On the surface Japan appears
exceedingly modern, but travelling around it offers numerous opportunities
to connect with the country's traditional culture. Spend the night in a
ryokan (traditional Japanese inn), sleeping on futons and tatami
mats, and padding through well-worn wooden halls to the bathhouse (or go
one step further and sleep in an old farmhouse). Meditate with monks or
learn how to whisk bitter matcha (powdered green tea) into a
froth. From the splendour of a Kyoto geisha dance to the spare beauty of a
Zen rock garden, Japan has the power to enthral even the most jaded
traveller.
Wherever you are in Japan, it seems, you're never far from a great meal.
Restaurants often specialise in just one dish – perhaps having spent
generations perfecting it – and pay close attention to every stage, from
sourcing the freshest, local ingredients to assembling the dish
attractively. And as you'll quickly discover, Japanese cuisine has great
regional variations. The hearty hotpots of the mountains are, for example,
dramatically different from the delicate sushi for which the coast is
famous. It's also intensely seasonal, meaning you can visit at a different
time of year and experience totally new tastes.