Article Views:
196
Ezine ready page
Ezine ready page
Posted on October 2, 2008 by Freeda Poux | Posted under News and Society
Facts About Japan: Essentials
|
Geography Japan is made of four large islands named Honshu , Hokkaido , Kyushu and Shikoku. Its neighbors are China, Russia and Korea. The biggest island is Honshu, and there more than 80% of the people live. On the same island, Mount Fuji exists, and it is classified as an active volcano. The largest city and the capital, Tokyo, is situated on the Kanto plain. Hokkaido is the second island in size, but only 5% of the Japanese live there. Sapporo is the most important city and the economy is mainly based on fishing, forestry and producing dairy. Even if it is smaller, Kyushu holds 11% of the Japanese. The last island in size is Shikoku. In the country size tops, Japan holds the 60th place, being a little larger than Germany. History Japan is ruled today by emperors, representing the successors of the oldest monarchy in the world. The flag is represented as a red circle on a white background, with the red circle standing for the sun; the name of the flag is Hinomaru. The national anthem, Kimigayo ('The Emperor's Reign'), is comprised of a 5-line, 31-syllable poem, dating from the 10th century. Japanese are known for their longevity, life expectancy being greater there than anywhere else in the world. Facts about Japan - 1500 earthquakes happen every year; - 200 volcanoes exist there; - the main diet consists of rice; - criminality is among the lowest in the world; - you will find a vending machine on every corner in Japan; - fruits have prohibitive prices; - favorite Japanese pizza has mayonnaise and corn; - Haiku is a poem made of only three lines; - the oldest martial art is Kendo; - the art of paper folding is called Origami; - Sushi is a type of food made of rice, fish and seaweed; - it is a rule to remove your shoes when you enter a house; - the chopsticks they eat with are called hashi; - they like to eat only fresh food, so they shop every day for meat, fish and vegetables; - rice is the national food; - a popular soup is Miso, a specialty made of soybean paste and seaweed stock; - they serve at breakfast steamed rice with natto; - they drink tea at every meal; - platform shoes are worn by women; - they always wear slippers inside the house; - while eating, the footwear is removed; - traditional Japanese theatre, Noh, lasts for 8 hours straight; - smoking is forbidden on local trains; - while bathing, they soap themselves outside the bath, and then use the bathtub only for relaxation; - their meals are cooked with different type of meat, a lot of spices and soy sauce; - they drive on the left, with the wheel on the right; - when a wedding or a funeral takes place in a village, everyone takes part in the ceremony and the preparations; - after eating, the chopsticks must not be put upright into the bowl; - slurping is encouraged at the table, when liquid food is served, as a sign that you like the food; - Japanese are well known for their courteous manners and they will help you when you need it. About The Author: Freeda is a writer and publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com |
Tags:
