Japan's capital until 1868, Kyoto is home to more than 1,500 temples and shrines. Visit the museums, spend the afternoon wandering through traditional shops, or enjoy a morning at the market. Traditional crafts are also very popular in Kyoto — fans, pottery and porcelain, laquerware, and painted screens and scrolls are just some of the items for sale.

Osaka, Japan's third largest city, is passionate about food, proud of its traditional puppet theater, and famous for its castle.

Osaka Castle, located northeast of the city's heart, was built in the 1580s. Today's smaller scale castle is still impressive with its massive white walls, beautiful gold- leaf trim, and copper roof. There is also an excellent, high-tech museum and fabulous city views from the eight- story donjon.

Today's Tokyo is a high-rise metropolis alive with activity - streets lined with dazzling department stores and filled with congregating commuters, rapid transit systems that are unbelievably easy to navigate, bullet trains that can whisk you off to the country in about an hour, and an overall sense of order that makes everything from ordering dinner to shopping for souvenirs easy for the visitor.

Leave the bustling city behind simply by stepping into one of the many parks or the palace grounds. The Imperial Palace is the most famous of places to visit. The actual residence is off-limits, but the grounds are enjoyed by the public. Dotted with ponds, they feature some of the best examples of Japanese gardening. Ueno Park, northeast of the city center, is large enough to spend an entire day in. There are also museums, Shinto shrines, and Buddhist temples.