| Japan is a country of striking natural beauty | | | | Through the years, Japan has played an |
| that will make for a memorable sightseeing | | | | important part in the arts, more notably in |
| vacation. Situated on the east coast of Asia, | | | | printmaking and in garden design. Classical |
| it's varied selection of cultural, | | | | and rock are popular forms of music, but the |
| environmental and urban settings offer so | | | | traditional styles remain widely played. It |
| much to any traveller. | | | | is well worth visiting some of the art |
| | | | centres, where they will show you how the |
| Geologically, Japan is very active due to the | | | | traditional arts were made. |
| plates that it sits on and there are over one | | | | |
| hundred and fifty volcanoes on the islands | | | | Shopping in the capital, Tokyo, and the main |
| with half of them active. It consists of over | | | | cities will be a pleasant experience. Every |
| three thousands islands many of which are | | | | thing you need - you will find. For many |
| very mountainous. Most of the Japanese | | | | years, the Japanese have been to the |
| countryside is covered in forest, but due to | | | | forefront of electronic creation. Great |
| its economic success, a large amount of | | | | electronic gadgets can be bought at a |
| natural plant species are nearing extinction. | | | | reasonable price. The currency used is the |
| | | | Japanese Yen. |
| When travelling to Japan, plan and research | | | | |
| the best time of year to go. The climate | | | | If time allows, you should try to take in |
| differs considerably in different parts of | | | | some of the national games. Traditional |
| the islands. It gets extreme snowstorms in | | | | sports, such as archery, judo and karate are |
| the north of the country during the winter | | | | extremely common and in some regions samurai |
| months. In the south of the country the | | | | sword fighting is popular. Sumo wrestling is |
| weather is more tropical and humid. Tsunamis | | | | the most popular of the traditional sports, |
| and typhoons are a very popular occurrence | | | | drawing huge crowds and large television |
| during the year. | | | | audiences. Baseball, football and rugby are |
| | | | the most popular modern sports. |
| Japan's history dates back for thousands of | | | | |
| years. The countryside has stunning old | | | | The Japanese people are extremely pleasant |
| temples and castles along with great museums | | | | and will go out of their way to make your |
| that show the traditional art of warfare that | | | | holiday special. English is not widely |
| the Japanese are famous for. Temples are also | | | | spoken, so you should buy some sort of |
| a place of worship for the Japanese. | | | | translation book to make your travel |
| | | | experience more enjoyable. |
| Western style foods are very popular with | | | | |
| most of the more popular chain restaurants | | | | Japan is an ideal location for a long |
| established there. Traditional dishes tend to | | | | vacation - and to be honest, very little will |
| be served in small portions with many dishes | | | | be seen on a weekend break. If you are |
| being served raw. Rice is served with most | | | | planning a holiday there, give yourself at |
| meals and the most common drink is green tea. | | | | least three weeks to see and enjoy this |
| | | | charming country. |