About the country
| Japan (Japanese) | 日本 |
| Capital | Tokyo |
| Currency | Yen |
If you ask me which country of East Asia I would recommend as a travel destination, I would definitely pick Japan. The quality of life is very high across the whole country, moreover, the touristy infrastructure is very well maintained. There are plenty of shrines, temples and multiple other cultural sights to check out. Moreover, as soon as you move away from the buzzing cities, the countryside also obtains some magnificent spots to check out. Last but not least, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are undoubtedly destinations to consider, especially in regard to a true confrontation with the destructive power of atomic bombs.
Whenever you want to travel to Japan and stay in more than one place or city, I highly recommend to use JR trains, and if possible, the bullet train. There are various offers for multi-day passes which you may preorder. Back in 2019, when I was traveling to Japan, the paper-based JR-pass was sent to my place in Germany, I had to consider some time for delivery after booking it. With the JR pass, you may use almost all bullet trains and moreover, you have your seat reservation covered. I will share more on rail-travel within Japan in a dedicated blog article. Nevertheless, Japanese trains are always on time. So no matter where you want to go, you may even consider 5 minutes of transfer time as sufficient to catch the next train.
I was quite impressed by the courteous behavior of Japanese people. If you are waiting at a crossing, unsure which street to follow, maybe looking befuddled, Japanese people will most likely not approach you to offer help. However, as soon as you ask for help, they are very willing to help you. Don’t be doubtful if the person next to you is wearing some business suite, even if you are standing next to a temple within a national park. This is another curiosity about Japan: Japanese people often wear business suits wherever they go, they might even walk through a national park on black high heels. I have already encountered such people. But relax, nobody expects such a dress code from tourists.