Japan is an island country located in East Asia. Situated in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea and Russia, extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. Though it comprises of thousands of islands there are four major islands, namely Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, which comprise of 90 percent of the land area. Dotted with volcanoes, it lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, experiencing a great deal of earthquakes. Japan is known to be one of the inhabited by human civilization since first century AD. Apart from this, Japan is one of the strongest economies in the world and a world leader in the fields of technology and machinery. To know some more interesting and fun facts about Japan, read on.
- The official name of Japan is Nihon or Nippon- Land of the Rising Sun.
- The capital city of Japan is Tokyo while the official language is Japanese.
- The main religions of Japan are Shinto, Buddhism and Christianity.
- The head of the state is the Emperor while the chief of the government is the Prime Minister.
- The monetary unit of Japan is Yen.
- More than 70 percent of the country is mountains and hills.
- Japan constitutes of more than 3000 islands.
- The highest mountain in Japan is Mt. Fuji, which is an active volcano.
- Around 10 percent of world’s active volcanoes are located in Japan.
- Japan experiences around 3 mild earthquakes every day, with an average of around 1500 each year.
- One of the most famous Japanese delicacies is ‘Sushi’. It is a dish made of rice and fish dipped in vinegar, wrapped in sea weed.
- Japan is the largest automobile producer in the world
- Japan’s national anthem is called ‘Kimigayo’, which means "The Emperor's Reign".
- Life expectancy in Japan is one of the largest in the world.
- The famous art of paper folding known as ‘Origami’ also hails from Japan.
- A Japanese poetry form ‘Haiku’ comprises of only 3 lines.
- The traditional dress for women is known as ’Kimono’.
- Japanese eat with chopsticks called ‘Hashi’.
- Japanese enjoy slurping while eating; it symbolizes that the food is delicious.
- Rice is the staple diet of Japanese with tea served with practically all the meals.
