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Full country
name: Japan (Nihon) |
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Japan is the subject of more gullible and misguided musings than perhaps any other place in the world: the best way to approach it is to discard your preconceptions. Somewhere between the elegant formality of Japanese manners and the candid, sometimes boisterous exchanges that take place over a few drinks, between the sanitised shopping malls and the unexpected rural festivals, everyone finds their own vision of Japan. Whether you end up taking photos of a reproduction Eiffel Tower, surfing an indoor wave, shacking up in a converted love hotel or kipping down in a capsule, you'll do best to come with an open mind and be prepared to be surprised. When to Go Spring (March to May), with its clear skies and cherry blossoms, is probably the most celebrated Japanese season, but it's a holiday period for the Japanese and many of the more popular travel destinations tend to be flooded with domestic tourists. Autumn (September to November) is a great time to travel: the temperatures are pleasant, and the autumn colours in the countryside are fantastic. Mid-winter (December to February) can be bitterly cold, while the sticky summer months (June to August) can turn even the briefest excursion out of the air conditioning into a soup bath; on the plus side, major tourist attractions will generally be quieter at these times of the year. It's also worth considering peak holiday seasons when you plan your trip. Moving around and finding accommodation during New Year, Golden Week (late April to early May) and the midsummer O-Bon festival can be a real headache. EventsExpect a total sell-out for travel and lodging during Japan's biggest holidays, New Year (December 29 to January 6) and Golden Week (the lumping together of Green Day, Constitution Day and Children's Day from April 27 to May 6). Other festivals include Adult's Day, or Lucky Monday (second Monday in January), when ceremonies are held for boys and girls who have reached the age of majority (20). The Japanese celebrate the end of winter on February 3 or 4 by indulging in Setsubun (bean throwing) while chanting 'in with good fortune, out with the devils'. Hanami (Blossom Viewing) usually runs from February to April; the romantic Tanabata Matsuri (Star Festival) is on July 7; and O Bon (Festival of the Dead), when lanterns are floated on rivers, lakes or the sea to signify the return of the departed to the underworld, takes place from mid-July to the end of August. Kyoto's Gion Matsuri (July 17) is perhaps the most renowned of all Japanese festivals. The climax is a parade of massive man-dragged floats decked out in incredible finery, harking back to a 9th-century request to the gods to end a plague sweeping the city. In the cute and kooky department, Niramekko Obisha (January 20; Chiba) combines a staring contest with consumption of sake - the one with the straightest face wins. The Yah-Yah Matsuri (first Sunday to the following Saturday of February; Owase) is an argument contest: competitors scream Samurai chants and try to look fearsome. Afterwards, they take off all their clothes and jump in the ocean. Knickers Giving Day (March 14) is a bizarre follow up to Valentine's Day - men are supposed to give a gift of underwear to their lady. Japan is probably the most expensive country in the world for travel, but there are ways of keeping the outlays to an almost bearable level. A skeleton daily budget, assuming you stay in the cheapest hostels, eat modestly and travel short distances, would work out to US$60. Add about US$10 for extras like snacks, drinks, admission fees and entertainment. Staying in business or deluxe hotels and eating in pricey restaurants can easily have the ticker tipping US$100. Long-distance travel is a real budget buster in Japan - if you intend to travel around to different places, it's well worth investing in a Japan Rail Pass. At the other end of the spectrum, high rollers will have no problems off-loading their cash. Japan specialises in establishments catering to the ostentatious flattery of business accounts - the higher the bill, the greater the prestige of the guests. Cash is still king in Japan, although the use of credit cards is pretty widespread in major cities. The Japanese are used to a very low crime rate and often carry wads of cash for the almost sacred ritual of cash payment. Foreign travellers can safely copy the cash habit, but should still take the usual precautions. You can change cash or travellers' cheques at an 'Authorised Foreign Exchange Bank' or at major post offices and some of the large hotels and stores. US dollars are preferred; trying to exchange Taiwanese or Korean currency is a fruitless task. The majority of ATMs do not accept foreign-issued credit cards. Look out for the Cirrus or Plus logos or check with your card company before departure. There is little tipping or bargaining in Japan. If you want to show your gratitude to someone, give them a gift rather than a tip. Bargaining is largely restricted to discount electronics districts where a polite request will often bring the price down by around 10%. Attractions Tokyo, the sheer level of energy, is the most striking aspect of Japan's capital city. It's true the larger picture can be somewhat depressing - shoebox housing estates and office blocks traversed by overhead expressways crowded with traffic. But this is the Japanese success story in action. The average Tokyo suburb hasn't fallen prey to supermarket culture though: streets are lined with tiny specialist shops and bustling restaurants, most of which stay open late into the night. Close to the soaring office blocks exist pockets of another Tokyo - an old wooden house, a kimono shop, a Japanese inn, an old lady in a kimono sweeping the pavement outside her home with a straw broom. More than anything else, Tokyo is a place where the urgent rhythms of consumer culture collide with the quieter moments that linger from older traditions. It's a living city and you'll never run out of things to explore. Tokyo is a vast conurbation spreading out across the Kanto Plain from Tokyo-wan Bay. Almost completely rebuilt after an earthquake in 1923 and again after US air raids in WWII, Tokyo has literally risen from the ashes. It's roughly split into the flashy commercial and business districts west of the central Ginza shopping precinct, and the more down-to-earth residential neighbourhoods to the east. For visitors, nearly everything of interest lies either on or within the JR Yamanote line, the rail loop that circles central Tokyo. Magical memories of Tokyo don't come from standard sightseeing, as this isn't a city of architectural brilliance flooded with monuments. Pragmatic considerations were foremost in the postwar rebuilding, which has made for some pretty dull streetscapes. The real Tokyo experiences are soaking up the hustle and bustle and revelling in the pockets of calm. Ginza is the most famous shopping area in Tokyo: it's opulent, vital and popular, and is the place to be seen emptying your wallet. Ginza is overflowing with small private galleries, too, making it a lovely place to browse even if you're not looking to buy. Ueno-Koen, a park north of the centre, has some of Japan's best museums and galleries. The Tokyo National Museum holds the world's largest selection of Japanese art; the National Science Museum is a massive free-for-all packed with scientific goodies; and the Shitamachi History Museum is a recreation of the plebeian downtown quarters of old Tokyo. Long considered the heart of old downtown, Asakusa, north-east of the centre, is one of the few places where you can experience something of the real-life flavour of old Shitamachi. The big attraction here is Senso-ji Temple, probably the liveliest place of Buddhist worship in all Japan, but the whole area is great for a wander. Asakusa was once an infamous 'pleasure district', a fairground of theatre, music and the seedier side, and vestiges of gaudiness and glamour remain. Shinjuku, west of the centre, is present-day Tokyo's rowdiest entertainment quarter. If you have only a day in town and want to dive headfirst into the modern Japanese phenomenon, this sprawling, relentless district is the place to go. Nearly everything that makes Tokyo interesting bashes elbows here: high-class department stores, discount shopping arcades, flashing neon, government offices, swarming push-and-shove crowds, streetside video screens, stand-up noodle bars, hostess clubs, tucked-away shrines and sleazy strip bars. Tokyo
is an expensive place to bed down. There are a couple of youth hostels
west of the centre and some relatively cheap options in Ueno and Ikebukuro.
Otherwise, Shinjuku can be a good bet, if you don't mind squishing into
a capsule hotel. Shinjuku is also one of the best eating areas. Ueno
and Asakusa are good places for traditional Japanese food. Ginza is
good by day, but is best avoided for evening eating - it's invariably
expensive. Mt. Fuji, Japan's highest mountain (3776m/12,385ft), is the only natural feature most visitors to Japan are sure they want to check out. Fuji-san is a perfectly symmetrical volcanic cone which last blew its top in 1707, covering the streets of Tokyo 100km (62mi) away with volcanic ash. On an exceptionally clear day, you can see Mt Fuji from Tokyo, but for much of the year you'd be lucky to see it from 100m (328ft) away as Mt Fuji is a notoriously reclusive mountain, often hidden by cloud. The views are usually best in winter and early spring when a snow cap adds to the spectacle. Officially the climbing season is July and August, and the Japanese, who love to do things 'right', pack in during those busy months. You can actually climb Mt Fuji at any time of year, but a midwinter ascent is strictly for experienced mountaineers. Whenever you tackle it, the climb should be taken seriously: it's just high enough for altitude sickness and the weather can be viciously changeable. The best time to reach the top is dawn - both to see the sunrise and because early morning is the time the mountain is least likely to be shrouded in cloud. This means either starting in the afternoon, staying overnight in a mountain hut (expensive) and continuing early in the morning, or climbing the whole way at night. The Fuji Five Lakes arched around the northern side of the mountain are popular with Japanese daytrippers from Tokyo. They offer water sports, amusement parks, ice caves and good views of Mt Fuji. The quickest way to get to the Fuji area is by bus from Tokyo's Shinjuku terminal. There's a comprehensive bus network in the area servicing the lower hill region and the lakes area. Kyoto, with its hundreds of temples and gardens, was the imperial capital between 794 and 1868, and it continues to function as the major cultural centre of Japan. Although business and industry are closing in on the traditional architecture, Kyoto still has the raked pebble gardens, the sensuous contours of a temple roof, and the latter-day geishas that western clich?-hunters long for. The Imperial Palace is one of the few sights in central Kyoto. The present building was constructed in 1855 and can only be visited as part of a tour. The eastern part of Kyoto, notably the Higashiyama district, merits top priority for a visit to its fine temples, peaceful walks and traditional night entertainment in Gion. The Sanjusangen-do Temple is a particular highlight. It houses 1001 statues of the Thousand-Armed Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy). There are a number of superb Zen temples in north-west Kyoto including Kinkaku-ji Temple, which was burned to the ground by an obsessed monk in 1950, and later rebuilt complete with gold-foil covering. The Takao District, tucked away in the city's north-west, is famed for its autumn foliage. Himeji-jo Castle, an easy day trip from Kyoto, is the most splendid Japanese castle still standing. It's known as the 'White Egret', a title which derives from the castle's stately white form. There are hundreds of festivals in Kyoto during the year, so booking accommodation well in advance is essential. The most spectacular are Aoi Matsuri (15 May) which commemorates the 6th century prayers of the people for the gods to stop calamitous weather; Gion Matsuri (17 July), Japan's most renowned festival, which climaxes with a massive parade; Damon-ji Gozan Okuribi (16 August) when enormous fires are lit to bid farewell to the souls of ancestors; and Kurama-no-Himatsuri (22 October) when portable shrines are paraded through the streets accompanied by youths with flaming torches. Most mid-priced accommodation is to the north and north-west of the city, although there are a couple of spiffy hostels to the east. Central Kyoto is excellent for digging up reasonably priced Japanese and international food. Eastern Kyoto is good for yakitori and western-style restaurants. Daisetsuzan National Park, Japan's largest national park (2309 sq km/1432 sq mi), is in central Hokkaido, the northernmost and second largest of Japan's islands. The park, which consists of several mountain groups, volcanoes, lakes and forests, is spectacular hiking and skiing territory. It's almost insanely popular in summer and early autumn when you really need a few days to get away from the crowds. Sounkyo is the tourist hub of the park: there's a hot-spring resort and a gorge here, and this is a good gateway for hikes into the interior of the park. Furano is one of Japan's most famous ski resorts - its powder skiing is considered by some to be the best in the world. A short distance north-east of Furano are the remote hot-spring villages of Tokachidake Onsen and Shirogane Onsen, which make good crowd-free bases for hiking and skiiing. Nagasaki is a busy and colourful city, but its unfortunate fate as the second atomic bomb target obscures its fascinating early history of contact with the Portuguese and Dutch. Ukrami, the epicentre 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; and the Hypocentre Park, which has a black stone column marking the exact point above which the bomb exploded plus relics and ruins from the blast. A bell in the turtle-shaped Fukusai-ji Zen Temple tolls at 11.02 am daily, the time of the explosion. One of the world's biggest Foucault Pendulums (a device which demonstrates the rotation of the earth) hangs inside the temple. At the southern end of Nagasaki, a number of the former homes of the city's European residents have been reassembled in the hillside Glover Garden. Moving stairways, fountains and goldfish give it the air of a cultural Disneyland, but the houses are attractive and the views across Nagasaki are superb. An hour north of Nagasaki is Huis ten Bosch, an astounding recreation of a Dutch town, complete with windmills, dykes, a replica of the Dutch royal family's residence, tulips and a cheese shop. Amazingly, this is also a residential development with housing for 10,000 people who want to live in a sanitised version of the Netherlands on the southernmost island of Japan. Activities Many
of Japan's national parks have hiking routes. Around Tokyo, the popular
hiking areas are Nikko and Chichibu-Tama National Park. There are good
but isolated hikes in Gumma prefecture and in the Kansai region of Nara.
To experience a Japan that few foreigners see, head for the mountainous,
less populated Central Alps. Skiing is normally possible from December
to April. The majority of resorts are on the island of Honshu, but there's
also great powder skiing on Hokkaido. The Okinawan islands in the far
south-west of Japan are popular diving destinations. Cycling is most
popular in the less hilly coastal regions, although intrepid cyclists
have been known to ride up Mt Fuji! Golf equals prestige in Japan. If
you want to set foot on a green, a fat wallet and corporate clout are
handy assets. Green fees usually start at around US$100 a day History Japan's earliest settlers were fishers, hunters and gatherers who slogged over the land bridges from Korea to the west and Siberia to the north. It's also thought that seafaring migrants from Polynesia were part of the ethnic blend. By AD 300, the sun-worshipping Yamato kingdom had loosely unified the nation through conquest and alliance. Buddhism was introduced from China in the mid-6th century and soon became the state religion. Rivalry between Buddhism and Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan, was diffused by presenting Shinto deities as manifestations of Buddha. With the empire more or less stable, particularly after the conquest of the indigenous Ainu in the 9th century, Japan's emperors began to devote more time to leisure and scholarly pursuits and less time to government. Important court posts were dominated by the noble but corrupt Fujiwara family. Out in the provinces, a new power was on the rise: the samurai, or 'warrior class', readily turned to arms to defend its autonomy, and began to muscle in on the capital, Heian (modern-day Kyoto). The Taira clan briefly eclipsed the Fujiwara, and were ousted in turn by the Minamoto family in 1185. After assuming the rank of shogun (military leader), Minamoto Yoritomo set up his HQ in Kamakura, while the emperor remained the nominal ruler in Kyoto. This was the beginning of a long period of feudal rule by successive samurai families which lingered until imperial power was restored in 1868. The feudal centuries can be clunkily split into five main periods. The Kamakura Period (1185-1333) saw repeated invasions by Kublai Khan's Mongol armies. Japan managed to stave off the Mongols, but a weakened leadership lost the support of the samurai (warrior class). Emperor Go-Daigo presided over the beginning of the Muromachi Period (1333-1576), until a revolt masterminded by the disgruntled warrior Ashikaga saw him flee to the hills. Ashikaga and his descendants ruled with gradually diminishing effectiveness and Japan slipped into civil war and chaos. The various factions were pacified and unified during the Momoyama Period (1576-1600) by Oda Nobunaga and his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The quick spread of Christianity during the Christian Century (1543-1640) was tolerated at first, then ferociously quashed as the interloping religion came to be seen as a threat. During the Tokugawa Period (1600-1867), Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated Hideyoshi's young heir and set up his headquarters at Edo (now Tokyo). The emperor continued to exercise purely nominal authority in Kyoto while the Tokugawa family led Japan into a period of national seclusion. Japanese were forbidden to travel overseas or to trade abroad and foreigners were placed under strict supervision. The rigid emphasis of these times on submitting unquestioningly to rules of obedience and loyalty has lasted, some would say, to the present day. By the turn of the 19th century, the Tokugawa government was stagnant and corrupt. Foreign ships started to probe Japan's isolation with increasing insistence, and famine and poverty weakened support for the government. In 1867 the ruling shogun, Keiki, resigned and Emperor Meiji resumed control of state affairs, seeing Japan through a crash course in westernisation and industrialisation. In 1889 Japan created a Western-style constitution, the tenets of which seeped into national consciousness along with a swing back to traditional values. Japan's growing confidence was demonstrated by the ease with which it trounced China in the Sino-Japanese War (1894-5) and Russia in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5). Under Meiji's son, Yoshihito, Japan sided with the Allies in WWI. Rather than become heavily involved in the conflict, however, Japan took the opportunity, through shipping and trade, to expand its economy at top speed. Emperor Hirohito ascended to the throne in 1926. A rising tide of nationalism was quickened by the world economic depression that began in 1930. Popular unrest led to a strong increase in the power of the militarists: Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and entered into full-scale hostilities against China in 1937. Japan signed a tripartite pact with Germany and Italy in 1940 and, when diplomatic attempts to gain US neutrality failed, the Japanese launched themselves into WWII with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941. At first Japan scored rapid successes, pushing its battle fronts across to India, down to the fringes of Australia and out into the mid-Pacific. The Battle of Midway opened the US counterattack, puncturing Japanese naval superiority and turning the tide of war against Japan. By August 1945, with Japan driven back on all fronts, a declaration of war by the Soviet Union and the release of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was all over. Emperor Hirohito announced unconditional surrender. Japan was occupied until 1952 by Allied forces who aimed to demilitarise the country and dismantle the power of the emperor. A recovery programme enabled the economy to expand rapidly, and Japan became the world's most successful export economy, generating massive trade surpluses and dominating such fields as electronics, robotics, computing, car production and banking. With the arrival of the 1990s, the old certainties seemed to vanish: Japan's legendary economic growth slowed to a virtual standstill; the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was swept out of power and then back in again the next year; a massive earthquake in 1995 brought Kobe to its knees (a disaster made worse by a government that was slow to react); and to top it off, a millennial cult with doomsday ambitions engineered a poison gas attack on the Tokyo subway system. Things began to look up with the appointment of Keizo Obuchi, who took over from Prime Minister Hashimoto. Hashimoto was ousted after voter backlash over the spiralling economy. Obuchi ushered in a few brief years of economic vitality, but the job took its toll and he died, while still in office, from a massive stroke. His successor, LDP stalwart Yoshiro Mori held the dubious honor of possessing the lowest approval rating of any leader in recent Japanese history, until he announced his resignation in early April 2001. Mori's succesor is the eccentric Junichiro Koizumi, who brings a beguilling mix of nationalism and reform to Japan's top job. Promising to end Japan's perceived culture of high-level nepotism, he distinguishes himself from his many recent predecessors by creating a high level of public expectation. Time, as ever, will tell. Culture Until the last century, the main influences on Japanese art came from China and Korea, but a distinct Japanese aesthetic was present from early on. There is a fascination with the ephemeral (such as in ikebana, the art of flower arrangement), with the unadorned, and with forms that echo the randomness of nature. A gift for caricature is also present, from early Zen ink paintings right up to the manga (comics) of contemporary Japan. There is a wildness and passion and an interest in the grotesque or the bizarre visible in many works, from Buddhist scrolls depicting the horrors of hell to the highly stylised renderings of body parts in the wood-block prints of the Edo period. The Japanese aesthetic is writ large in its architecture, from graceful Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, to elaborate castles and practical gossamer-thin houses (built to keep cool in summer and to crumple lightly in earthquakes). Precise physical composition is also evident in Japanese gardens, meticulously planned no matter how haphazard they may look. The two most famous Japanese performance traditions are kabuki (melodramatic, spectacular theatre) and no (formal, masked theatre), both of which can be seen in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Ancient Japanese gagaku uses drums and Japanese instruments resembling the lute, plucked zither, oboe and flute. Pop music is massive in Japan: indigenous groups usually feature a gorgeous lead singer of irrelevant talents. Girl punk groups have recently been getting a good airing in the hungry world of indie music. Much of Japan's early literature was written by women, as men wrote in Chinese characters while women, who were denied the educational resources to learn Chinese, wrote in Japanese script (hiaigana. Thus, while men were busy copying Chinese styles and texts, women were producing the first authentic Japanese literature. Among these early female authors is Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote one of Japan's most important works of literature, The Tale of Genji, about the intrigues of early Japanese court life. The revered poet Matsuo Basho perfected just-so haiku poetry in the 17th century. More modern literati include controversial Yukio Mishima, provocative Murakami Ryu and cool cat Banana Yoshimoto. Set aside several years if you want to learn to read Japanese. Japan has one of the most complex writing systems in the world, using three different scripts (four if you include the increasingly used Roman script romaji). Fortunately, for visitors to Japan, it's not all bad news. Unlike other Asian languages, Japanese is not tonal and the pronunciation system is fairly easy to master. In fact, with a little effort, getting together a repertoire of travellers' phrases should be no trouble - the only problem will be understanding what people say back to you. Shinto (the native religion of Japan), Buddhism (a much-travelled foreign import originating in India), Confucianism (a Chinese import that is less a religion than a code of ethics), Taoism and even Christianity all play a role in contemporary Japanese social life, and are defining in some way of the Japanese world view. Religions, for the most part, are not exclusive of each other. Shinto grew out of an awe for manifestations of nature such as sun, water, rocks, trees and even sounds. All such natural features were felt to have their god and shrines were erected in particularly sacred spots. Many Shinto beliefs were incorporated into Japanese Buddhist practices afterBuddhism was introduced in the 6th century. Eating is half the fun of being in Japan, and the adventurous eater will be delighted to know that Japanese food is far more than the sushi, tempura and sukiyaki for which it is best known in other countries. With the exception of shokudo (all-round eateries) and izakaya (the equivalent of a pub with meals), most Japanese restaurants specialise in one type of cuisine. In a cook-it-yourself okonomiyaki restaurant, diners choose a mixture of meat, seafood and vegetables to fry up in a cabbage and vegetable batter; a robatayaki is a rustic drinking restaurant specialising in charcoal grills. There are a variety of cook-at-your-table restaurants where you'll end up eating sukiyaki (thinly sliced beef, vegetables and tofu cooked in broth), shabu-shabu (beef and vegies cooked by swirling them in broth and then dipped in sauces) or nabemono (a participatory soup, with each diner dipping ingredients from trays of prepared raw food). It's possible to eat relatively cheaply by sticking to humble shokudo, or eating bentos (boxed lunches) or teishoku (set meals) from cheaper restaurants or cafeteria-style places. Drinking is the glue that holds Japanese society together. It is practised by almost every adult, male or female, and a good number of teenagers. Beer is the favourite tipple of the Japanese and it's dispensed everywhere from vending machines to temple lodgings. Sake (rice wine) is served warm or cold, with the warm stuff especially likely to go straight to your head. Sake hangovers are memorable, so drink carefully. Japanese green tea contains a lot of vitamin C and caffeine. It's very healthy and refreshing and is said by some to prevent cancer. |
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