Industry & Agriculture
To understand the Japanese psyche you must first get to grips with the country's economics.
The world's third largest economy and an industrial powerhouse throughout the 20th century; away from the big cities, small scale fishing and farming are still prevalent.
Japan has been one of the economic powerhouses of the 20th century and, despite struggling with ongoing recession throughout the 90s and the first years of the 21st century, is still the world's third biggest economy.
Japan's wealth and economic might have been built around manufacturing and industry: high-tech products such as computers and scientific instruments have flooded into the West; Japanese car makers dominate the world motor industry; and the petrochemical industry has helped deliver the refined oil that has powered the economic miracle.
But before industrialisation, towards the end of the 19th century, Japan was predominantly agricultural - and once you get outside of the cities and industrial heartlands of the eastern seaboard, this is still true today.
Ask any Japanese businessman their dream and 90% of them will respond "to buy a small house in the country with some land and farm". Perhaps this reflects some desire to get back to nature; to reconnect with the land having been squashed into tiny apartments in the massive urban centres. Whatever the case, agriculture and farming is still a very important part of the Japanese psyche.
There are many opportunities in Japan to experience both sides of Japan's economic activity. Whether you wish to see the high-tech robots of car manufacturing or pick shiitake mushrooms in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, there are experiences available.