finest original surviving castles. It only squeaks in with the ‘original’ label, as it was restored just before the end of the Edo period. In the early years of the Meiji Restoration, rebuilding feudal symbols was definitely not high priority.

The castle was built in 1602-03 with five storeys; it burnt down and was rebuilt in 1642 with only three storeys. In 1784 it was struck by lightning and burnt down once again and, in those peaceful and torpid Edo years, it took until 1820 for a decision to be made to rebuild it and until 1854 for the reconstruction to be completed! It was completely restored between 1968-86.

You don’t have to climb the steep hill up to the castle; a cable car and/or chairlift will whisk you up there. Consider walking down the back slopes of the castle hill to see Ninomaru Shiseki Tei-en.

Mt Fuji
Phone tel: (0555) 22 7000 (info)
tel: (0555) 3201 3331 (info)
tel: (0555) 72 6700 (info) Keyword mountain Japan’s highest mountain stands 3776m (12,388ft) high. When it’s capped with snow, it’s a picture-postcard perfect volcanic cone. Fuji-san last blew in 1707, covering the streets of Tokyo with volcanic ash. On an exceptionally clear day, you can see Mt Fuji from Tokyo, 100km (62mi) away, but on many days it’s wreathed with clouds.

Your best chance of seeing the notoriously shy mountain is in the late autumn, winter and early spring when the air is fairly clear. Even during these times, the mountain may only be visible in the morning before it retreats behind a curtain of haze or clouds.

You can get a classic view of Mt Fuji from the shinkansen (bullet train) as it passes the city of Fuji (sit on the northern side of the train). But the best and closest views are from the Fuji Go-ko region where, on a clear day, the hulking presence of the mountain seems to fill the sky.

Officially, the climbing season on Mt Fuji is from 1 July to 31 August. Actually, you can climb Mt Fuji at any time of year, and it may be preferable to do so just outside the official season to avoid the crowds, but keep in mind that transport services may be less frequent and some of the huts may be closed. Of course, any time there’s snow on the mountain you’ll need the proper equipment and experience to climb Mt Fuji, and a midwinter ascent is strictly for expert mountaineers.

You want to reach the top at dawn – both to see goraiko (sunrise) and because early morning is the time when the mountain is least likely to be shrouded in cloud. Sometimes it takes an hour or two to burn the morning mist off, however. You do not want to arrive on the top too long before dawn, as it’s likely to be very cold and windy, and if you’ve worked up a sweat during the climb, you’ll be very uncomfortable.

Tokyo National Museum
Address 13-9 Ueno-kōen, Taito-ku, Tokyo Phone tel: (03) 3822 1111 (info) Hours Tue-Thu & Sun 09:30 – 18:00
Apr-Dec during special exhibitions , Fri open til 20:00 Web www.tnm.jp Keyword museum The Tokyo National Museum is the one museum in Tokyo that is worth going out of your way to visit. Not only is it Japan’s largest museum, housing some 87,000 items, it also has the world’s largest collection of Japanese art. Only a portion of the museum’s huge collection is displayed at any one time.

The museum has four galleries, the most important of which is the Main Hall (Hon-kan). It houses a very impressive collection of Japanese art, from sculpture and swords to lacquerware and calligraphy. The Gallery of Eastern Antiquities has a collection of art and archaeological finds