Why go on vacation to Japan?

True love may not be based on looks alone, but Japan is definitely a stunner. Ridiculously beautiful, your photos of temples emerging from the middle of a misty lake, a multi-coloured maple forest in autumn, crystalline waters of a Pacific island, the world famous cherry blossoms or the snow settling on a mountain monastery in winter - all will look Photoshopped.

Even if you break the ‘rules’ - and there are a lot of unwritten rules to look out for on a Japanese cultural vacation – you won’t be looked down on or chastised. That would be unwelcoming in Japanese culture. Learn some words in Japanese, find out how deep you need to bow, and get to grips with the tradition of gift giving, and you will be treated like royalty. In fact, understanding the traditions, from temple going to tea ceremonies, bathing to beer drinking, is one of the things that visitors love about Japan. The Japanese wear their culture on their sleeves and, like any great love, you know where you stand with them at all times.

The other memories that come flooding back after a vacation to Japan, and eventually pull you back, are romantic ones, because Japan is a place that has lots of secret spots that make you feel good. Outside adrenaline filled Tokyo, when you experience hiking through a misty bamboo forest at dusk on the ancient Kumano Kodo walking trail, following this ancient pilgrimage route through the Kii Mountains, near Kyoto, you will be totally moved by the beauty of it all. Similarly seductive is sailing out to somewhere like the sacred island of Miyajima off Hiroshima, a tree covered idyll with little temples dotted all around. You won’t want to leave, and like so many places in Japan, you will get that feeling that there are still so many 'joys' yet to uncover. Ah joy... maybe that’s the J-Factor.