Earthquakes, a tsunami and radiation leaks in northern Japan in March, 2011 kept many travelers away. But since then, Tokyo and Fukuoka, a city in the south of Japan, for example, have appeared on top destination lists.

The “floating” red torii is an entry gate to the Itsukushima-jinja Shrine on Miyajima Island that dates back to the 6th century.                                  Photo by Gene Korte

In many parts of the world, travelers are warned to beware of thieves, muggers, even terrorists, but not in Japan. This country is a traveler’s safe haven.  And Japan is home to a polite people. Taxi drivers wear white gloves and drive clean cabs. Ticket takers bow as you walk through the train station to board immaculate trains. And though subway stations are crowded, no one bumps into you as you make your way to your platform.

Restaurants show you the food on their menus in a front window display, so you don’t  have to speak Japanese to eat well. You just point to what you want. And, as many a traveler appreciates, you can drink the tap water and not get sick as can happen in some other parts of Asia.

Can you expect the Japanese to speak English? After many trips to Japan, we find that more and more people in the tourist industries of hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops speak English.  And many students study English, so they can be helpful when you’re looking for directions.  The biggest advantage for travelers here is that the Japanese want to help you.

Here’s our top 10 list of favorite things to see, do and eat here in alphabetical order.  For more information about Japan, go to http://www.japantravelinfo.com.

FOOD ON A STICK, BENTO AND SWEET BEAN DESSERTS

Sure you can find Western-style food here, even burgers at the Golden Arches, but why not eat like the locals do? Beyond noodle stands and sushi parlors, there’s food on a stick. Americans have caramel apples and corndogs, but the Japanese have creamy, buttery-tasting potatoes on a stick. In Fukuoka, a southern city, we enjoyed gravy-dipped and breaded octopus on a stick. Honestly, it tasted like chicken.

Green tea is Japan’s national drink and available everywhere, hot or cold. A bento, or lunch box, is available in train stations and department stores and features local foods. Commonly that’s sea vegetables, small pieces of fish and rice. Every bento has the food separated into its own compartment and is eaten with chopsticks. Rice, of course, is the ultimate comfort food here. Among its many manifestations, there’s breakfast rice porridge, and in the city of Shimabara,
they have rice balls that taste like marshmallows.

Seaweed can be pickled, found in soups and stews, a table condiment, or wrapped around
sushi. More on sushi later. Fish in one form or another is often eaten three times a day. And for that last course, how about a manjyu or sweet bean dessert? It’s made from mashed sweet beans and covered with a layer of rice flour.

HIMEJI CASTLE

This is one of Japan’s grandest castles. Originally built in 1333, it was remodeled for the last time 400 years ago. Called the White Heron,  some say this soaring castle resembles a bird taking flight. Lines of visitors form every day. Intimidating in appearance with its five tiers and mammoth size, it’s a World Heritage site that surprisingly has never been damaged by war. This authentic site has appeared in numerous movies, including  “The Last Samurai.”

HIROSHIMA

A visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and its surrounding park coincided with
the last day of a weeklong Japanese holiday, Golden Week. Complete with a Children’s Day Parade and practicing bands nearby, there were thousands of school kids all around this area. All of the vitality and good will in the park was a contrast to the somber message of the museum, which has collected and displayed photos and belongings left by atomic bomb victims after the world’s
first atomic bomb was detonated on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying Hiroshima (http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/index_e2.html).

KAITEN SUSHI

This is sushi served in restaurants where the plates of this bite-sized item come around on table-high conveyor belts. Considered fast food in Japan, kaiten sushi can be found in many parts of the country in a variety of price ranges. Here’s how it works. When you’re seated at the table and it’s time to get another piece, just reach over and lift a plate from the miniature “train” passing by. Chopsticks and the necessary condiments — pickled ginger, soy sauce and wasabi — will be at the table. The dinner tab is determined by the color and size of the plates stacked up on your table at the end of the meal.

KAMIKAZE MUSEUM

Like many other countries that have buried their war dead, Japan has museums to tell their battle stories. The Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots in Chiran is located across the bay from Kagoshima, one of Japan’s southernmost cities. It is dedicated to the memory of those who died in kamikaze missions during the waning days of World War II. The museum is wallpapered with 1,036 photos of these young men.

MIYAJIMA ISLAND

This island in Hiroshima Bay has one of the most photographed landmarks in Japan — the “floating” red torii. It is an entry gate to the Itsukushima-jinja Shrine that dates back to the 6th century. The island is home to tame deer that wander about looking for handouts, as well as gardens, shrines, temples and a five-story pagoda.

NAGASAKI

Glover House sits on a commanding hillside, a steep walk up from Nagasaki harbor. Named for tea merchant Thomas Glover, the stately mansion is Japan’s oldest western-style structure and was the legendary setting for the Puccini opera “Madame Butterfly.” The walk up to Glover Garden is probably always jammed with people, many stopping in the numerous shops along the way. Nagasaki was Japan’s principle connection with the West dating back to the 1500s, but today,
ironically, it’s known more for the atomic bombing in World War II than for the rest of its long and colorful history.

SHINKANSEN

Travel on the elegant bullet train, or shinkansen, is probably worth the trip to Japan. Onboard you can enjoy your bento that you bought in the train station. Or you can order food during the trip, as the scenery whizzes by. Very polite servers regularly walk through the cars taking orders. The punctual rail network in Japan is extensive. The Japan Rail Pass, the most economical way to travel by train, cannot be purchased in Japan. It must be bought in the traveler’s home country before departure (http://www.japanrailpass.net). However, point-to-point Japan Rail tickets can be purchased at local train stations.

SUMO TOURNAMENTS

Sumo wrestling at a glance just might look like a bunch of really big guys pushing each other around,  but fans find it an exciting ritualized Japanese martial art with roots that go back 1,500 years.  In perhaps a tie with baseball as the national sport in Japan, sumo matches tend to be sold out with most every fan having their favorites to cheer on. Major sumo tournaments are
held several times a year in different cities. We went to our first sumo match  in Fukuoko, the biggest city in Japan’s south island of Kyushu. During that tournament week, TV channels ran hours of coverage, and cab drivers were listening to the sumo play-by-play on the radio.  Check with the Japanese Tourism Guide for information about tickets, http://www.japantravelinfo.com.

THE TEA CEREMONY

The Sankeien Gardens in Yokohama’s Yamashita Park is home to a simple but elegant Japanese tea ceremony. It dates back five centuries or so, and every step in this traditional ceremony is symbolic. Each movement of the kimono-clad server was deliberate and full of grace. Cha-no-yu, the Japanese tea ceremony, is a reminder of an older, gentler era. But it still has a place in modern Japan, especially for its many visitors.

http://www.ihavenet.com/vacation-travel/Japan-Japanese-Appeal-Safe-Scenic-And-Sociable-DK.html

Distributed by Tribune Media Services, INC. for World’s Fare Syndicate

© 2011-2013           Diana and Gene Korte

Tags: Asia, islands, Japan

Serbia’s Golubac Castle dominates this part of the Danube River, as seen from the deck of the Viking River Cruises Neptune. Photo by Gene Korte

Our odyssey on the second longest river in Europe began in Vienna and it took us seamlessly through five countries of the former Soviet bloc. Unexpectedly, the shoreline was mostly pastoral and tree-lined with only the occasional town or city. And of the metropolises on the river’s edge, Budapest with its architectural splendors was the most stunning.

The Viking River Neptune, our home for 14 days, is a well-organized, bright and friendly floating hotel with first-rate food and wait staff. Menus often matched our locales, giving us a taste of each country through daily fish, vegetarian and meat entrees at lunch and dinner. We found this ship perfect for travelers like us who are looking for a comfortable classy way to see new parts of the world with a minimum of international travel fuss. The always-interesting daily bus excursions were included in the trip price and we unpacked our luggage just once, and thankfully the ship’s crew took care of all our passport details in and out of each country.

Award-winning Viking River Cruises offers scenic cruising in 19 vessels along the rivers of Europe, Russia, China, Southeast Asia and Egypt.

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The Silver Wind, moored here in Copenhagen, is part of the Silversea fleet that is often ranked first among small cruise ships by sea travelers. Photo by Gene Korte.

The Silver Wind is pizzazz on the high seas. The vitality of its staff, layout and offerings made us feel like we were guests, not customers, on a floating five-star hotel. On our 10-day northern European voyage, we saw touches of the Vikings and glimpses of the czars amidst the graciousness of our floating home.

In Copenhagen the changing of the Danish Royal Guard is as old as the city subway is new. Helsinki’s bustling flower market near the harbor is only a few blocks from the Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral, a reminder of the centuries when Russia ruled Finland. In high-tech Estonia, one of northern Europe’s oldest intact medieval cities is the core of this tiny nation’s capital, Tallinn.

And St. Petersburg in western Russia still has the glory of the past with palaces, churches and its enormous display of priceless art in the Hermitage, while Sunday afternoon bridal parties filled nearby parks, http://www.silversea.com.

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