In many ways Japan is not yet a truly modern country. Its social roots still lie deeply in its past as a feudal society of countless closely knit agricultural communities dominated by a small political elite. Its famous bullet trains zip through the country at up to 300 km (186 miles) per hour. Its factories feature the latest generation of industrial robots that don’t eat, don’t sleep, and never strike. Its high-tech consumer electronics companies have placed affordable – and notoriously reliable – electronic products households around the world. Once you are there peel back layer and a different picture starts to emerge. Japan is still trying to define its place in a world in which it is constantly accused of being an economic whale but a political minnow – Just one of the pieces of the puzzle that is modern Japan. Truly, any examination of political, economic, and social issues invariably raises more questions than it answers. One pattern that you will notice quickly arises is an apparently never-ending series of contradictions. Where lies the real Japan? Simply put, it is all around you, out there to be experienced.