Japan

Located on the Pacific Ocean, Japan is an island nation with over 3,000 islands. The country extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic, and the highest peak is Mount Fuji at 12,388 feet. Japan is also known as “The Land of the Rising Sun” because of its name in the kanji writing system and the location of the country on the east coast of Asia.

Tokyo is the capital of Japan and with over 30 million residents is the largest metropolitan area in the world. As the capital, Tokyo is the largest domestic and international hub for rail, ground, and air transportation in Japan. Tokyo also serves as a good jumping off point to see the country of Japan because of the transportation infrastructure, which includes two major airports. The first is Tokyo-Narita Airport, the international airport for the city of Tokyo. The second is Tokyo-Haneda Airport, which is the domestic airport with air links across the entire country.

The country has nine eco-regions ranging from subtropical moist broadleaf forests in the Ryukyu and Bonin Islands to temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in mild climate regions of the main islands to temperate coniferous forests in the cold portions of the north. Overall the climate in Japan is temperate but varies from north to south as the geological features of the country divide it into six main climate zones.

While visiting, some sites you may want to see are the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Himeji Castle (17th century Japanese castle), and in Kyoto there are over 1600 Buddhist temples, 400 Shinto shrines, along with many palaces and gardens. In the Nara prefecture, there is Todai-ji, the world’s largest wooden building hosting the world’s largest gilded bronze Budda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wherever you go in Japan, you will find interesting culture, beautiful Buddhist temples & gardens, and spectacular sights.

For travel to Japan be aware credit cards and ATM cards from other nations are not accepted at many places. It is important that you obtain some Yen upon arrival into the country. ATM’s at the airports will take ATM cards on the Plus (Visa) and Cirrus (MasterCard) network as well as ATM’s at the Japanese post offices. Credit Cards are accepted primarily at the larger hotels and stores that cater to foreign tourists, but in smaller establishments and once outside of the major cities it will be necessary to use cash. On the subject of money, tipping is not necessary in Japan.

When shopping for electronics, make sure they can be used overseas before you purchase. Additionally, the warranty on many items is not valid outside of Japan with the exception of models made for the international market. If you make a large purchase, you may be eligible to have the 5% consumption tax waived providing you are bringing the goods out of the country.

Getting to Japan

Japan has many international airports including Tokyo-Narita (NRT), Nagoya (NGO), and Osaka Kansai International Airport (KIX) which have direct flights from North America, Europe, Australia, and other points in Asia.