|  | | | WELCOME U TURN TRAVEL JAPAN DESTINATION ASIA JAPAN | | About Japan Whether you end up taking photos of a reproduction Eiffel Tower, surfing an indoor wave, musing in a Zen temple, shacking up in a love hotel or kipping down in a capsule, you'll do best to come with an open mind and be prepared to be surprised. 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 | |
| Places to See
Japan is such a kaleidoscopic jumble of ritual and history, neo-this and mega-that, full-colour countercultures, verdant islands and urban wastelands, past scars and future dreams, gardens, shrines and glittering cities that the only trouble will be fitting it all in. |
| When To Go
Spring (March to May), with its clear skies and cherry blossoms, is probably the most celebrated Japanese season, but the Golden Week period, which is 29 April to 7 May, is 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 very 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 and the midsummer O-Bon festival can be a real headache |
| Events Overview
Expect a total sell-out for travel and lodging during Japan's biggest holidays, New Year (December 29 to January 3) and Golden Week (the lumping together of Green Day, Constitution Day and Children's Day, from April 29 to May 7). Other festivals include Coming-of-Age Day (second Monday in January), when ceremonies are held for boys and girls who have reached the age of 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 March 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 July 13-16 and mid-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. White Day (March 14) is a bizarre follow up to Valentine's Day where men are supposed to reciprocate to their valentine with a gift of chocolate or marshmallow. For those into music, the Fuji Rock Festival is held over three days in late July at the Naeba Ski Resort in northwest Japan. This festival boasts an awesome lineup of local and international bands playing against a mountain backdrop. |
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| | | Picture Gallery: Scenes Around Japan |
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| Weather Overview
Affected by seasonal wind reversal from the southerly monsoon, Japan has a quite different climate to its Asian neighbours of the same latitude. You can expect the warmer temperatures of the south to cool as you move north so that the average July day is about 28°C (83°F) around the southern islands and only 23°C (73°F) near Hokkaido. Most of the year, the climate is moderate, but in winter it's cold throughout most of the country, with the exception of southern Kyūshū and Okinawa. Rainfall varies across the nation but is quite regular the year round and usually just a bit heavier during the June rainy season (which misses Hokkaidō).
Overview
If traditional culture is your thing, you can spend weeks in cities like Kyoto and Nara, gorging yourself on temples, shrines, kabuki, nō, tea ceremonies and museums packed with treasures from Japan's rich artistic heritage. If modern culture and technology is more your bag, you'll find Japan's cities an absolute wonderland - an easy peek into the future of the human race, complete with frenzied pop soundtrack
Modern History
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 1868 the ruling shōgun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, 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 Harbor 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 US 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.
Recent History
Things began to look up with the appointment of Keizo Obuchi, who took over after Prime Minister Hashimoto was ousted by a voter backlash over the shrinking 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 honour of possessing the lowest approval rating of any leader in recent Japanese history, until he announced his resignation in early April 2001. Mori's successor was the telegenic Junichiro Koizumi, who brought a beguiling mix of conservatism and reform to Japan's top job. Promising to end the culture of high-level nepotism that had in part led to the deflation, he distinguishes himself with his charisma and dashing haircut. His energies seem to be paying off: Japan's economyis ever-so-slowly climbing out of its deflationary hole in the ground. |
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