Tokyo in ruins

Samurai rose to be global emblems of honour and courage, but their story doesn’t always match the myths they told about themselves, as a British Museum exhibition shows

Lizzie Wade Apocalypse How catastrophe transformed our world and can forge new futures 320pp. William Collins. £20. Luke Kemp Goliath’s Curse The history and future of societal collapse 592pp. Viking.

Discover Kobe city’s famous Wagyu beef, visit one of Japan’s few ‘original’ castles and meet the small-town brewers and potters that make this region so special

The Nagato area flies under the radar of everyone but Japanese travellers, who have long seen the appeal of its onsen towns, craggy isles and fishing heritage

Explore a little-visited region where Shinto gods congregate and masked dancers tell ancient legends

“Japan has been the world's financial shock absorber for a generation,” says Nigel Green of deVere Group. No longer. Two decades of ultra-low interest rates have pushed Japanese investors overseas in