12-Nights Japan: Past & Present-A Cultural Journey from Tokyo to Osaka - Explorations – Small Group

Koyasan (Mt. Koya)

Osaka

Hiroshima

Kyoto

If you can visit only one city in Japan, Kyoto is the one. This ancient city, 30 mi/50 km northeast of Osaka, was the capital of Japan for more than 1,000 years and still is considered the country's spiritual capital. Thousands of shrines and temples dot the city, including more than a dozen on the UNESCO World Heritage list. That list is far from all-inclusive, and many excellent places that might be the star attractions of other cities crowd the streets of Kyoto. It is a center of Japanese Zen and has several huge monastery complexes where serious students still sit in meditation.

Kyoto is also the nation's capital of traditional arts. Whether your interest be in pottery, textiles, dance, the tea ceremony or any of the other innumerable arts, Kyoto has excellent galleries, museums, shops and tea houses. Japanese people from the countryside and foreign students flock there to learn under the great masters. Much of what is considered Japanese haute cuisine was developed there too, as an offshoot of the tea ceremony.

Kyoto is Japan's heartland of history. With 1,300 years of tumultuous existence, the city's past intrudes upon the present day as in few other Japanese cities. In Gion, you can spot a geisha (or geiko, as they are called in Kyoto), one of the last hundred or so in Japan, slipping down a side-street to entertain rich guests with witty conversation, dance or music. A shopping arcade may suddenly fill with discordant clanging music as a shrine festival passes among the shoppers, or you may hear the long chant as Zen monks pass through the neighborhood, calling for alms.

Kyoto is an understated city that might disappoint visitors at first (at first glance, it is a large city with modern buildings that might not align with one's original perception); its charm lies in small details, pocket gardens, tiny traditional restaurants and refined artwork.

Ise Shima National Park

Ise-Shima National Park, located 75 mi/ 120 km east of Osaka, is centered around the most sacred shrine in Japan and provides a fascinating glimpse into Japanese culture. For almost 2,000 years, the Grand Shrine of Ise is where the imperial family has gone to seek advice from the gods.

The Grand Shrine has two parts: Naiku (the inner shrine, dedicated to the sun goddess, the Shinto supreme deity) and Geku (the outer shrine, dedicated to the goddess of food and grain). Both are wooden buildings done in simple Japanese style based on the structure of ancient granaries. Every 20 years, both shrines are torn down and replaced by exact replicas on adjacent plots, most recently in 2013.

What makes the site impressive isn't just the architecture, but also the beautiful setting and the reverence with which it is treated by the Japanese. Only priests are allowed within the walls of the shrines, yet several million people visit them every year.

Kongoshoji is another interesting temple in the area, with a graceful moon bridge (named for its distinctive arched shape) and a trail lined with decorated poles that people have erected as memorials for deceased family members.

Another site worth visiting is the "couple" rock formation of Meoto-iwa. These well-photographed boulders emerging from the sea act as a natural torii gate through being linked together by sturdy straw rope.

Ise-Shima is easily reached via an 80-minute train ride from Nagoya.

Tokyo

Tokyo, Japan, presents a different view at every turn. It's one of the world's main economic centers and its most populous agglomeration. The business of Tokyo is business, but you can still find harmony and small-scale gardens on back streets. Around the corner from neon and concrete, you may find the bonsai-lined courtyard of a traditional inn.

Tokyo was nearly destroyed by bombs and fires during World War II, and by earthquakes at other times, but it has always rebuilt itself. As a result, there is little left of Old Japan in the city, but there's plenty of New Japan to take its place.

The streets are a confusing maze, so a map is essential. The transit system is excellent, however, and there are kobans (police boxes) throughout the metropolis, as well as a populace generally willing to answer questions.

Visitors to Tokyo represent both business and leisure travelers. And despite its past reputation, Tokyo is no longer fearsomely expensive. It's relatively easy to visit Tokyo on a budget.