi in Kyoto in 1336. the shogun led an extravagant life, building villas like the Golden and silver Pavilions and the rock garden at Ryoanji Temple. It was time also of newfound cultural pursuits with Noh drama, the tea ceremony, flower arranging and landscape gardening becoming the rage of the privileged class.

The Edo Period (1603-1867) In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu established his shogunate government in Edo (Tokyo), for another 260-some years. In 1639, the Tokugawa Shogunate adopted a policy of isolation and banned all international trade. For the next two centuries, Japan lived a life cut off from the modern world, with its own feudal system of samurai, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants. Kabuki theater and festivals emerged as popular form of internment for the masses, while woodblock printmaking, silk for Kimono, and lacquer-ware became status symbols for the merchant class’nouveau riche. In 1853, Commodore Perry of the US Navy sailed to the port of Uraga, near Edo, eventually forcing the shogunate to enter into a trade agreement with the US, and two ports (Shimoda and Hakodate) were opened to the trade. This sudden encounter with the West and its advanced technology contributed to the downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate and ignited Japan’s desire to catch up with the outside world.

Birth of Modern Japan In 1868, Emperor Meiji moved his government from Kyoto to Tokyo and set Japan on a course of modernization that would transform it from a feudal society to an industrialized nation in the course of only a few decades. Western culture and influence flowed into Japan at a rapid tempo, including Western dress, food, architecture, industry, and more.

Attractions
Tokyo
The best word for describing the city of Tokyo is energy. There is always something going on in this city of zooming, fast-paced activity. Shopping is a big draw. From traditional cultural items in Asakusa to trendy boutiques in Omotesando and Harajuku to high class designer shops in Ginza, to upscale department stores in Nihonbashi and Shinjuku to electronics in Akihabara and Shinjuku.

Mt Fuji
Mt. Fuji is Japan's highest and most revered mountain, a mecca for climbers embracing the sunrise at the pinnacle in July and August. Nearby Hakone offers hot spring retreats and a ropeway tour over boiling sulfer pools, historic boat tours on Lake Ashi with spectacular views of Mt. Fuji, art and history museums including the largest outdoor sculpture park in the world. The Fuji Five Lakes arched around the northern side of the mountain offer water sports, amusement parks, ice caves, and good views of the mountain.

Kyoto
Kyoto, the imperial capital between 794 and 1868, continues to be a major cultural center of Japan. The city is home to over 1600 temples and shrines, each with its own magnificent garden. Kyoto is also a place to study Japan’s traditional arts – from tea ceremony to calligraphy -- and sample some of the country’s best Shojin Ryori – vegetarian temple cuisine. Kyoto is an easily accessible from Osaka (just a 20 minute bullet train ride), Japan’s second largest metropolitan center, and together, along with the most ancient capital of Nara, form the Kansai region of Western Honshu.

Takayama, Shirakawago Traveling north from Nagoya into the spectacular foliage of the Japan Alps, you will, in just two hours, reach the historic city of Takayama, also known as “Little Kyoto”. Here you will discover time-honored streets of quaint craft workshops, sake breweries, guest houses and inns. You’ll marvel at the morning market where you can buy home made: mochi (pounded rice treats), daikon pickles, and sembei rice crackers. You can even buy a “pet” mountain beetle, but don’t try and take him home on the plane. And an hour and 40 minutes drive by bus from Takayam will take you to the Shirakawago, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Nagasaki
Nagasaki is a busy and colorful city that suffered quite unfortunately as the second atomic bomb target. Urakami, the epicenter of the atomic explosion, is today a prosperous, peaceful suburb, which encompasses the chilling A-bomb Museum, an evocative reminder of the horror of nuclear destruction. Children will enjoy the many theme parks in the area and all will enjoy the unique cuisine. The city is home to the first-ever restaurant in Japan.