There are so many things I like about Japan that it is one of the countries that I visit as much as I can. Every time, I learn something new and am surprised by something else. I like being somewhere that seems so foreign yet so easy at the same time. It is so different to what I use to yet so familiar.

The Land of the Rising Sun is one of contrasts and it’s within these contrasts that there really is something and somewhere for everyone.

From a land that has spawned some horrendous war stories, come people who are unfailingly polite and as helpful. In spite of the language barriers, they join in the International Language of Charades until we are both understood. Google Translate has taken some of the fun out of cross-language communication so I prefer not to resort to it unless my counterpart is truly desperate. Normally we make do and have a few laughs along the way. It does help that I know some fairly basic Japanese, enough for them to laugh at me and decide to save me from truly massacring their language.

Where else can you be pushed onto a train by a white gloved ‘pusher’ at one of the busiest train stations in Tokyo to be greeted by utter silence on the train. These people are all going to work and stand for most of their journey in. It’s not so much as standing as being held upright, wedged in by those that surround them. On boarding, if an arm is held in the air, it will be stuck there as there’s no room to bring it down. Yet still more people are pushed onto the train to wedge into places that you haven’t even noticed. Some seated people read books that are covered with protectors. I’m not sure if that’s to hide the raunchy reading material or to protect the book or perhaps both. I’ve noticed some reading bibles and others, I’m not too sure… Not a single phone rings or a word is spoken.

It is a land of beauty, cherry blossoms that bloom for a few weeks, majestic mountains, sheer cliffs and forests. Snow, sun, surf, diving. The nature is spectacular. It smells fresh.  The air has a crispness to it in winter that I haven’t felt anywhere else. It is quiet. It is peaceful.

The beauty extends to nine downtowns in Tokyo alone. Each downtown is different to the rest. Downtown for cosplayers, downtown for salary men, downtown for shopping, downtown for food and more. Sounds of pachinko machines with their ball bearings rolling through them can be heard a block away. It is noisy. It is frantic. It is organised.

On top of that, there are areas marked where people are allowed to smoke. No where else. It is obeyed.

It is a conservative culture and yet it is not. Rules are followed and yes, you can buy supposedly school-girls’ underwear from vending machines.

It is a clean culture and bathing is a priority. It is the land of the onsen, the communal hot baths where you strip off, have a pre-wash and then laze in the hot springs with others of the same sex. People chat in whispers though it is generally quiet. It’s a great activity after skiing, hiking or anything else physical. Very relaxing.

Each region has it’s own ancient festivals and many Japanese try to get to some of the more obscure ones over their lifetimes. As a westerner at these festivals, they are particularly welcoming. I’m generally the only one and have been able to hold lanters, skip and dance in their parades and watch how they prepare and train for various aspects.

These are in areas where there are old buildings. The traditional architecture that is synonymous with Kyoto with the paper walls that are safer than brick and plaster given that Japan has its share of earthquakes. Some are decorated in gold but all are done with Zen in mind, the balance and peacefulness are obvious. Everything has a purpose, even those things that are of beauty.

This contrasts with the modernity and consumerism that is so obvious in the main cities. The flashing neon lights, the built up skyscrapers, stunning in their own right as feats of architecture, the congested pedestrian traffic, still polite and crossing at the lights and precisely the correct time.

The transport is brilliant. It is efficient, clean and easy to navigate.

The bullet train has one of my favourite things in Japan. Aside from being allowed to eat and drink on it (‘trolley dollies’ – yes, that’s what they are called and it’s not me being politically incorrect – serve beers, sake and bento boxes as well as some other snacks) there is an ‘in train’ catalogue.

I look at the pictures and discover things that I suddenly seem to ‘need’. The Japanese have an uncanny way of identifying a ‘need’ I didn’t even know I had and have already resolved it with the appropriate product. I think Steve Jobs probably trained here.

I don’t recommend anywhere in Japan in particular. I recommend all of it. See as much as possible and spend as much time in one spot as possible to absorb it. This is why I go whenever I have the opportunity. I try to go somewhere different each time yet I’m drawn back to Tokyo (there’s still more to see there), and the snow at Nagano. I like Kyoto and pretty well everywhere I’ve seen in between. There has been nothing that I wouldn’t see or do again.

Can’t believe I haven’t even mentioned the food!

* Thanks to Bucks Fizz for the title to this post. This is a bit of a nod to the Eurovision Song Contest being finished for yet another year.