Gap Year in Japan

Japan will wow even the most world-weary backpacker. Sleek and modern cities meet ancient traditions, with a bit of barmy Hello Kitty culture thrown in for good measure. You can buy beer out of a vending machine, eat every kind of fish imaginable – raw – and sing karaoke until your thoat hurts. What’s not to love?

Best Gap Year Programs in Japan

Japan Gap Year Ideas

Becoming a ninja
Visit the Iga-Ryu Ninja Museum in Iga City, where you’ll learn all about revolving walls, trap doors and death stars in its reconstructed ninja residence. There are shows, too, in the demonstration zone, but stand well back if you want to avoid being nunchucked around the ears.

Shopping until you drop
Tokyo’s Harajuku is a capital of kitsch – a sprawl of hip boutiques that could do your credit card some serious damage. All the locals who hang out here are very cool, so be prepared to feel like your style is, like, so last year.

Temple hopping in Kyoto
You might need a bicycle as the temples are far apart. Follow with a yakitori (grilled chicken) dinner, then take in a geisha show to observe these exquisitely painted, elusive ladies up close.

Reflecting at Hiroshima
This city is steeped in tragedy and deserves to be paid a visit. Although it is almost impossible to forget the legacy of the atomic bomb, Hiroshima somehow manages to be a vibrant and positive place with top nightlife to boot.

Whizzing across Japan
Shinkansen, known as the bullet train, is blindingly fast (186mph), super sleek and so modern that it makes most other trains look Victorian. Riding one is a bit like flying without leaving the ground.

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