Travel Guide to Japan

These is favorit places in Japan that you should know before you start a traveling:

Kyoto


Kyoto was Japan's capital and the emperor's residence from 794 until 1868. It is now the country's seventh largest city with a population of 1.4 million people and a modern face.

Over the centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires, but due to its historic value, the city was dropped from the list of target cities for the atomic bomb and spared from air raids during World War II. Countless temples, shrines and other historically priceless structures survive in the city today.

Tokyo

Tokyo is Japan's capital and the country's largest city.

Tokyo is also one of Japan's 47 prefectures, but is called a metropolis (to) rather than a prefecture (ken). The metropolis of Tokyo consists of 23 city wards (ku), 26 cities, 5 towns and 8 villages, including the Izu and Ogasawara Islands, several small Pacific Islands in the south of Japan's main island Honshu.

The 23 city wards (ku) are the center of Tokyo and make up about one third of the metropolis' area, while housing roughly eight of Tokyo's approximately twelve million residents.

Prior to 1868, Tokyo was known as Edo. A small castle town in the 16th century, Edo became Japan's political center in 1603 when Tokugawa Ieyasu established his feudal government there. A few decades later, Edo had grown into one of the world's most populous cities.

With the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the emperor and capital were moved from Kyoto to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo ("Eastern Capital"). Large parts of Tokyo were destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and in the air raids of 1945.

Nagoya


With over two million inhabitants, Nagoya is Japan's fourth most populated city. It is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and the principal city of the Nobi plain, one of Honshu's three large plains and industrial centers.

Nagoya developed as the castle town of the Owari, one of the three branches of the ruling Tokugawa family during the Edo Period. Much of the city, including most of its historic buildings, were destroyed in the air raids of 1945.

Osaka

With a population of 2.5 million, Osaka is Japan's third largest and second most important city. It has been the economic powerhouse of the Kansai region for many centuries.

Osaka was formerly known as Naniwa. Before the Nara Period, when the capital used to be moved with the reign of each new emperor, Naniwa was once Japan's capital city, the first one ever known.

In the 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi chose Osaka as the location for his castle, and the city may have become Japan's capital if Tokugawa Ieyasu had not terminated the Toyotomi lineage after Hideyoshi's death and moved his government to distant Edo (Tokyo).

Yokohama
With a population of over three million people, Yokohama is Japan's second largest city. It is located less than 30 minutes south of Tokyo by train, and is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture.

Towards the end of the Edo Period (1603-1867), during which Japan isolated herself from the rest of the world, Western nations forced the country to open its ports to foreign trade. In 1859, Yokohama's port became one of the first ports to be openend, and Yokohama quickly grew from a small fishing village into one of Japan's major cities.

Until today, the Yamate residential area retains a Western touch and houses many foreign residents, while Yokohama's Chinatown is one of the world's largest. source:japan-guide.com

National Treasures in Japan Country

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of the government of Japan designates the most famous of the nation's cultural properties as National Treasures (国宝: kokuhō). Examples of the types of works that receive this designation are

* Buildings such as castles, temples, shrines
* Paintings, scrolls, sutras, and works of calligraphy
* Statues in stone, bronze, wood, lacquer or other materials
* Crafts, such as pottery, lacquer ware, carvings, metals, netsuke, swords and textiles
* Archeological and historical artifacts, including burial objects, documents, and letters
* People, called "Living National Treasures (人間国宝: ningen kokuhō)"

Many of Japan's national treasures are in museums such as the national museums in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara. The prefectural and city governments also operate public museums, and these and private museums also house national treasures. Many Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, castles and similar installations also open their buildings and grounds to the public, and some have museums as well. The Imperial Household of Japan holds many national treasures. Kyoto boasts about one in five national treasures.

Living National Treasure is an informal designation for a person whom the government has recognized as exemplary in carrying on Japanese traditions. Performing artists in genres including noh, bunraku, and kabuki, and artists and artisans in traditional crafts, have received this distinction.

Source: Wikipedia.com

Japan Tourism

Tourism in Japan comprises both a vibrant domestic sector and over eight million entries each year by foreigners. Today, sites such as Nikko World Historical Site, various attractions in Tokyo (see Tourism in Tokyo) and Kyoto, Mount Fuji, world-class ski resorts such as Niseko in Hokkaidō, Okinawa, as well as aspects of tourism including the shinkansen and well-developed hotel and onsen network are enjoyed by natives and foreigners alike.

History of Tourism

The exact origins of early traditions of visits to picturesque sites are lost to history, but perhaps one of the most famous early sight-seeing excursions was Matsuo Basho's 1689 trip to the then "far north" of Japan, which occurred not long after Hayashi Razan categorized the Three Views of Japan in 1643. During the feudal era of Japan, from ~1600 to the Meiji Restoration in 1867, travel was regulated within the country through the use of shukuba or post stations, towns in which travelers had to present appropriate documentation. Despite these restrictions, porter stations and horse stables, as well as places for lodging and food were available on well-traveled routes. During this time, Japan was a closed country to foreigners, so little to none foreign tourism existed in Japan.

Following the Meiji Restoration and the building of a national railroad network across Japan, tourism became more of an affordable prospect for domestic citizens and visitors from foreign countries could enter Japan legally. As early as 1887, government officials recognized the need for an organized system of attracting foreign tourists; the Kihinkai (貴賓会, Kihinkai?), which aimed to coordinate the various players in the tourism, was established that year with Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi's blessing. Its early leaders included Shibusawa Eiichi and Ekida Takashi. Another major milestone in the development of the tourism industry in Japan was the 1907 passage of the Hotel Development Law, as a result of which the Railways Ministry began to construct publicly-owned hotels all throughout Japan.

Tourism Today

Tourism today remains a vital part of the Japanese economy and society. Schoolchildren in many middle schools see the highlight of their years as a visit to Tokyo Disneyland or perhaps Tokyo Tower in the city. High school students may visit Okinawa or Hokkaidō. The extensive rail network together with domestic flights sometimes in planes with modifications to favor the relatively short distances involved in intra-Japan travel allows efficient and speedy transport from many points within the country.
Source: wikipedia.com