Japan - beyond the backpack
by Alastair Edwards

Just because you've traded in your backpack and sleeping bag for suitcases and silk sheets doesn't mean your days of intrepid travel are over. Alastair Edwards sets out to prove there's at least one country where style and sightseeing can go very much hand in hand.

Confronted with the sight of their old backpack, even the most intrepid of ex-travellers are likely to break out in a cold sweat. The overseas adventures of our youth make great dinner party talk, but the reality of strapping on 20kg of musty T-Shirts and bunking down in even mustier hostels is another thing all together. The simple truth is that these days a week's holiday is a rare treat we would rather luxuriate in than toil through, even if it means confining ourselves to the Sunshine Coast season after season.

Should we dare to dream of something a little more adventurous, the shadow of the backpack looms large enough to scare us back to our hammocks for another well-earned stubby and a small sigh of resignation.

As you might have guessed, it doesn't have to be this way. A mere eight hours from the east coast lies one of the most exciting, diverse and downright beautiful destinations on the planet, where world-class tourist attractions and sites of stunning natural beauty rub shoulders with modern metropolises boasting the finest luxury accommodation available. It's a place where you can take in up to eight world heritage sights, 80 different types of cuisine and 800 photographs in a day and still be back at your skyscraper-top hotel suite for a Michelin star dinner...Japan, in other words, is your grown up travel dream come true.

Attempting to tackle the huge array of activities, attractions and ancient traditions Japan has to offer in a single visit would be nigh on impossible, but with ten free days, a good budget and an excellent concierge, you could sample enough world-class sights to satisfy your travel cravings for years to come. Incredible temples, stunning ski-slopes, immaculate gardens, golden beaches and more retail therapy options than you'll know what to do with are all within easy access of the major city centres. All you need is the perfect hotel to plan your itinerary from...and they don't get much more perfect than these.

The Park Hyatt, Tokyo
Spread over the top 14 floors of a striking skyscraper in a uniquely leafy part of central Shinjuku, the Park Hyatt is probably the most well-located hotel in Tokyo. In fact, it's probably the best hotel in Tokyo full stop.

From the panoramic lobby to the programmable lavatories, every inch of this immaculately presented hotel combines contemporary design with all-out luxury in a uniquely Asian interpretation of New York penthouse chic. The guest rooms are truly something special, complete with marble bathrooms, impossibly huge beds and breath-taking views of the Tokyo skyline - if you never left your room for the full ten days, we'd bet it would still be one of the best holiday's you've ever had.

Of course, it would be a huge mistake if you didn't. Shinjuku is one of the most well-connected areas in Tokyo and almost every major site of interest from the high-fashion district of Harujuku to the world-heritage temples of Nikko lie only a couple of connecting trains away. The staff at the Hyatt have all the information you need to get the most out of your excursions and, if you're worried about the local cusine come lunch time, will even pack you a takeaway picnic from their gourmet deli.

The good food doesn't stop at lunch either. At night, after you've recharged your batteries and groomed yourself to a glossy finish in the hotel spa, you'll find a wealth of world-class restaurants within the hotel, crowned by the incredible New York Grill and bar where Bill Murray wound away his evenings in Lost in Translation. Speaking of bills, your Park Hyatt stay can get very expensive very quickly if you're not careful but, if your pockets are deep enough, you won't resent a cent of it.

Conrad Tokyo
If there's one other hotel in Tokyo that can go head-to-head with the Park Hyatt, it has to be the Conrad, a multi award-winning luxury hotel with more style per square inch than anything else on the market.

Soaring into the Shiodome skyline across 37 floors of a park-side skyscraper, the Conrad has clearly been located with as much care and attention as the designers have lavished on the interior. The high-class shopping and arts district of Ginza is just minutes from the front door and the equally intriguing, though infinitely more pungent, fish markets can be reached on foot in the same amount of time. Throw in the several nearby rail terminals, bus routes and hotel limos and you'd be hard pressed to find a better connected location to place yourself.

When you're not out exploring the surrounding attractions or strolling through the adjacent Hamarikyu Gardens, your likely to be luxuriating in your room, watching TV in the tub or sipping champagne in your robe as the world rolls by 40 floors beneath your feet. You'll feel like a star in any one of the garden or city view rooms but, if you've gone all-out for one of the jaw-dropping suites on offer, you might never come down from cloud nine again.

Outside of your room, no expense has been spared in the range and quality of amenities on offer from the gorgeous two-person spa treatment rooms to the executive lounge and array of genuinely exciting restaurants. The Conrad is home to the first Gordon Ramsay restaurant in Asia and, right next door, is the Michelin star awarded China Blue with a wine list and a view of Tokyo Bay that you'll be hard pressed to pull yourself away from. If we had deep enough pockets, we'd probably still be there right now.

Swissotel Nankai Osaka
There's no doubt that Tokyo makes a great base of operations for your travels through Japan but, if your considering a trip to the temples of Kyoto and Nara, then Osaka is a much more convenient location. Packed with it's own dizzying array of distractions from aquariums and theme parks to shopping arcades and spiritual shrines, Osaka can compete with it's big brother on almost every level, including, as the Swissôtel Nankai so effortlessly proves, the luxury hotel market.

Whether arriving by bullet train or aeroplane, the Swissotel Nankai is one of the most easily accessible hotels in the city, perched atop Namba station in the bustling Midosuji Boulevard. This part of town is home to the best selection of restaurants, bars and shops in the city and you certainly won't be going hungry if you venture out into the chaos of the famous Dotombori arcade, a mere five minute walk from the hotel's front door. Of course, if you're at the wrong end of an incredible day's sightseeing, setting out into the streets again might be the last thing on your mind, and it's here that the Swissotel Nankai really comes into its own.

Comforts of the immaculately kept, and supremely comfortable king-sized rooms aside, the hotel has enough going on inside to keep even the most finicky of travellers happy. Saunas, Jacuzzis and Japanese baths accompany the state of the art gym and city-view swimming pool; nine different restaurants and bars are located around the premises covering every kind of cuisine from Teppanyaki to Italian and the Sky Bar, perched right atop the hotel, offers a panoramic view of the urban sprawl that's just begging to be washed down with a martini or three. Should you wish to make your stay a little more traditional, you can even upgrade to one of the hotel's deluxe tatami mat Japanese suites, then make like the locals do and indulge in the signature all-you-can-eat desert buffet and the roof top restaurant. In terms of swanky places to stay in Osaka, the Swissotel Nankai is about as sweet as you can get.

Other options
Whilst the best of Japan can be sampled via daytrips from the cities mentioned above, you'll get even more out of your trip if you can see your way to spending a night or two in some of the sightseeing hotspots you're bound to visit while you're there. Kyoto is the arguably the cultural capital of the country and one day certainly isn't going to be enough to take in everything it has to offer. Fortunately the city has hundreds if not thousands of accommodation options to suit every budget, from basic business hotels to elite ryokans (traditional Japanese inns), and boutique hotels. The top two ryokan's in town are unquestionably the Hiiragiya and the Tawaraya, both favourites with celebrities around the world and likely to be booked out months, if not years, in advance depending on the season.

However, if you've got a great hotel waiting for you back in the city and you're only in town for one night, there are plenty of cheaper and equally accommodating options listed with the local tourist information office - just point, pick and pray it looks like the picture when you get there. The same tactic can be used all across provincial Japan from Nara to Nikko and, with a little bit of luck, you're very unlikely to hit a dud capable of cramping your style too badly - as long as your choice isn't popular with backpackers, it can't be that bad.

With a good hotel as your base and a basic phrase book in your pocket, the treasures of Japan are yours for the plundering. It may carry a grown up price of entry, but the richness of what's on offer will make you feel as giddy as a gap year student. So, put the backpack on eBay, borrow a good suitcase and book your ticket as soon as the savings will allow – 2 gigs of snaps and five years of dinner party stories could be only a plane ride away.

Travel Info
The best seasons to visit Japan are generally spring (March - May), and autumn (Sep - Nov). Summer can be very muggy, but beautiful at the beaches, while winter will require some very warm weather gear, especially in the North.

For more information about Japan, click here.