#15 Things to See and Do in Japan

9. Odaiba

One of the most delightfully fascinating things about Japan is the seemingly effortless juxtaposition of ancient serenity with frenetic modernity – to get some of the measure of this, try spending some time in a temple or shrine before heading to the futuristic, artificial island of Odaiba. Get to it via the Rainbow Bridge and then immerse yourself in its high-tech quirkiness, with interactive robots at the Miraikan science museum, malls in which you could easily get lost and the Daikanransha Ferris wheel, from which there are great views of Mt. Fuji to be enjoyed. Head down to the waterfront to eat at one of the many sushi bars that line it, and people watch to your heart’s content.

10. Experience Teppanyaki

What’s one way of combining an evening of theater with the very basic need to eat – and, on a less basic level, to eat food that’s outrageously delicious? Head out for teppanyaki, the Japanese style of cooking where the lines between performance and culinary art are beautifully indistinct. Diners are seated around a wide, flat grill – the teppan – and the chef cooks directly in front of them, typically using very little oil. Various implements are used to manipulate the ingredients in each course, but the star of these is a razor sharp knife, which the chef will likely spin around in a daring display, before performing other tricks like flipping food directly into open mouths or onto plates, spinning eggs on his spatula and in mid-air – before catching it in his hat and then producing a baby chicken in its place – creating huge bursts of sudden flame and slicing ingredients with at a blurringly rapid-fire pace.