Experience - Cool - Experiences

• GEISHA

  

  Professional female entertainers who perform traditional Japanese arts: ancient dancing, playing instruments, flower arranging, tea ceremony demonstrations and calligraphy. You can see Japan's oldest artisans perform in Kyoto or Tokyo in a tea ceremony demonstration or dance performance.

  Further information:
  April Cherry Blossom Dances (Miyako Odori)
  Gion Corner

   

• SHOPPING

  

  Shopping in Japan is great for electronic bargains and truly original items like kimonos for dogs, robots and youth-inducing collagen marshmallows. From luxury to the bizzare, you can find something to suit all tastes in Japan and often at much lower-than-UK costs. 

• NIGHTLIFE

  

  Come dusk Tokyo and Osaka blossoms into a profusion of giant neon lights and paper lanterns, and its streets fill with overworked locals out to have a good time. Entertainment districts are as crowded at 3am as they are at 10pm, and many places stay open until the first subways start running after 5am. Whether it's jazz, reggae, gay bars, dance clubs, rustic or chic bars Tokyo and Osaka have them all.

• ONSEN

  

  Japanese hot spring onsen are the perfect way to relax after a long day sightseeing. There are over 2,000 hot spring areas throughout Japan.

  To find an onsen to visit see JNTO's Hot Springs page.

   

• JAPANESE CUISINE

  

  Japan not only offers fantastic sushi but also a wide range of cuisine to suit everyone's taste buds, from traditional Kyoto kaiseki cuisine to Japan's version of pizza-omlette-pancake okonomi-yaki.

• FORMULA ONE (F1) JAPAN GRAND PRIX

  

  Traditionally held at the end of the Formula One season, the Japan Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit is often a championship decider, and a must for all petrolheads. In 2010 it will take place on 10th October. Japan Grand Prix

• FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL

  

  Inspired by the UK's Glastonbury Festival, Japan's premier music fest (founded 1997) regularly attracts more than 100,000 partygoers to a stellar line-up of international bands in Niigata. Although the current site is nowhere near Mt Fuji, the name remains. In 2010, it will take place 30 July – 1 August.
  Fuji Rock Festival

• LOST IN TRANSLATION

  

  Much of this hit film was shot in the bar at the Park Hyatt Tokyo. It's a great spot for a cocktail or dinner - you'll surely enjoy the view just as much as Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray did.
  
  Lost in Translation, the film
  Tokyo Park Hyatt