Please join with the Diversity Council in celebrating the culture of Japan today in Union Building room 107 from 11:00-1:00.
Japan (日本 Nihon or Nippon, officially 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People’s Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters which make up Japan’s name mean “sun-origin”, which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the “Land of the Rising Sun”.
Japan comprises over 3,000 islands making it an archipelago. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for 97% of Japan’s land area. Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic; for example, Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji, is a volcano. Japan has the world’s tenth largest population, with about 128 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Interesting facts about Japan
Sometimes the trains are so crowded railway staff are employed to cram passengers inside.
Japanese celebrate Christmas, but it is more like Valentine’s day in the western world.
More than 70% of Japan consists of mountains, including more than 200 volcanoes.
A nice melon, similar to a cantaloupe, may sell for over $300US.
There are four different writing systems in Japan, romaji, katakana, hiragana, and kanji.
Coffee is very popular and Japan imports approximately 85% of Jamaica’s annual coffee production.
Japan’s literacy rate is almost 100%.
Sumo is Japan’s national sport, although baseball is also very popular.
Noodles, especially soba (buckwheat), are slurped very loudly when eaten. It is often said slurping symbolizes the food is delicious, but the slurping also serves to cool down the hot noodles for eating.
Vending machines in Japan sell beer, hot and cold canned coffee, cigarettes, and other items.
When moving into an apartment it is often required to give the landlord a “gift” of money equal to two months’ rent.
There are around 1,500 earthquakes every year in Japan.
It is not uncommon to eat rice at every meal, including breakfast.
Japan is the largest automobile producer in the world.
The Japanese language has thousands of foreign loan words, known as gairaigo. These words are often truncated, e.g. personal computer = paso kon. The number of foreign loan words is steadily increasing.
Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo is the world’s largest.
Men in Japan shave to their heads to apologize.
Girls in Japan cut their hair after breaking up with a boyfriend.
Tokyo has had 24 recorded instances of people either killed or receiving serious skull fractures while bowing to each other with the traditional Japanese greeting.
The first novel, The story of Genji, was written in 1007 by Japanese noble woman, Murasaki Shikibu.
The term karaoke means “empty orchestra” in Japanese.
Thu, Apr 23, 2009
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