I was lucky enough to also travel to Japan over the summer holidays, where I spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve with some good friends and a lot of very polite and welcoming Japanese people.

The first stop was Kyoto, which is famous for its beautiful temples and landscape. We were not disappointed.

Convenience is definitely in the top 5 of what makes Japan so ichiban (#1) and fantastic. Everything and anything can be bought anytime, and I went through a bit of a green tea junkie phase, buying and eating anything that was green tea flavoured. Let me just say that the Haagen Daas green tea ice cream is a beautiful thing. And if you see a green tea Kit Kat you’ve got to try it.

Osaka wasn’t my favourite part of the trip, but I do have to say that the fashion there is very much ahead of the times and definitely of a certain aesthetic. The Japanese girls really do know how to make a fashion statement.Because everything is quite close to each other and the Japanese rail system is so efficient, we were able to make a few day trips, including a trip to one of the more famous sites of Japan – the floating tori in Miyajima.

Another highlight was our week in Tokyo, which was overwhelming, exciting and strangely foreign and familiar all at the same time. Without realising it we treated ourselves to a night in New York Bar, which is the same haunt Scarlett Johannon and Bill Murray frequented in that fantastic film, Lost In Translation. We blew our budgets sampling the fantastic cocktails and food, but had a great time doing it.

We also got to experience New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in Tokyo, which was mindblowing and steeped in tradition. A typically Western experience of a sweaty, dance-infused countdown at Ageha showed us that the Japanese can party better than the rest of us. They put on an amazing show, the music was fantastic, and as always, the crowd, even when intoxicated, was amazingly polite and hospitable.

On New Year’s Day, many Japanese folk pay a visit to the Emperor of Japan. Aside from the Emperor’s Birthday, it is the only day of the year that the Imperial grounds are open to the public. It was great to be able to experience such a patriotic event and appreciate how steeped in culture and history Japan is.

In the end, our three weeks in Japan ended all too quickly. It’s a fantastically exciting and dynamic place to be. It’s tempting to say it’s a fusion of the Eastern and Western worlds, but in all honesty, Japan is a place unlike any other I’ve been to. It’s a place of its own, with tradition and culture that is unique and fascinating. I can’t wait to go back.

For more photos from my trip, click here.

For some excellent tips and tidbits about travelling in Japan, click here and here.