Curving for more than 1,900 miles along Asia’s Pacific coastline, Japan encompasses almost 7,000 islands, 108 active volcanoes and six climatic zones. Immerse yourself in the country’s distinctive culture in historic cities and megawatt metropolises, then hit the northern ski slopes or the sun-blazed beaches of the south.
KYOTO
Kyoto is Japan’s cultural heartland and home to an astounding 17 World Heritage Sites, the legacy of its 1,000-and-more-year reign as the capital – a position it occupied until 1869. Get a glimpse of past glories in the Imperial Palace’s gardens or at Katsura, a courtly villa on Kyoto’s western fringes; or admire the 17th-century architecture and UNESCO-listed gardens of Nijo Castle. Among the city’s 3,000 Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, more than a few merit close attention. Sanjusangendo Temple, founded in 1164, is known for its 1,001 statues of the goddess of mercy; historic Kiyomizu has a superb hillside setting and a shrine to the deity of love; while atmospheric Yasaka Shrine is at its most magical after sunset when it’s lit by paper lanterns. Less tangible cultural treasures can be found in ancient districts such as Gion and Pontocho, where you might catch sight of a geisha dressed, perhaps, in opulent locally made silks or discover a highly regarded restaurant known for kaiseki – a traditional multi-course dinner that combines culinary wizardry with exquisite presentation (you can read about our Japan specialist's kaiseki dining experience here). A short drive away is Nara, an even older capital, where a vast park filled with tame deer is dotted with time-worn monuments. Discover it all from the comfort of Hotel The Mitsui, which offers local character in a central Kyoto location.
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TOKYO
In Japan’s sprawling modern capital, gleaming skyscrapers sit cheek-by-jowl with fascinating reminders of an earlier era. This pulsating but never edgy city of 13 million people – 30 million if you include the whole Tokyo Metropolitan Area – offers a dizzying array of cultural delights from urban art to Michelin-starred dining. Gain a 360-degree overview from the observation deck of the soaring Tokyo Skytree, then descend to ground level to explore a host of characterful districts. Colourful Harajuku is known for its street art, youth fashion and cosplay shops, plus cutting-edge exhibitions at the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art; leafy Omotesando plays host to designer stores, chic restaurants and the entrance to the impressive Meiji Shrine; and neighbouring Shibuya and Shinjuku are the hub of Tokyo’s dazzling, neon-lit nightlife. The boat ride along the Sumida River to Senso-Ji, the city’s oldest Buddhist temple, offers a welcome change of pace and scene, while the grounds of the Imperial Palace – the Emperor’s main residence – are particularly beautiful in the brief but glorious cherry-blossom season as well as during the enchanting autumn months. Overlooking the gardens, The Peninsula Tokyo is one of the city’s top addresses, with excellent restaurants, an extensive spa and customised Rolls-Royces to help you arrive in style.
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HAKONE
Part of an expansive national park just 90 minutes from Tokyo, Hakone is a scenic region of lakes, mountains and hot springs. Travelling around it is very much part of the adventure, with a mountain train, funicular railways, cable cars and boats to whisk you between panoramic viewpoints, temples and galleries, as well as walking trails and historic pathways on which to stretch your legs. One of the more intriguing spots is Owakudani, a volcanic zone of bubbling pools, thermally heated rivers and steam vents overlaid with sulphurous fumes – from where you can catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji on clear days. There are more dependable sightings of Japan’s sacred symbol from Ashinoko, a 3,000-year-old caldera lake. Small boats criss-cross its waters, ferrying visitors to the shoreside ancient Hakone Shinto shrine whose iconic mountain backdrop makes its torii gate one of the country’s most snapped. Nature is not the only attraction here, however. The park’s sprinkling of small towns and villages provides workshops where you can watch skilled artisans in action, an art museum full to the brim with Japanese ceramics and an open-air sculpture gallery that houses artworks by Picasso and Henry Moore as well as local superstars. Rest your head in a classic ryokan with natural, hot-spring-fed onsen baths – the light-filled 16-room Hakone Byakudan is highly recommended.
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KANAZAWA
Bordered by the Sea of Japan on Honshu’s west coast, Kanazawa was once the stronghold of a powerful samurai clan and has much of the old-world appeal of Kyoto but on a more intimate scale. Delve into the story of the Maeda family at their castle, built in the 1580s on the proceeds of the rice trade. What was once its outer grounds is now one of Japan’s greatest gardens, Kenrokuen, whose sublime landscape of streams and bridges, lakes and trees, took 200 years to refine. Fanning out from here, you’ll find the city’s perfectly preserved historic districts – mercifully undamaged by World War II – with atmospheric streets lined with wooden houses. Explore the teahouses and restaurants of riverside Kazue-machi Chaya, the largest of the three geisha districts, and the canal-carved Nagamachi area where samurai families such as the Nomuras had their homes. An appreciation of the beauty of simplicity in everything from food to hand-dyed silk was a hallmark of Kanazawa’s past rulers. You’ll find that same quality everywhere from the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art to Omicho seafood market, at whose many stalls you can feast on super-fresh snow crabs and other delicacies. Stay at the tiny and traditional Asadaya Ryokan, the most famous inn in Kanazawa.
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OSAKA
Bustling, prosperous Osaka is Japan’s commercial hub, which was already a thriving port in the Kofun era of the 4th to 6th centuries and even enjoyed a brief stint as the imperial capital. This intriguing, ever-evolving city has a largely modern face, but traces of its long history remain in places such as the castle, built by one of the 16th-century’s most famous warlords, whose extensive park is filled with ornamental flowering plum, peach and cherry trees. Dating back further still, Shitennoji is one of Japan’s oldest temples, with graceful gardens and a five-storey pagoda. Return to the present day at the instantly recognisable Umeda Sky Building, whose two towers are joined at the top by an open-air observatory, or with a ride on the towering Tempozan Ferris Wheel next to the world-class Aquarium: the views from both are magnificent. Home to Universal Studios Japan, Osaka is an excellent location for family holidays in Japan. As you might guess from its nickname of ‘the nation’s kitchen’, Osaka is known for its fabulous culinary scene that includes everything from almost 100 Michelin-starred restaurants to the street-food stalls of Kuromon market. Work off the calories with a stroll around characterful districts such as retro Shinsekai or glossy Shinsakbashu or a brisk walk in leafy Minoh Park on the city outskirts.
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HIROSHIMA
A thriving modern city draped across the delta of the Otu River on Japan’s largest island, Honshu, Hiroshima owes its worldwide fame to the events of a single day in 1945. On the morning of 6 August, the first atom bomb exploded in the sky above it, flattening three-quarters of the centre. Revisit that sobering history at the Peace Memorial Park and Museum, whose moving landmarks include the skeletal Genbaku Dome – a miraculous survivor – and the Peace Flame that has been lit continuously since 1964. The locals prefer to define themselves by the regeneration that followed this tragic event, encapsulated in their choice of the oleander – the first plant to bloom again – as their official flower. Visit the reconstructed castle, first built in 1589, to see the three trees that withstood the blast before soaking up the tranquillity of the Shukkeien garden with its charming tea houses. Savour the pleasant bustle of the city’s traffic-free main shopping street, pausing to sample the local okonomiyaki pancakes. Then take a ferry across the bay to the holy island of Miyajima, whose giant ‘floating’ torii gate is one of the country’s most picturesque. Stay close to its centuries-old UNESCO-listed Itsukushima Shrine at Kurayado Iroha Ryokan, from whose rooftop hot tub the sunset views are breathtaking.
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OKINAWA
‘The Japanese Hawaii’, as it’s often called, is the largest of a chain of islands that stretches southwest for 700 miles from south of Kyushu to just east of Taiwan. This idyllic sub-tropical archipelago only became part of Japan in 1879 and retains a distinctive culture that mixes influences from Japan, China, Korea and parts of Southeast Asia. Step into the history of this once-independent kingdom at Shuri Castle, the oft-rebuilt former home of the Ryukyu royal family, whose ornate Shureimon Gate is wonderfully photogenic. Most travellers are here to enjoy lazy days on remote white-sand beaches or to dive and snorkel in limpid coral-rich waters that sea turtles, manta rays and hammerhead sharks call home. Head to the more remote specks of land for unspoiled verdant landscapes, rare wildlife and dark skies made for star-gazing – on clear nights in Ishigaki in the far southwest, you can see almost all of the 88 known constellations. The women of this so-called ‘blue zone’ are famously long-lived, though the jury is still out on if that’s down to a diet rich in tofu, yam and seaweed, the relaxed pace of life or the mild climate that means even in winter it can be around 20 degrees Celsius.
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ISLANDS OF THE SETO INLAND SEA
Framed by Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, the Seto Inland Sea is generously studded with islands whose distinct characters make hopping between them an authentic delight. The largest of the 3,000 or so – many of them uninhabited – is Awaji-shima, accessible from Kobe via the world’s second-largest suspension bridge. The theme here is ‘immersion’, whether in the traditional puppet theatre that’s been practised here for centuries, in the fabulous culinary scene or in the multitude of hot springs that dot the landscape. Naoshima is Seto’s art island, whose most iconic sight is Yayoi Kusama’s giant black-and-yellow pumpkin perched on the end of a pier. With few cars on its quiet roads, this is an ideal place to meander on two wheels between galleries, installations and outdoor sculptures before settling in for the night at the Tadao Ando-designed Benesse House – part art museum, part sleek hotel (with exquisite food). Shōdo-shima, meanwhile, feels like a slice of the Mediterranean thanks to its hillside olive groves, beaches and charming seaside resorts. Inland, the soaring mountains are cut through by Kankakei Gorge, at its most spectacular in late autumn when the view from the cable car is an unbroken sea of red, copper and orange.
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HOKKAIDO
The second largest of the main islands, Hokkaido is Japan’s spectacular wild north. In winter, enthusiastic skiers and snowboarders come to hit the backcountry slopes in areas such as Niseko, the powder capital of the world, whose season lasts for around five months. White-blanketed landscapes provide a memorable setting for expeditions by dog sled or snowmobile, while the crisp cold weather creates the perfect conditions for the impressive ice sculptures of February’s Sapporo Snow Festival. During the summer, the focus turns to the trails through the island’s national parks. The largest and most remote of these is Daisetsuzan, a vast area that’s home to brown bears, rare alpine plants and active volcanoes, where you’re never too far from a hot spring in which to soothe aching muscles. Backing onto the port city of Kushiro, another park shelters the country’s largest marsh and wetlands area, not to mention its small but, hopefully, growing resident population of critically endangered red-crowned cranes. Even outside the protected areas, there are natural beauties to enjoy; when not draped in snow, the ski resort of Furano is enveloped by fields of lavender and wildflower meadows crammed with poppies, lupins, lilies, sunflowers, salvia and cosmos.
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KYUSHU
Known as ‘the land of fire’ thanks to its many active volcanoes – including one that erupts several times every day – Japan’s third-largest island appeals to independent travellers with a taste for self-drive adventures in less-visited places. This fascinating destination wasn’t always a sideshow, however; for centuries, its proximity to the Asian mainland made it the gateway to Japan, particularly during Sakoku, the era of isolation, when Nagasaki was the only port open to a handful of foreign traders. You can delve into that rich past in the city’s historic Dejima district, then visit the Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum for an insight into the horror of more recent events. The history-minded will also be in their element at ancient Shinto shrines such as Kushida-jinja in the heart of bustling Fukuoka city, where the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival is held every July, as well as in quieter spots such as Yoshinogari Historical Park, dating from the Bronze Age Yayoi period. As for nature lovers, they’re spoiled for choice, with walking trails through forests of 1,000-year-old cedars where macaques roam, cycle routes in national parks studded with volcanic cones and craters, and voyages on rivers hemmed in by towering cliffs of twisted basalt.
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SHIKOKU
The smallest of Japan’s four main islands – and the only one with no active volcanoes – is often overlooked by travellers, which makes it an even more appealing option for those who enjoy heading off the beaten track. Its main claim to fame is the circular 88-temple pilgrimage loop (henro in Japanese) that weaves its way around the island for almost 800 miles, connecting sacred sites associated with Kukai, a 9th-century monk who founded the Shingon sect of Buddhism. Along the way, it passes through a rich variety of landscapes, from paddy fields and plum orchards to vertiginous mountains criss-crossed by steep-sided valleys. Pick a section (or several) depending on your tastes and timetable, and walk, cycle or drive between highlights such as the Zen garden of temple number 31 and the ornate 14th-century gate of temple 51. For a change of atmosphere, Shikoku’s capital Matsuyama is a charming seaside city of 500,000 people, with a listed 17th-century castle and a Meiji Era bathhouse, as well as eight of the temples on the pilgrimage route. Alternatively, head for unspoiled country towns such as Uchiko, whose Old Town has barely changed in 100 years, and Ozu, whose atmospheric alleyways are even older.
