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| | The Edo period witnessed Japan's self-imposed isolationism. Meanwhile, the 'continentals' were in a rather expansive mood; The 1648 Treaty of Westphalia had created a series of powerful European nation-states, that through a marriage of trade and coercion began to aggressively expand in power and influence. Eventually, this Western imperialism would reach the shores of Nihon, and Japan would... |  |
| You know a lot more about Kobe than you might realize. Maybe you've heard of heavenly Kobe beef. Marbled decadence. Kobe cows are hand-fed lobster and beer. Jealous yet? That's just the beginning...To soothe digestion and to ensure that the calorie rich nutrients are sufficiently spread throughout the beatified beef, a team of small, white-gloved Japanese elders massage the cow as it digests... |  |
| Osaka has long been one of Japan's major industrial centers and ports and today its population of 2.7 million makes it Japan's third largest city. The castle here, Osaka-jo is one of Japan's most impressive historical monuments with sheer rock walls and a huge moat. And the commercial and entertainment area lining the canal around Dotonbori is a bustling center of restaurants, clubs and stores. |  |
| Kanazawa is Kyoto without the crowds. Kyoto can have its protocols, Kanazawa has class. If Kyoto and Kanazawa were both in the Japanese National Sperring Bee (sic) than Kyoto would be the self-aware returning champion, the kid with all the pressure to perform and succeed, the lad to watch for on the late night television circuit. Kanazawa would be the other guy, the largely undiscovered... |
| Tokyo is Japan's cosmopolitan, bustling metropolis. Its broad causeways and labyrinthine neighborhoods are packed with electronics bazaars, arcades and pachinko parlors, modern skyscrapers and high fashion, and tons of busy restaurants, bars and clubs. To the uninitiated it can seem like the bewildering alien environment of Lost In Translation, but if (unlike Scarlett Johansson) you get out of... |  |
| A favorite of sushi bars everywhere, world famous Sapporo beer is brewed in downtown Sapporo, Japan. The brewery, like other iconic brewers: Guinness in Dublin, Heineken in Amsterdam, Sierra Nevada in Chico, offers their guests guided tours topped off by a foamy stein of lager in the giant beer garden. Sapporo is a dynamic and modern city set in the northern reaches of Japan. Long before... |  |
| Kyoto is the heart of Japan. This may surprise some visitors – isn’t Tokyo this huge capitol metropolis? – but the history and beauty of the Land of the Rising Sun is all focused in this older city, from which the emperors ruled for almost 1100 years. Kyoto is a very safe place – that is why it was chosen as the capitol centuries ago. After bouncing around between a few locations and being... |  |
| Ever wonder where the third biggest Buddha in Japan is located? No? How about why almost every zipper on every pair of pants you have ever seen says YKK on it...did you pattently ponder that fastener fact? Go ahead and check... The answer to both questions is, fortunately, one and the same. Takaoka, Japan. A Japanese city of 180,000 people located in Toyama-Ken. Takaoka is Japanese for... |  |
| Hiroshima surprises. You can tell it’s been the victim of the A-bomb – by the way it has come back with such intense zest and vigor, the celebration of life the city seems to make of the mere act of living – not just surviving but thriving.Hiroshima has the energy and focus you’d expect of a near-death case 10 years on when he has completely changed his life, all in good ways. There’s a passion... |  |
| Just outside Hiroshima is one of the ‘three jewels’ of Japan, one of the top three places in the country to visit (the Japanese love lists of top threes). It is Miyajima Island, and it is spectacular.By tram or train, it’s about a 45 minute ride to the ferry port; the boat takes about 15 minutes, and they run often.The island is filled with wonderful things to see and do. Deer roam the... |
| If you don't have a flux capacitor or a DeLorean handy, this might be your best opportunity to experience a taste of ancient Japan. Takayama provides a glimpse into a Japan long faded from the realities of modernity. The preserved farming village of Hida, allows visitors to stroll around a bucolic lake, examining live, trained artisans practicing historical Japanese craftsmanship with period... |  |
| World-class skiing and snowboarding, pristine alpine slopes, top-notch Japanese bath-houses, Nagano a is veritable winter wonderland. The Olympic village (Nagano played host to the 1998 Winter Olympic Games) is nestled in the cradle of enormous peaks, rocky serrations that create the spine of Honshu. The Japanese Alps tower above and around wood-panneled sake parlors and funky... |  |
| Japan's fourth largest city is also a major Pacific port. A typically Japanese metropolis, the city is home to Nagoya Castle, a pristine, multi-tiered building built in the early 17th Century. The Atsuta shire is another of the city's traditional tourist draws. The Japanese quantify everything, they even have abacus teams at their high schools just as Americans have football teams, and thus it... |
| Japan retains its natural beauty, but not in wild abundance. The outdoors, a commodity like everything else, have been quantified, ranked and curtailed, carefully controlled and manicured. Hokkaido, Japan's northern most island, is a stark, untamed exception to this rule. Famous for its brutal winters, Hokkaido is also the host to some of the country's best winter recreation. A nature lover's... |
| The Emerald City is either in the Pacific Northwest or Oz, while the Green city, Sendai, was founded a little earlier, around 1600. Sendai, Japan is 180 miles north of Tokyo, on Japan's Pacific coast. Nicknamed the 'city of trees,' Sendai was a city singularly defined by its arborphilia. Residents, shrines, and schools were all encouraged to plant personal trees, as a result the urbanity... |
| The small town of Suwa is located in the heart of the Japanese Alps. At around 50,000 people, Suwa isn't so large, but the accompanying towns to the north and south, Chino and Okaya make it feel much bigger. In the heart of the valley lies Suwa Lake. There is not much to tell here. Gaudy ferry boats in the form of monstrous swans belch their way to the other side. The lake sediment is fairly... |  |
| If Karate Kid II taught us anything, it was that Crane Kicks don't work well in Japan. Sure, they will dazzle the ranks of the "Sweep the leg, Johnny"- Cobra Kai crowd but,ultimately, they just don't impress in the Land of The Rising Sun. Okinawa is both Japan and something distinct. It is at first and at last, a lone, southerly island chain, located geographically and culturally at a distance... |  |
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