Senso-ji:

Location: Asakusa, Tokyo. Use the train from anywhere in or near Tokyo.

Number of Tourists: Incredibly high. Just a little more than a crowded shopping street

Things to See: Giant lanterns. On the bottom of the lanterns are carved dragons, most people don't know of this and just pass without looking underneath. Shopping for souvenirs is also one of the interesting things you can do at Asakusa.

Suggestion: Because of the high number of tourists, there are lots of souvenir shops in the Asakusa district. People who have a flight from Tokyo back to their home country could visit Asakusa and Senso-ji to fill their baggage with Omiage (Japanese souvenirs).

Hase-dera:

Location: Hase temple is located in Kamakura, not too far by train from the city centre.

Number of Tourists: Moderate.

Things to See: the temple is a nice place to have a view all over the city Kamakura, also there are a lot of statues.

Suggestion: It is a nice temple to visit if you have not visited a lot of temples. I would call Hasedera the standard temple for tourists.

Kinkaku-ji:

Location: Kyoto, not too far from the centre by bus, car or taxi (you can walk from ryoan-ji)

Number of Tourists: High, especially in the afternoon and late morning.

Things to See: The building is covered in a layer of gold and gives you a fairy-tale view. The pond and garden are also nice to see.

Suggestion: Visit early in the morning and don't plan to stay too long. You can't go inside. Besides taking a few pictures, there is very little to do as it's a very crowded place and you can't go inside the building.

Ryoan-ji:

Location: Kyoto, not too far from the centre by bus, car or taxi (you can walk from kinkakuji, but it's uphill)

Number of Tourists: Moderate, but it's a small place and a lot of people stay long so you may get a more crowded feeling.

Things to See: The stone garden. The stone garden is unique and a lot of people sit down and meditate or contemplate there. The special thing about the stone garden is that wherever you stand, you will never be able to see all the stones in the garden. The temple also has a nice tree garden; you can take an alternative route through the garden on your way back.

Suggestion: If you like Zen Buddhism or combine the visit with the kinkaku-ji it's worth going.

Todai-ji:

Location: Nara, located in Nara Park, which is pretty central. You can take the train and walk through the park to the Temple complex.

Number of Tourists: Very high, but the place is extremely big, which makes up for it. You never really get the crowded feeling.

Things to See: The world's largest bronze Buddha. The temple is the world's biggest wooden structure. You can crawl through a hole the size of Buddha's nostril, which should grant you luck.

Suggestion: It's really worth visiting. You can also walk around the park (there are a lot of deer in the park, don't feed them. If you bow to the deer sometimes they will bow back, but not all animals are trained to do this.) Nara is worth a whole day of your time at least.

Muro-ji:

Location: Muro village, city, Nara prefecture. You can take a train from Osaka, Kyoto or Nara but it's not close.

Number of Tourists: About five to ten and maybe one or two classes of school children

Things to See: It has the worlds smallest five story pagoda and a range of interesting Buddha statues. You can also take the 400 steps up the mountain to see the view and the building highest on the mountain.

Suggestion: It's a nice temple located in Japan's nature. If you like hiking you can combine a hiking trip with the temple's visit.

In Asakusa you will find the Sensoji Temple, which is perhaps its main attraction. Here you will find vendors that sell interesting crafts and food. The Shibuya district in the western end of Tokyo is one that will suit the young and the young at heart. This is the emerging shopping and entertainment district in Japan and is one of the hippest places in town.

Akihabara is another place that you can visit if you are a tech junkie. This is where tech gadgets of all kinds can be found.

In Tsukiji is where you will find the world's largest open fish market, offering about 450 different varieties of fish.

Of course, your trip to Japan will never be complete without visiting the Imperial Palace at the heart of Tokyo. Remember though that the palace is not open to the public so be content with just taking pictures outside the gardens, which is fortunately, are open for tourists. The gardens surrounding palace has actually become public parks and are great for long walks.

Another must-see sight in Japan is the Cherry Tree grove that can be found at the Arkawa River. Cherry Trees are symbols of strength Japanese culture. Never leave Japan without having your picture taken with cherry trees.

One of the places that you should include in your itinerary is the National Park in Nikko where you will get to see the rich history behind the Tokugawa Shoguns. The place is so beautiful that UNESCO has included it in its list of World Heritage sites.

Another great place to visit is the Kamakura, where some of Japan's best shrines, temples and monuments can be found. This is also the town where the Great Buddha statue is located.

Kyoto is perhaps the country's second most visited city. It boasts if not only five but 15 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It also has a really great history, being the seat of the monarchy in the first and second millennium. It is in fact known as the “Thousand Year Capital.” There are also a lot of temples in the city so you really can get a taste of Japan's rich history.

Once known as the city where the nuclear bombs were thrown, Hiroshima has come to be known now as Japan's peace zone. The city features a Peace Park and a Peace Memorial Museum. You will also find in Hiroshima the Miyajima Island where you will find shrines and the torii gate, which has become one of the classic symbols of Japan.

Nagasaki, another city affected by nuclear bomb has also come to be known for its Peace Parks. One great attraction in Nagasaki that you should not miss is the Sofuku-ji, a temple that has a distinctive Chinese architecture.

Temples in Nara is also another great tourist destinations because of the temples of Shinto and Buddhism that it features.

We took the last bullet train of the evening from Nagoya to Kyoto. We still hadn’t realized that it was important to stand exactly where the carriage of the train was to stop. Jetlagged and disoriented, we boarded into a meticulously clean carriage and flopped down onto the seat.

Across the aisle, two older women and a younger woman, tittered politely behind their hands at these flustered Europeans. My husband was complaining that he was thirsty, having raced up to the platform dragging both our heavy bags. He was soon to be refreshed.

A trolley was pushed into our carriage by a neatly dressed girl, wearing a crisp white apron and white gloves. My husband put out his hand to indicate that he would like a drink. He called out to her, ‘hi!’. She smiled coyly and said, “hi!” This started a ping pong of ‘hi’s’ for a few minutes while the women opposite fell into hysterics. Then I remembered that ‘hi’ was ‘yes’. We all laughed and my husband pointed to a can of soft drink.

Arriving in Kyoto, it was dark and fortunately we had been given a note in Japanese to explain to a taxi driver where we were staying, the Ryokan Hiraiwa. Having turned into a narrow lane, we found our small, reasonably priced Ryokan.

STAYING IN A RYOKAN

Taking off our shoes, we exchanged these for house slippers provided by the Ryokan. Our room was on the second story and as we entered, we took off our house shoes to walk on the tatami mat. This woven mat covered the floor of our small room and the staff member whole led us to the room entered to roll down our futon mattress and make up the bed ready for sleeping. Apart from a low table in one corner, this was the basic accommodation.

Since we sleep on a futon at home, this was a comfortable night’s sleep. As long as we could remember which slippers to wear and when, we would be ok. The bathroom was downstairs and to visit the toilet we had to be careful to exchange our house slippers for toilet slippers and not overlook changing again to walk in the house. Woe betide the person who wore toilet slippers into the kitchen!

The bathroom had a small stool to sit on and shower hoses to wash with. Buckets were provided to fill and throw water over a soaped body. A hot tub steamed, ready for a soak after we had washed thoroughly. A lovely way to end or start a day.

Everything in the tiny kitchen was shiny and set in its place. Breakfast was huge pieces of white toast or we could enjoy noodles, which seemed a good option on a cold spring day. The experience of staying in this Ryokan made us regret having to stay in a Western hotel in Tokyo. The hospitality was flawless.

EXPERIENCE KYOTO

In the morning, we woke to the sound of strange humming in the lane below. We pushed aside the curtain to see a procession of monks of some sort, walking single file and humming in a low vibrating tone. They wore dark cloaks and large dark hats. This start to our morning began with the mystique of the Orient fascinating us and reminding us that we had a city to explore.

The temples of Kyoto are fine examples of Japanese style, art and history. Our favourite was the temple to the God of mercy, Koyomizu. After winding our way up a narrow lane fringed with little shops, we found ourselves high on a hill. It was raining and everyone was carrying umbrellas and misty rain formed curtains around the trees.

It was almost cherry blossom time; we had come just a few weeks too early. But even the dampness of the day and the skeleton tress added something to the impression of structure and form. This wooden temple had no idol, and was made of beautiful dark stained woods. The gardens around the temple would soon be clothed in spring leaf on both the maples and cherry blossoms.

It was cold, and we bought hot steaming udon soup and sat on cushions, Japanese style, in the mountainside café and thought about how glad we were that we were well aware that we could know the God of mercy, Jesus.