As we hurtle down Asakusa dori I have the sinking feeling that we have overshot my hotel. Despite a vague confidence that the cab driver has understood my directions, the streetscape is looking depressingly unfamiliar. Eventually the driver pulls over, consults a fellow cab driver, performs a swift u-turn and within five minutes we are at my hotel. The fare has risen to 4000 yen ($45), but the driver is adamant, 2000 yen is all he’ll accept. Acknowledging mutual (if not total) culpability for my predicament, I insist I pay the full fare. But my money is waved away with a cheerful smile, despite the fact it is now past 2am.

Japan is a succession of these experiences. If the same incident had occurred in Australia, or plenty of other countries, I suspect my inability to convey directions in the native tongue would have seen me paying the best part of a king’s ransom as a taxi fare. But honour invariably trumps avarice in Japan; in fact, I’ve never been to a country where I’ve felt less likely to be ripped off.

The culture shock is certainly appreciable though. The adherence to tradition and the relatively modest intrusion of Western influences mean that first time guests are likely to feel like fish out of water. English is also not widely spoken, unlike in other proximate Asian destinations, which have historical links or a market that has pandered to Western tastes more substantially.

But feeling out of place is one of the great joys of visiting Japan. Furthermore, this dislocation is limited to cultural experiences. Poverty and relative disadvantage, while existent, is not something you are confronted with. Japan is also an extraordinarily clean and orderly place; a by-product of the civic pride inherent in the citizenry.

Tokyo is modern Japan’s cultural nexus. It’s the world’s largest metropolis, with the Greater Tokyo Area home to over 30 million people. Despite this, it’s rare you feel the overwhelming crush of humanity. Certainly, major rail arteries are like beehives at peak hour – Shinjuku Station is the world’s busiest with 3.46 million daily commuters. But thanks to the economical design the country is famous for congestion isn’t a huge issue. The roads provide a fine example; the brilliant subway and extensive Japan Rail network mean the streets remain remarkably unclogged.

Tokyo is also the heart and soul of consumerist Japan, world renowned as a retail mecca and a place where just about any product or device can be turned up. A friend living in Tokyo shows me round for my first full day. We pass through Harajuku’s famed shopping avenues on a sunny Sunday afternoon while all around us are great swathes of young people, flitting in and out of shops, laughing, haggling and purchasing all manner of things.

But to holiday like a native Japanese is to really immerse yourself in the country’s culture. The quiet little ryokans in the hills around Hakone, about a 90 minute train ride from Tokyo, provide as restful a place as you could conceive. The ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn, dating from the Edo period (1603-1868). Today they are often found in regional areas and are very popular with city dwellers who crave some peace in more bucolic surrounds. The rooms are small by Australian standards and the architecture is minimalist, with native woods leading the design. Straw tatami mats cover the floor, while sliding doors constructed of light fabrics complete the humble aesthetic. Shoes are removed at the door when walking inside.

When I return to my room post dinner on my first evening in Hakone the onsen beckons me. Onsen traditionally refer to hot springs, scattered liberally across Japan’s volcanically active interior. But today the term has come to refer to a variety of baths. There’s the public variety, where the only standing convention is that you wash first and then bathe naked – slightly confronting for Westerners used to more apparel, although the Japanese see the act of communal nude bathing as a way of breaking down social barriers.

The ryokan I stay at also has an onsen tub on a secluded outdoor balcony. It’s a surprisingly hot bath, but after emerging your muscles feel imbued with a new elasticity. Sleeping on a ground level futon atop a tatami mat feels like slumbering on a cloud after the invigorating bath. In the morning at breakfast, ryokan guests literally float through the doors of the dining room, looking perfectly serene in their yukata (casual summer kimonos).

Venturing further afield after the break in Hakone, I discover that Kyoto provides a wonderful glimpse into the Japan of old. The imperial capital for over one thousand years, it is the ideal place to gain an understanding of the country’s traditions.

On my first morning here the summer heat is stifling out in the open, but the beauty of Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto’s foremost Buddhist Temple, is just reward for the uphill exertions required to reach it. A World Heritage listed site dating from the 8th century, it houses relics that draw Japanese from far and wide to pray before. A nearby spring, the Otowa waterfall, has three streams of water, which if consumed have wish-fulfilling properties, so it’s said. A long queue of people seem to be willing to test the theory, as young and old line up to sup from the mythical waters.

A short time later I am outside Kodai-ji Temple, a quiet location at the foot of the Higashiyama Ryozen Mountains. After a stroll through the gardens we retreat to the cool interior and commence a meditation session. Shoes are removed and then I am shown the correct pose – sitting cross-legged with hands clasped, one foot tucked into an opposing thigh. I’m told it will be more comfortable this way, but I am dubious as numbness sets in promptly. Incense is lit and a small gong is struck. The proposed 10 minutes drags to 15 and when another strike of the gong signals the end my relief is immense. The pins and needles in my left leg are more like spikes and nails. The instructing monk tells me apprentice monks meditate for up to five hours a day, a figure that makes me gasp.

Next door a tea ceremony awaits. As the brew is expertly prepared I sit stock still, not wanting to make a hash of the etiquette. When the ceramic cup is placed before me I stare at the frothy, mossy concoction then hastily pick it up to the horror of my guide. It turns out there are a series of appreciate gestures to be made and intricate hand movements to be performed. Once shown, I apparently excel myself, but I suspect my guide is simply being encouraging after my faux pas.

But my blushes are soon forgotten as we make our way to nearby Sodoh, an upmarket restaurant that serves up Italian food with a Japanese twist. A vast array of local produce is utilised and my fish starter and veal cutlet main would hold their own in top quality Italian restaurants anywhere. Inside it is an earthy cool temperature and my table by the garden is very nice indeed.

But all good things must end and it is back out into the afternoon heat once the plates are cleared. Back on the road and a quick trip across town takes me to what is best described as a veritable children’s paradise. My introduction to Toei Kyoto Movie World is via a Ninja Show. It involves 15 minutes of jumps, flips, sword fighting, bright lights and a lot of yelling it must be said. But the kids have a wow of a time and look disappointed when the action winds up. Elsewhere, families can watch demonstrations of how these high octane performances are put together and have a crack at ninjitsu activities while the kids get stuck into a myriad of games and experiences.

And it seems that my luck is holding as the last stop on my busy day’s itinerary is a visit to Momiji-ya, a riverside property with a well located restaurant in the Takao region of Kyoto. The rain has set in as I cross the suspension bridge over the Kiyotaki-gawa River, making the lantern-lit elevated restaurant look all the more a welcome sight. Dinner is a treat – I sit cross-legged with my guide as around 10 courses appear at well-timed intervals. It’s a wonderful selection of authentic local food, from tofu, pickles, radish and soup starters to several delicious fish courses. It concludes with a magnificent eel dish – an increasingly scarce delicacy in Japan. Post dinner, guests have to opportunity to meet and chat with authentic maiko (trainee geisha girls). It’s a rare opportunity to gain an insight into what is a furtive and still little understood way of life.

As we depart reluctantly, I’m told it’s possible to stay in the accommodation at Momiji-ya also. Given my encroaching tiredness it’s just as well this information wasn’t relayed to me earlier or I may never have left.