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  About Japan

Land of JAPAN
The land area of Japan is 378,000 square kilometers, which is a little smaller than California in USA. Three-quarters of the country is mountainous,
with plains and basins covering the remaining area. Japan
consists of a long series of islands stretching for 3,000
kilometers from north to south. The four main islands
are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.

Japan is surrounded by sea. Warm and cold currents

flow through the seas around it, creating an environment that supports a variety
of fish species.

Climate and Seasons
Most of Japan is in the Northern TemperateZone of the earth and has a humid monsoon climate, with southeasterly winds blowing from the Pacific Ocean during the summer andnorthwesterly winds blowing from the Eurasian continent in the winter. The climate is generally mild, although it varies considerably from place to place. The country has four well-defined seasons. Summer, which is warm and mild, begins around the middle of July following a rainy season that usually lasts for a month. Except in northern Japan the winter is mild with many sunny days. Spring and Autumn are the best seasons of the year with balmy days and bright sunshine.


 

Regions and Capital
Japan has 47 prefectures. On the basis of geographical and historical background, these prefectures can be divided into nine regions: Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa.

Tokyo has been the capital of Japan since 1868. Located on the Kanto plain on the Pacific coast of Honshu, it is one of the world's largest and most densely populated areas. Tokyo is the seat of Japan's National Government and home to the Imperial Family. It is a city rich in cultural diversity, and as Japan's economic centre, it is an international magnet for business

Culture
Japan has absorbed many ideas from other countries over the course of its history, including technology, customs, and forms of cultural expression, and has developed its unique culture while integrating these imports. The Japanese lifestyle today is a rich blend of Asian-influenced traditional culture and Western-influenced modern culture.

Religion
The history of religion in Japan is a long process of mutual influence between religious traditions. In contrast to Europe, where Christianity overwhelmed local pagan traditions, the indigenous religion Shinto has continued as a part of the livesofthe people from the earliest days of an organized Japanese state up to modern times. When Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the sixth century, Shinto and Buddhist beliefs began to interact. This is the defining characteristic of Japanese religion.

Festival and Annual Events
Japanese people's hearts leap in anticipation of the festivals that take place each year in towns and villages throughout the country. Japan was traditionally an agrarian society centered on the cultivation of rice and other crops. People lived by the rhythm of the seasons, and the harvest was a major landmark in farm life. Village festivals gave farming families the chance to take time out from work and enjoy themselves for a while. At some temples and shrines, festivals go back several hundred years. They are relaxing occasions that make people feel the weight of history and give them a sense of the sacred - sensations that are all too often forgotten in the pace of everyday modern life. Climatically Japan is a country with four distinct seasons, and many annual events are associated with the changing of the seasons.