The Flag of Japan
Japan is called the “Land of the Rising Sun.”
The Japanese name for Japan is “Nihon” or “Nippon” which means “sun origin”.
The highest point in Japan in Mount Fuji, which stands at 3,776m (12,388ft).
Japan has the tenth largest population in the world.
Tokyo is the capital city of Japan.
Tokyo
Japanese is the official language of Japan.
There are 127 million people living in the country.
The founding of Japan and the imperial line dates back to 660 BC.
National Foundation Day is a national holiday and is celebrated on February 11.
More than 70% of Japan is mountainous terrain.
There are over 200 volcanoes in Japan.
Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan and it is also an active volcano.
Mt. Fuji
Zen Buddhism is the most common form of Buddhism in Japan.
There are four different writing systems in Japan: romaji, katakana, hiragana, and kanji.
Japan imports about 85% of Jamaica’s total coffee production.
There is almost no immigration in Japan. The population is 98% ethnic Japanese.
Sumo wrestling is Japan’s national sport.
Baseball is very popular in Japan because of the strong American presence after World War II.
Japan is the world’s largest consumer of Amazon rainforest timber.
Japanese Wooden Tori Gates
There are over 1,500 earthquakes in Japan each year, though most of them are very minor.
Tsukiji Market in Tokyo is the world’s largest fish market and the majority of fish in the world go through there.
Japan still hunts whales under the premise of “research” but most of the whale meat ends up in supermarkets.
The first Japanese novel, The Tale of Genji, was written by a Japanese noblewoman, Murasaki Shikibu, in 1007A.D.
In Japanese, karaoke means “empty orchestra.”
Most Japanese ATMs don’t accept foreign ATM cards. A person has to use the machines at the post office or at a 7-11 store.
It takes about 11 years of intensive training to become a fugu (blowfish) chef. Fugu chefs need to eat their own fish in order to pass the training and be certified to prepare the fish.
In Japanese, geisha means “performing artist.” Although geishas are now women, the first geishas were men.
Many Japanese companies have morning exercise sessions for their workers.
A very popular food in Japan is raw horse meat.
Japan has the second-lowest homicide rate in the world. The homicide rate is 0.50 per 100,000 people.
Japan has produced 18 Nobel Prize winners.
The Yakuza, the Japanese mafia, cut off the tip of the left pinky finger as punishment for someone’s first offense.
Japan consists of approximately 6,800 islands.
The four main islands, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido, comprise 97% of Japan’s total land area.
Japan has been inhabited since 30,000 BC.
Animated Japanese films and television shows (i.e., anime) account for 60% of the world’s animation.
There are close to 130 voice-acting schools for anime voices.
23% of the Japanese population is over the age of 65.
The greater Tokyo area is the largest metropolitan area in the world with over 35 million people.
Tokyo’s population is 13 million.
The world’s most expensive tuna was sold in Japan for $735,000 U. S. dollars.
In Japan, it is considered inappropriate to blow your nose in public.
Japan has cafes where people can play with puppies and kittens.
Japan has the longest-reigning monarchy in the world.
Japan's Imperial Palace and Bridge
The only foreign language taught and mandated in Japanese schools is English.
Contrary to popular belief, authentic Kobe beef is only found in Japan because of tight controls and restrictions.
Under Japanese law, Kobe beef can only come from Japan's Hyogo Prefecture.
Japan is the only country in the world that has had atomic weapons used against it.
The Japanese constitution includes an article completely renouncing war and aggression.
The Oldest Company in Japan
In Japan, snowmen are made of two large snowballs, not three.
Japanese restaurants give you moist towels before your meal as well as green tea.
Haiku is the shortest poetic form in the world. It consists of only three lines.
Mount Everest’s oldest climber is Japanese. Yuichiro Miura was 70 when he reached the summit and 75 when he made the climb a second time.
Japanese samurai were ancient warriors of great honor and valor.
A ninja was a covert mercenary in feudal Japan who specialized in unorthodox warfare.
The Japanese movie The Hidden Fortress was the basis for Star WarsEpisode IV: A New Hope.
Japanese sake is made from fermented rice.
Tokyo is the second most expensive city in the world to live in.
Sometimes the trains are so crowded railway staff are employed to cram passengers inside.
Many couples in Japan celebrate Christmas like Valentine's Day. It is definitely more of a "lovers" holiday in Japan.
Poorly written English can be found everywhere including on T-shirts and other fashion items.
Religion does not play a major role in the lives of most Japanese and many do not understand the difference between the two major religions in Japan, Shintoism and Buddhism.
Japanese Temples
A nice musk melon, similar to a cantaloupe, may sell for over $300US.
The literacy rate in Japan is almost 100%.
Most toilets in Japan have a built-in bidet system for spraying your backside. These are known as washlets and are now the norm in homes and nicer restrooms. However, in some train stations and other public restrooms you may still find the traditional Japanese "floor toilet".
When a person uses the bathroom in someone's home, that person often need to put on designated bathroom slippers so as not to contaminate the rest of the home.
Noodles, especially soba (buckwheat), are slurped somewhat loudly when eaten. It has been said slurping indicates the food is delicious. 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 "gift" money, usually equal to two months' rent.
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. And, the number of foreign words is steadily increasing.
In a Sumo training "stable" the junior rikishi Sumo wrestlers must wash and bathe their senior sumo wrestlers and make sure their hard to reach places are clean.
Rampant inbreeding of dogs has resulted in one of the highest rate of genetic defects in the world for canines.
Raised floors help indicate when to take off shoes or slippers. At the entrance to a home in Japan, the floor will usually be raised about 6 inches indicating you should take off your shoes and put on slippers. If the house has a tatami mat room its floor may be raised 1-2 inches indicating you should to take off your slippers.
Ovens are not as commonplace as rice cookers in Japanese households.
It was customary in ancient Japan for women to blacken their teeth with dye as white teeth were considered ugly. This practice persisted until the late 1800's. The American style smile (big, wide, and white) would have been seen as "exposing too much bone".
In addition to a "boneless smile", small eyes, a round puffy face, and plump body were considered attractive features, especially during the Heian period.
In Japan non-smoking areas are difficult to find in restaurants, including family restaurants. Many of Japan's politicians have interest in the tobacco industry and anti-smoking laws are almost non-existent.
The"Festival of the Steel Phallus" (aka: The Penis Festival) is held each spring at the Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki, Japan. The exact date varies because the main festivities fall on the first Sunday in April. The penis as the central theme of the event is reflected in illustrations, candy, carved vegetables, decorations, and a mikoshi parade. The legend is that a sharp-toothed demon hid inside the vagina of a young woman and castrated two young men on their wedding nights. As a result, the young woman sought help from a blacksmith who fashioned an iron phallus to break the demon's teeth which led to the enshrinement of the item. It is also said the shrine offers divine protections for business prosperity, and for the clan's prosperity; and for easy delivery, marriage, and married-couple harmony.
Japan's Penis Festival