| Japan is a country of light. During winter, the gentle | | | | finest in all of Japan, allowing visitors to surround |
| peek of the sun through clouds comes down on the | | | | themselves in a virtual blizzard of pink and red |
| light snow cradled along curved rooftops. During spring, | | | | blossoms blooming and falling from nearly every |
| cherry blossoms burst pinks and reds, lighting up | | | | branch and precipice. |
| streets and sidewalks with a mess of flowers. | | | | Summer |
| Summer warmth is cooled inside ancient temples and | | | | Summer in Japan is a time for festivals, which includes |
| autumn's vivid colors fall like whispers over the | | | | folk dances, religious gatherings, lantern parades and |
| mountains. Each season comes with a different view | | | | festivals celebrating the vibrant plantlife and deep, rich |
| of this exotic Asian island and a unique set of points of | | | | colors of a Japanese summer. The culmination of |
| interest to catch the attention of visitors anytime of | | | | these colors and celebrations are almost nightly |
| year. | | | | fireworks displays that may be seen in cities and |
| Winter | | | | towns around Japan. Summer is also a fantastic period |
| Japanese winters are cold, to be sure, for though small, | | | | to hike the country's numerous mountains and lay out |
| it is a mountainous country and it is quite far north in | | | | on the sandy beaches of the southern islands. |
| latitude. The most famous of Japan's winter sights is | | | | Autumn |
| the Sapporo Snow Festival. Set on Japan's | | | | Like in several places, autumn is a really lovely time in |
| northernmost island, Hokkaido, Sapporo is a small | | | | Japan for the fall colors which blaze over the |
| mountainous town that, each winter, comes alive with | | | | mountains, sending the summer greenery into a fire of |
| the chilling presence of numerous snow and ice | | | | pre-winter shades. The best places to view Japan's |
| sculptures all over the town. | | | | fall colors are all around - in city parks, temples and on |
| Spring | | | | mountaintops where distant views of the leafy blaze |
| Perhaps Japan's most unique and famous draw are | | | | illuminate the slopes for miles. The best parts of Japan |
| the cherry blossom trees that bloom every spring | | | | to see such autumnal colors are in the northern islands, |
| across the country. Most notably, the cherry blossoms | | | | such as Hokkaido and Nagano, which are hillier and |
| at Mt. Yoshino-yama in Nara are considered to be the | | | | less populated. |