Spending your holidays in Japan

Japan for many years has had the reputation ofweather during this period still tends to remain
being prohibitively expensive. While in some casescool, and we would advise packing some light
this can be true, anyone on a budget can alsojackets, light sweaters and other similar kinds of
enjoy most of what this beautiful country has toclothing.
offer. This is not to say Japan is not expensive, itJapan's Summer is from June to August.
can be, but with a little homework you can visitGenerally the Japanese summer season begins in
the Land of the Rising Sun on your own termsJune with a three to four week rainy season. It
and allowance.then becomes very hot and humid from July
Japan is located between the North Pacific andonward.
the Sea of Japan, and is nearly the same size asJapan's Autumn season is from September to
Germany and Switzerland combined. Japan isNovember. Autumn is a lovely time to visit Japan
made up of of four major islands, surrounded byespecially areas such as Kyoto and other more
more than 4,000 smaller islands. The four majorrural areas, as forests are dyed in glorious autumn
islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, andcolors. As the season brings a more refreshing
Kyushu.cool after the hot summer light jackets, light
Japan's population is over 126 million, with mostsweaters and similar is advised.
Japanese residing in densely populated urbanJapan offers many nationalities a visa on arrival
areas. The Tokyo Metropolitan Area including thesystem as long as the reason for travelling to
city, some of its suburbs and the surrounding areaJapan is not to reside in the country, obtain
is believed to house a staggering 12 million.employment or work in another capacity with
Language can still be a problem but over theremuneration.
years more and more Japanese speak better andJapan has 'Reciprocal Visa Exemption
better English, but we still recommend you toArrangements' with the following countries: For a
carry a handy phrase book and learn a fewperiod of 6 months or less Austria, Germany,
essential words, especially if you plan to travel toIreland, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Switzerland and the
some of the more remote areas of Japan.United Kingdom (UK citizens only) For a period of
In this section of ASIA Travel Tips.com we aim3 months or less Argentina, Bahamas, Belgium,
to provide you with some useful information onCanada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus,
Japan. What to see, where to stay, when toDenmark, Dominican Rep., El Salvador, Finland,
travel, what to do and of course some specialFrance, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Iceland,
rates available from hotels in the major parts ofIsrael, Italy, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Macedonia,
Japan.Malta, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal
Japan, located in North Asia, has four main(except when the passport was originally issued in
seasons, Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn.present or former Portuguese colonies), San
Choosing when to travel can make all theMarino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Surinam,
difference when planning your trip as parts ofSweden, Tunisia, Turkey and Uruguay For a
Japan can get very cold, and other times veryperiod of 90 days or less Andorra, Australia,
hot and humid.Barbados, Czech Rep., Estonia, Hong Kong,
Knowing a little of what weather to expect willHungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Monaco, New Zealand,
also help you know what to pack.Poland and the USA For a period of up to 14
Japan's Winter season is generally from Decemberdays Brunei For all nationalities not listed above, a
to February. The temperature rarely drops belowvisa must be obtained prior to travelling to Japan.
0°C in the plains along the Pacific coastIf travelling on business or as a tourist a
during wintertime. It is also quite dry and very'Temporary Visitor's Visa' can be issued at your
often sunny. Central Japan and Northern Japan arelocal Japanese Embassy and usually gives you
highly reputed regions for winter sports. Southernpermission to stay in Japan for a period of up to
Japan is comparatively mild in winter. Hokkaido is90 days. If you are travelling to Japan to work,
famous during the winter season for its incrediblefind employment or live then it is best to call your
Ice Festival.local Japanese Embassy or Consulate and ask
Japan's Spring time is from March to May. Thethem the best procedure.