9 - Japan: Miss Kitten heaven with piece of mind

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Despite the recent upheaval, Japan remains one of our all-time favourites. Modern, yet heavily anchored in traditions and rituals, Japan will soak you in a very particular culture-shocking world, a whole other universe in fact. Tokyo is obviously a city not to miss when travelling around Japan as it really is a phenomenon, but the Japanese countryside is where the real essence of tradition has remained. It is here that you can begin to envisage understanding this mysterious culture which seems so complex to an outsider. Japanese people are not demonstrative people in public. Remain discrete and polite; under no circumstance must you show anger, rudeness or frustration as this will get you absolutely nowhere apart from being a laughing stock. Japan is a great destination for lone women travellers as walking around in the streets is absolutely no problem. During rush hour there is a metro carriage reserved for women. Men and women don't generally touch, hence the separate carriage.

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