Coined the "City of a Thousand Temples," Kyoto oozes old world charm, steeped in centuries of spiritual tradition. It's also the perfect jumping off point for areas like Fushimi Inari Taisha, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and Nara Park.

Tokyo is the largest metropolitan in the world and a wildly alive city. The mecca for all things anime and gaming, gourmet food and shopping, modern theater and opera, traditional kabuki and noh theater, modern skyscrapers and traditional Japanese wooden buildings, Tokyo has it all.

Though I'd already lived in Asia, some of Japan's rules were simply lost on me. And as predicted, it was a tough country to explore on my own. Tricky transportation, swarming tourists and wild weather were a challenge to navigate.