Japan, Land Of The Rising Sun, a fascinating country with a colourful culture and history.

Tokyo is the gigantic metropolis of an exotic world with its Imperial Palace which is protected by mighty walls and wide moats, vivid proof of the former supreme power of the former Tokugawa Shoguns.

Close by, in Shiba Park, are the Zojo Ji Family Temple and the remains of the Tokugawa Clan’s cemetery. To this day, the temple has remained a place of meditation and Buddhist faith. Adjacent is Tokyo Tower that is situated on the edge of the Roppongi district and is a replica of Paris’ Eiffel Tower.

Kyoto is considered to be the cradle of Japanese culture an ancient Imperial city with twelve hundred years of history. Emperor Saga honoured the monk, Kukai, by giving him the eastern Toji Temple as the centre of Shingon Buddhism.

Nara is the birthplace of Japanese art and literature. Newly-imported Buddhism was sponsored by those who ruled and extended throughout Japan. Thus, the original religion of ancient Japan, Shinto, was confined to local sanctuaries such as at the Himuro Shrine which conserves this ancient national, cultural belief.

The National Museum exhibits important works of art from the Nara period, an exceptional collection of early Buddhist art. Centuries of almost complete isolation have formed a fascinating culture in Japan that is harmonious but at the same time rich in contrast as nowhere else.

Osaka is the second largest city and economic and administrative centre of West Japan. An old trading city with a huge castle. There’s far more, too. Japan is full of both modern and ancient surprises!