Japan Rail Holidays

Tradition and modernity happily co-exist in this country of around 125 million inhabitants. So while there is still an Emperor in nominal charge, it is similar to the UK in that it is the Prime minister and the government that actually rule the country. And, for all the examples of modernism such as the popularity of video games, manga comics and its technological innovation and expertise, there are just as many ancient ways of living that continue to thrive.

A prime example is the Japanese tea ceremony, a heavily ritualised preparation of the country's national drink that has been performed in the same way for centuries.

Geographically, Japan consists of over 6,800 different islands, the majority of which are uninhabited. The five main ones, running from northern-most to southern-most are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa. The largest of these, Honshu, is some 800 miles long and is home to the main cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.

On the island of Hokkaido, Sapporo is the main city, made famous by the Winter Olympics of 1972, an event that it is hoping to host once more in 2030. It's notably more laid-back and peaceful than cities on Honshu Island with plenty of 19th Century architecture to enjoy as well as numerous parks and other open spaces. It's also where a great deal of Japanese beer is brewed.

Of course, no trip to Japan would be complete without a visit to that most iconic of landmarks, Mount Fuji. With its symmetrical, conical shape rising up from the forest at its base, it's unmistakably a powerful symbol of the country. While it is visible from Tokyo, some 60 miles away, one of the best vantage points from which to appreciate its true splendour is from the nearby Oishi Park.

Another outstanding place to get closer to nature in the area is at Hakone National Park. One particularly popular area of the park is Owakudani which is famous for its hot sulphur springs, a reminder that the area remains to be volcanic - although the last full eruption of Mount Fuji occurred in 1707.

There's a great deal more to eating out in Japan than just sushi and noodles - although these do play a very important part in the country's cuisine. Quite often, visitors don't get to experience many of the most delicious dishes because the menus in restaurants can be quite confusing so the tendency is to stick to the known options. In many smaller restaurants no English is spoken which only goes to make asking about ingredients and cooking methods even more difficult.

But hopefully this brief guide to the sorts of dishes you can expect to find on the menu will whet your appetite to sample some of them for yourself.

Yakisoba Noodles. These egg noodles are steamed and then stir-fried with a selection of mixed vegetables before being served with a sweet Yakisoba sauce - and also with an accompanying serving of pork or beef.

Gyoza Dumplings. These are the equivalent of Chinese dim sum - delicate dumplings filled with savoury combinations of meat and vegetables and served with a variety of dipping sauces.

Nabe. You'll come across many crab dishes in Japan, and one of the most delicious and hearty is Nabe. A speciality of Hokkaido, it's a kind of stew that mixes a number of different kinds of crab with vegetables in a rich fish stock.

Fugu. The notorious puffer fish whose dorsal spines contain one of the most powerful venoms in nature. This is why chefs need to be specially licenced to prepare and cook it.

Waygu beef. The careful way that Waygu cattle are raised and fed leads to a uniquely marbled flesh that makes for incredibly tender steaks. It's expensive, but dedicated carnivores will agree that it's well worth the cost.

Monjayaki. This is a speciality of the Tsukishima area of Tokyo where you'll find many stalls dispensing it along Moniya Street. It consists of a variety of ingredients including squid and other seafood, sweetcorn and cabbage that are griddled before being covered in batter to create a bite-sized pancake.

Matcha Parfaits. The green tea powder is a speciality of Kyoto where it even features in a wide range of sweets and desserts. These include matcha parfaits which are often served alongside wagashi and mochi. The former is a traditional sweet jelly made with bean paste and sugar while mochi is a cake made from short grain rice.