Independent tourists pride themselves on being able to plot out and partake in adventures of their own design -- rising to challenges known and unknown.
For the foreign traveler, one would think Japan would be just the ticket, what with its abundant natural beauty, on and off the beaten paths, and historical legacies and cutting-edge trends.
But for many foreign travelers, Japan is a hard sell, burdened by an image of being costly, confusing and on certain levels cool to outsiders, and a place where cash is king but not easy to come by.