I’ve always wanted to visit Japan, though I can’t quite explain why. Somewhere in the mix of childhood influences ranging from You Only Live Twice and Shogun, to Tenko and those Clive James shows, came an impression of a complex, frenzied, contradictory and quietly beautiful culture that fascinated me. There’s one thing all the guidebooks agree on, though: don’t go in August. Go in springtime, whe
![Mark Gatiss journeys through Japan](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/4508222bb554304b9d8061e654ed89a2879fc546/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fi.guim.co.uk%2Fimg%2Fstatic%2Fsys-images%2FGuardian%2FPix%2Fpictures%2F2015%2F1%2F13%2F1421147603138%2Factor-mark-gatiss-in-japa-012.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26height%3D630%26quality%3D85%26auto%3Dformat%26fit%3Dcrop%26overlay-align%3Dbottom%252Cleft%26overlay-width%3D100p%26overlay-base64%3DL2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctYWdlLTIwMTUucG5n%26enable%3Dupscale%26s%3D4469998655ef4e03ae3d59885658f135)