Discover Japan

Japan is an archipelago of 14,125 islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia, stretching over 3,000 kilometres north-east to south-west from the Sea of Okhotsk to the East China Sea. Its five main islands, north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa; the Ryukyu chain runs south of Kyushu and the Nanpō Islands lie south and east of the main group. The territory covers 377,975 square kilometres and the coastline, at 29,751 kilometres, is the sixth longest in the world.

Land is the constraint that explains the country. The archipelago is 67 per cent forest and 14 per cent agricultural, and the primarily rugged, mountainous terrain is restricted for habitation — so the habitable coastal zones carry very high densities. Honshu holds 450 people per square kilometre; Hokkaido, the least dense, holds 64.5. That is why Japanese cities build close and tall, and why about half a per cent of the country is land reclaimed from the sea.

Japan sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and has 111 active volcanoes. Destructive earthquakes, often followed by tsunami, occur several times each century: the 1923 Tokyo earthquake killed over 140,000 people, and more recently came the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, the largest by magnitude in Japanese recorded history, whose tsunami triggered the Fukushima nuclear accident. Mount Fuji, near the Pacific coast of central Honshu, is the highest peak and an active volcano; it is visible a long way off and climbed by large numbers every summer.

Habitation goes back to the Upper Palaeolithic, around 36,000 BC. Between the fourth and sixth centuries the kingdoms of the archipelago were united under an emperor at Nara and later at Heian-kyō; from the twelfth century actual power sat with the warrior class and the shogunate, and Japan was closed to most foreign contact until Commodore Perry's Black Ships arrived in 1853. The Meiji period then industrialised the country at extraordinary speed, and after 1945 a period of record growth made it the world's second-largest economy.

Getting around is the easy part, with one exception. The rail network is superb and the shinkansen is fast, frequent and punctual; IC cards work almost everywhere. The exception is driving: Japan accepts only the 1949 version of the International Driving Permit, and you can be arrested and fined without the right paperwork.

Two cultural notes worth carrying in. There is no tipping. And you must carry your passport at all times — a photocopy is not enough, and police may ask.

What are the emergency numbers?

110 for police, 119 for medical assistance and fire — Japan does not use 112.

Do I have to carry my passport?

Yes, at all times, and a photocopy will not satisfy authorities. Police may ask for identification at any time.

Can I drive on my International Driving Permit?

Only if it is the 1949 version. The 1968 version is not accepted. You also need your own licence and your insurance documents in the car, and you can be arrested and fined without them.

Are my medicines legal?

Check before you fly. Adderall, amphetamines, codeine, methamphetamines and pseudoephedrine are banned — pseudoephedrine is in ordinary cold remedies. You may bring a one-month supply of prescription medication or two months of non-prescription, with a doctor's note giving your name, address, reason for use and dosage. Anything larger, or anything containing narcotics, needs import certification applied for several months ahead.

Will my cards work?

Sometimes. Japan is still predominantly cash-based; Cirrus, Maestro, Link and Delta are not widely accepted. Post offices, 7-Eleven and JP Post Bank machines take some foreign cards, during business hours.

I have tattoos — is that a problem?

At some places, yes. Public swimming pools, hot springs, beaches and some gyms may refuse entry, and others ask you to cover up. Acceptance is increasing but it is not universal.

When is typhoon season?

June to December, peaking July to September, worst in the south.