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Experienced and first-time travelers alike rely on Fodor's Gold Guides for rich, reliable coverage the world over. Completely up-to-date, Fodor's Gold Guides are essential for any kind of traveler. Insider info that's reliable and smart Local experts show you all the things to see and do -- from top sights to off-the-beaten-path adventures, from sports to shopping, from nightlife to recommended walks. Hotels and restaurants in all price categories From B&Bs to luxury hotels, from casual eateries to elegant restaurants, we list hundreds of detailed reviews that show what is distinctive about each place. Practical info that's completely up-to-date Useful maps and background information; Key contacts; How to get there and get around; When to go; What to pack; Local do's and taboos; Costs, hours, and tips by the thousands. We've compiled a helpful list of guidebooks that complementFodor's Japan. To learn more about them, just enter the title in the keyword search box. Fodor's Southeast Asia Fodor's Exploring Japan: An information-rich cultural guide in full color.

On the Road with Fodor's Don't Forget to Write Smart Travel
Tips A to Z Destination: Japan
""Life: A Performing Art"" New and Noteworthy What's Where Pleasures and Pastimes Fodor's Choice
Great Itineraries Festivals and National Holidays
A Japanese Cultural Primer
The Arts Bathing: An Immersion Course
The Discreet Charm of Japanese Cuisine
Japanese Society: A Factory of Fads Ritual and Religion
Theater and Dramatic Personae
Japan at a Glance: A Chronology Books and Videos Tokyo Side Trips from Tokyo
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Destination: Japan

Modern Japan is a social democracy -- or its own version of one -- where more than 80% of the people regularly describe themselves to government pollsters as "middle class."

The Japanese take inexhaustible delight in things new and different, especially from other cultures. But for the unprecedented, for sudden changes in the structure of everyday life, they have little taste. Nobody here plays practical jokes, however harmless. Nobody just drops in on anybody else, however close the acquaintance. Loudspeakers on trains announce every station well in advance and even tell you on which side of the car the doors will open. The nonrefundable "key money" -- usually two months' rent -- that tenants must pay their landlords for the privilege of signing a lease usually puzzles newcomers to this country. The function of the custom is clear enough: It discourages people from suddenly deciding to move.

Of course, there are exceptions to all this. Like any society, Japan has its share of mavericks and adventurers, but it is a small share, quite incidental to the real strengths and achievements of the culture. One of those strengths is efficiency. Let the task be well defined, dispose the people working on it in due hierarchy, and the Japanese will bring it off with astonishing grace, every detail in place, every contingency provided for. Distaste for the unexpected can be a weakness, but it is also a strength. Predictability makes Japan an orderly society -- one of the safest in the world -- where it's possible to accept, even welcome, the limits on one's mobility.

Dining

Japanese food is not only delicious and healthy but also aesthetically pleasing -- in fact the aesthetic experience of food is of utmost importance to the Japanese. Even the most humble box lunch (bento) from a railway station or on a train will have been created with careful attention to color combinations and overall presentation.

Onsen (Hot Springs)

No doubt the Japanese love of bathing has something to do with the hundreds of onsen (natural hot springs) that bubble out of their volcanic islands. Many onsen are surrounded by resorts, ranging from overlarge Western-style hotels to small, humble inns; all are extremely popular among Japanese tourists. Traditionally the curative value of hot-spring water was strongly emphasized. Add to that today's need to get away from the frantic pace of life and relax. At resorts, onsen, water is usually piped in to hotel rooms or large, communal indoor baths. And some onsen have rotemburo (open-air baths) where you can soak outdoors in the midst of a snowy winter landscape.

Sumo

Sumo is Japan's traditional national pastime, and it remains tremendously popular, even at 2,000 years old. A Shinto-style roof is hung from the ceiling over a circular clay ring in which two enormous wrestlers face off. After various preliminary rites, some of which involve tossing handfuls of salt into the ring to symbolize purification, the actual wrestling begins. A match ends when any part of a wrestler's body (other than the soles of his feet) touches the ground or when he is pushed out of the ring. Wrestlers wear only a loincloth-type garment and have slick topknot hairstyles.

Excerpted from Japan: Expert Advice and Smart Choices: Where to Stay, Eat, and Explore on and off the Beaten Path
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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Fodor's Japan, 15th Edition

Fodor's Japan, 15th Edition

0679003967

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