Frommer's Favorite Experiences

Making a Pilgrimage to a Temple or Shrine: From mountaintop shrines to neighborhood temples, Japan's religious structures rank among the nation's most popular attractions. Usually devoted to a particular deity, they're visited for specific reasons: Shopkeepers call on Fushimi-Inari Shrine outside Kyoto, dedicated to the goddess of rice and therefore prosperity, while couples wishing for a happy marriage head to Kyoto's Jishu Shrine, a shrine to the deity of love. Shrines and temples are also the sites for most of Japan's major festivals.

Taking a Communal Hot-Spring Bath: No other people on earth bathe as enthusiastically, as frequently, and for such duration as Japanese. Their many hot-spring resorts -- thought to cure all sorts of ailments as well as simply make you feel good -- range from hangarlike affairs to outdoor baths with views of the countryside. No matter what the setup, you'll soon warm to the ritual of soaping up, rinsing off, and then soaking in near-scalding waters. Hot-spring spas are located almost everywhere in Japan, from Kyushu to Hokkaido.

Participating in a Festival: With Shintoism and Buddhism as its major religions, and temples and shrines virtually everywhere, Japan has multiple festivals every week. These celebrations, which range from huge processions of wheeled floats to those featuring horseback archery and ladder-top acrobatics, can be lots of fun; you may want to plan your trip around one.

Dining on Japanese Food: There's more to Japanese cuisine than sushi, and part of what makes travel here so fascinating is the variety of national and regional dishes. Every prefecture, it seems, has its own style of noodles, its special vegetables, and its delicacies. If money is no object, order kaiseki, a complete meal of visual and culinary finesse.

Viewing the Cherry Blossoms: Nothing symbolizes the coming of spring so vividly to Japanese as the appearance of the cherry blossoms -- and nothing so amazes visitors as the way Japanese gather under the blossoms to celebrate the season with food, drink, dance, and karaoke.

Riding the Shinkansen Bullet Train: Asia's fastest train whips you across the countryside at more than 290km (180 miles) an hour as you relax, see the country's rural countryside, and dine on boxed meals filled with local specialties of the area through which you're speeding.

Staying in a Ryokan: Japan's legendary service reigns supreme in a top-class ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. Staying in one is the height of both luxury and simplicity: You'll bathe in a Japanese tub, feast your eyes on lovely views (usually a Japanese garden) past shoji screens, dine like a king in your own room, and sleep on a futon.

Shopping in a Department Store: Japan's department stores are among the best in the world, offering everything from food to designer clothing to electronics to kimono and traditional crafts. Service also is among the best in the world: If you arrive when the store opens, staff will be lined up at the front door to bow as you enter.

Attending a Kabuki Play: Based on universal themes and designed to appeal to the masses, Kabuki plays are extravaganzas of theatrical displays, costumes, and scenes -- but mostly they're just plain fun.

Strolling Through Tokyo's Nightlife District: Every major city in Japan has its own nightlife district, but probably none is more famous, more wicked, or more varied than Tokyo's Kabuki-cho in Shinjuku, which offers everything from hole-in-the-wall bars to strip joints, discos, and gay clubs.

Seeing Mount Fuji: It may not seem like much of an accomplishment to see Japan's most famous and tallest mountain, visible from 161km (100 miles) away. But the truth is, it's hardly ever visible except during the winter months and rare occasions when the air is clear. Catching your first glimpse of the giant peak is truly breathtaking and something you'll never forget, whether you see it from aboard the Shinkansen, from a Tokyo skyscraper, or from a nearby national park. If you want to climb it, be prepared for a group experience -- 600,000 people climb Mount Fuji every year.

Spending a Few Days in Kyoto: If you see only one city in Japan, Kyoto should be it. Japan's capital from 794 to 1868, Kyoto is one of Japan's finest ancient cities, boasting some of the country's best temples, Japanese-style inns, traditional restaurants, shops, and gardens.

Attending a Sumo Match: There's nothing quite like watching two monstrous sumo wrestlers square off, bluff, and grapple as they attempt to throw each other on the ground or out of the ring. Matches are great cultural events, but even if you can't attend one, you can them on TV during one of six annual 15-day tournaments.

Strolling through a Japanese Garden: Most of Japan's famous gardens are relics of the Edo Period, when the shogun, daimyo feudal lords, imperial family, and even samurai and Buddhist priests developed private gardens for their own viewing pleasure. Each step in a strolling garden brings a new view to die for.