I've always wanted to visit Japan. A beautiful island in the Pacific, but has one of the most modern cities in the world. 
I agree.  Nippon or Nihon-koku meaning "State of Japan".  It's a sovereign nation in Asia.
And that nation has gone through a millennia of changes. Kyoto is a really interesting city. I mostly know it from the Kyoto protocols though
Modern day Kyoto, Japan is occasionally referred to as the Thousand-Year Capital.