The influence of Japan pervades the globe, from its cars to its food to its video games and animation, the country has made arguably as much an impact on the modern world as any other. For hundreds of years though, Edo Japan kept to itself, isolated from outside trade from the 17th century until forced to open up in 1854. The following century was understatedly a rocky period, but since the end of the war Japan has transformed into the most highly developed nation in Asia, if not the world.

We travelled Japan in the autumn of 2009, starting and finishing in Tokyo for a few nights each end, and with a week’s rail pass on the bullet train in the middle. We found ourselves in Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Kyoto and the Japanese Alps. For me, the undoubted highlight was scaling Mount Fuji, with the added bonus that it was off-season and we practically had the mountain to ourselves.