The first thing that strikes most travelers who visit is the homogeneity of the population. Despite opening its doors to the West in the 19th century, the Japanese people, in genetic terms, have remained remarkably intact. Minimal mixing with others also ensures that Japanese culture maintains its uniqueness despite trade and tourism. Tokyo is one of the world’s great cities and is very much the hub of Japan. Its modern, bustling and expensive facade conceals the traditional entertainment and lifestyles that can be found by visitors who are willing to look. Peace and serenity can be found in the countryside and smaller cities where the local people have created simple, but exotically beautiful areas to enjoy.

Who goes there? Thanks to the distance and the cultural differences, more venturers enjoy Japan than other personality types. Many also report that they go to visit friends and family in government or military service. When do they go? Weather is at its best in spring and fall. It is best not to travel during holiday times in Japan, when most Japanese are vacationing.

Go to Okinawa for parasailing, scuba diving, sea kayaking, snorkeling and more. Also, see a performance of the traditional Ryukyu dance, dating from the days (15th to 19th centuries) of Okinawa’s local Ryukyu dynasty.

Attend sumo wrestling competitions. There are six professional tournaments a year.

Go skiing. Remember, Japan hosted the Olympics at Sapporo in 1972 and at Nagano in 1998. If you choose Sapporo, have a cocktail from an ice bar and tour the Sapporo beer brewery. Also, make your visit coincide with the city’s February snow festival with its hundreds of ice sculptures.

Attend a kendo (Japanese fencing) competition. Combatants use bamboo swords.

Eat kobe beef and sushi and — if you trust the chef — blow fish.

Take a helicopter tour over the ice floes off the northeastern coast of Hokkaido Island. Alternatively, take a one-hour tour through the ice aboard an icebreaker.

Attend a festival the like of which you will never see at home. Kanamara Matsuri in Kawasaki and Honen Matsuri in Komaki City honor the penis. A giant replica is paraded through the streets at each event, and other festival features stick to the same theme.

Go camping at one of the more than 3,000 campsites in the country.

Overnight at a Buddhist temple, which provides basic housing (called shukubo) but the vegetarian cuisine is said to be quite good. On the other hand, give the so-called capsule hotels a pass.

Stay at a ryokan, a typical Japanese inn, as a pleasant change from western hotels. In one unique feature, the bath water is used by more than one guest.

Seek out the best places to view and appreciate the spring cherry blossoms or autumn’s fall foliage colors. Maybe you will want to take up the Japanese practice of holding sake-drinking parties under cherry trees in full blossom. For a list of best viewing points (no sake required), see www.jnto.go.jp

Attend a Kabuki show, noted for stylized acting, gorgeous costumes and revolving stage — plus all parts are played by men.

Check out some unusual events. There is the toad festival at Mount Tsukuba (honoring toads killed to make toad grease, used to treat cuts). Then, there is the kite fighting competition in Shizuoka prefecture at which kites are flown into battle with one another. Or, the countrywide bean-throwing tradition whereby each February Japanese toss beans to ward off ogres.

Learn to dress in a kimono.

Pay your respects at the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome and adjacent Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, then see something of a city that had to be rebuilt. Or make that visit to the Peace Park in Nagasaki and tour that city.

Go to at least one club or dinner site where you can see a geisha entertain. The geisha perform traditional Japanese arts such as dancing and playing the shamisen, a three-stringed musical instrument.

Attend a tea ceremony.

If you travel with children, tap into the Japan’s amusement parks, including the much-visited Tokyo Disneyland.

Admire some of Japan’s finest medieval castles. One of the best is the 14th to 16th century Himeji Castle (in Himeji) with its three-layer castle tower. Find a list of castles at www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/interests/castles.html.

Shop for electronic equipment, but also spend some time in the 100 Yen Shops which sell a wide range of items, each at 100 yen.

Book a visit to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Even without that tour, you can visit gardens and a park on the palace grounds in the center of the capital.

Enjoy beach time, swim with dolphins and take a glass-bottomed boat tour at Okinawa.

See Kyoto, the former capital and the place to visit to view the country’s best collection of temples and shrines.

Take a class in flower arranging.

Shop at the Pokemon Center Tokyo, or in other Pokemon centers or in other shops that specialize in Japan’s popular comic characters.

Spend time at a spa. With some 1,800 natural hot springs areas, Japan has numerous resorts, known as onsens. One is located in the new (2005) Central Japan International Airport, where bathers can watch planes take off and land through an all-glass roof.

For more information, consult the Japan National Tourist Organization at www.japantravelinfo.com
To find a travel agent, click on Find Tours and Japan Travel Specialist, or go directly to www.japantravelinfo.com

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