Destination Guides
A season for everyone
On the one hand, it is a hyperfuturistic vision of neon and next-gen tech, while on the other, it is a place of deeply held traditions from Shinto to samurai. Japan is a long and slender, highly volcanic archipelago. Over two-thirds of it is covered by mountains, with bubbling hot springs at every turn. Each season offers its own charm. In the warmer months there is excellent hiking, through cedar groves and fields of wildflowers, up to soaring peaks and ancient shrines. In the winter, all this is covered with snow and the skiing is world class.
It’s hard to have a bad meal here
Japanese cuisine has great regional variations. The hearty dishes of the mountains are dramatically different from the delicate sushi for which the coast is famous. Then there are the noodles: Japan’s top ramen pilgrimage sites are Fukuoka, where the speciality is tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen, and Sapporo, where the specialty is miso ramen. The food is intensely seasonal, meaning you can visit at a different time of year and experience totally new tastes.
