Japan

Japan calls to mind a mixture of images, ancient and modern, sprawling metropolises like Tokyo and rolling green forested mountains of the inlands. It’s both paradoxically old and cutting-edge with an ancient history and culture that is only matched by its pioneering technology and strong grip on the electronics and consumer culture industry of the world.

Tokyo is Japan’s capital and largest city with 12 million residents crowded into nearly every nook and cranny the city can find space in to exist. It positively buzzes with a never-shut-off liveliness thick with people, traffic, roadways, and shoebox estates, and can be intoxicating for those urban-lovers.

From the famed kitsch and novelty shopping district of Ginza to the ancient beauty of the Imperial Palace that still houses the Japanese emperor and the imperial family, Tokyo is a jumble of commercialism and history, shoved together and vibrating with unique color.

If Tokyo holds Japan’s economy in its hand, then Kyoto holds the country’s soul. This former country capital is still considered the cultural center of Japan, still holding onto its imperial feel with its hundreds of temples and gardens raked with pebbles, contoured roofs and even modern-day geishas.

For a breath of fresh air, Daisetsuzan National Park is Japan’s largest national park, some 1432 square miles of mountain chains, volcanoes, lakes, and forests. It's perfect for hiking, skiing, and other outdoor activities for those who need a weekend jaunt away from the congested cities.

A classic backdrop of Japan, Mt. Fuji is the country’s highest mountain, a symmetrically coned by volcanic action and towering at 12,385 feet. It’s a serious climb and not for the inexperienced despite its picturesque glory, but you can still admire it from a afar – sometimes – from Tokyo, when it isn’t shrouded by clouds or capped off with snow in winter.

Perhaps the most puzzling, but still quite fun, attraction of Japan is the Seagaia Ocean Dome, a simulated 460-foot white sand beach with a highly controlled “ocean” in a large, climate-controlled, massive dome-like structure ironically built near the sandy beaches of Kyushu’s Miyazki-ken coastline. You can swim, lounge, or surf in this artifice, and the kids can even find amusement in the adjoining waterpark.