Japan

Japan’s Location Japan is made up of over 4000 small islands with four main ones: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu Surrounded by water: The Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean The countries across the Sea of Japan are North Korea, South Korea and Russia

Where Japan is located Japan is an island country in East Asia in the Pacific Ocean East of China, Korea, and Russia “Land of the Rising Sun”

They bow to greet one another and their king. They have festivals to show respect for their land. They also respect their land by not littering. Old and special people get special greetings. For example, people bow VERY low. The Japanese use the carp (a type of fish) to symbolize strength and courage. Behavior in Japan

Language Hi : Ohayo / Konnichiwa Good morning : Ohayo Gozaimasu How are you? : Ogenki desuka? Fine : Genki Desu. Good bye : Sayounara.

People live in crowded city's. They have small rooms. Some live in tall buildings. People take off their shoes at the door because their floor is covered in tatami mats. At night time lots sleep on mats called futons. Business people wear suits. Grown ups wear robes made of colored silk! The robes are called kimonos. Today kimonos are only worn on special days. For the preparing for a tea ceremony it is ordered great. Some wealthy people have tea houses for ceremony‘s. In some traditional homes really thin screens divide the rooms. The screens can be moved to make a room big or small. Japanese Homes

Capital and Population Japan’s capital is Tokyo, which is one of the world’s largest cities The population of Japan is 126,804,433 and ranked 10 th for the most population on the planet The population density is 336 people per a square mile, which is ranked 32 nd in the world Japan is also the leading supplier of fish and the United States biggest trading partner

Japan Flag Adopted by Japan on February 27 th, 1870 Most commonly known as “Hinomaru” which means “sun” or the “The Land of the Rising Sun” The red circle in the middle represents the sun, and the sun represents sincerity, brightness, warmth, bravery, and strength. The white background stands for love and honesty.

Japan Currency The Japanese Currency is Yen (¥) One million dollars would equal about 83,906,010 yen One million yen would equal about 11,918.1 dollars

Japanese Writing and Alphabet Japan has four different writing styles: Hiragana and Katakana (which are the easiest), Kanji (the most complicated), and Romaji (Written using English letters) Can be written vertically right to left or horizontally left to right

Politeness and Impoliteness Being polite is one of the most important qualities. A bow is the proper way to greet someone, however when meeting a foreigner, a handshake is fine. Yawning, chewing gum, putting your ankle over your knee, and blowing your nose in public are all considered impolite. When eating soup, slurping is not impolite, in fact, it’s considered as gratitude by showing the cook you’re enjoying the meal. Walking and eating is impolite for an adult, but for a kid, it’s alright. Laughing can be a sign of embarrassment.

Living Style There are Japanese-style houses, apartments, and now Western-style houses When people enter houses, they take off their shoes is the genkan which is a small place between the door and the living room and put on slippers to wear around the house. There are sliding doors, called fusuma and if you open them, you can make two rooms into one People have beds, but sometimes they sleep on futons, which are beds you lay on the ground and when done, you can roll them up and put them in the closet

Samurai Samurai were members of the military class in Japan. They were the Japanese warriors. Samurai followed the Bushido Code which means “the way of the warrior.” The Bushido Code had stressed concepts such as loyalty, self discipline, and honour. A samurai would rather die in battle than be captured by their enemy. A samurai could use a range of weapons but their favorite was the sword.

They eat seafood like octopus, shark, and fish. The fish is also called sashimi. When it is called this it’s dipped in soy sauce and horseradish mustard. Rice is an important part of their meals. It is Japan’s biggest crop. The Japanese people put raw fish over their rice. Sushi is an important part of meals. They use chopsticks to pick up their food. The food is arranged to look beautiful on plates. Some other things they eat are soup, sour pickles, seaweed, veggies, Tofu and grilled chicken. Food in Japan

Japanese Food Tonkotsu Noodle Soup Yakitori Chicken Vegetable Tempura Sashimi

Etiquette & Manners Chopsticks Japanese chopstick manners are amongst the most important rules of etiquette in Japan. They are taken quite seriously. For example, it's considered rude to use your chopsticks to point at something such as a menu. Stabbing Food With Chopsticks When you're having difficulty picking food up with your chopsticks it's tempting to stab the food with them. This is mildly rude although the locals occasionally do it.

 Students learn to write characters.  They learn how to write.  They eat in the classroom.  They go to school 5 days a week.  They go Saturday every 2 months.  They wear the same clothes.  They learn teamwork.  They clean their school everyday.  They have to pass a hard test to go to high school.  All the schools follow a strict scedgual.  Students go out and shop for uniforms for school.  If you visit the museums/castles, temples and parks you will see a group of school children everywhere. School in Japan

Traditions People go to temples to pray for many things, such as a good grade on a test. You can also buy good luck charms. When people go to a temple, they pull a rope and a bell rings and they pray and clap their hands once. They can get a piece of paper with a fortune on it and if the fortune is bad, they tie it to a tree to get rid of the bad luck. You can also buy good luck charms.

Mount Fuji Mt. Fuji is a currently dormant volcano near the Yamanashi and Karagawa Prefectures The last time Mt. Fuji erupted was in November 1707 and has remained dormant since February 1708 Mt. Fuji is 3,776 meters high or 12, feet Mt. Fuji is also known as Fuji-san and is a well known landmark

Cherry Blossoms Cherry blossom trees are called ‘sakura’. A popular thing to do in Japan is go flower viewing. There are many cherry blossom parks you can visit. Usually schools have cherry blossom trees outside of them. There are festivals called ‘hanami’ to enjoy the flowers.

Tokyo Tower Tokyo Tower is in Tokyo and is the world’s tallest self-supporting tower 333 meters tall, 13 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower At the top of the tower, there’s a TV and broadcast antenna Built in 1958 as Japan’s birth economically

Located in Tokyo Dome City Opened on March 17 th, 1988 Many sports and concerts have and still are taking place in the Dome 60 NFL and baseball games are held yearly Madonna, Michael Jackson, the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, etc. have had a concert in the Dome Can fit up to 55,000 people at once

Peace Memorial Park Built in Hiroshima 120,000 square meters Every year, there’s an anniversary the day the bomb was dropped with speeches for loved ones, etc. The main facility is the Peace Memorial Museum

Akihabara Akihabara is also called Akiban and is located in Tokyo. There are hundreds of stores and shops, mostly for electronics. Gaming, anime and manga is also popular. Famous for cosplay cafes: Regular cafes except where waitresses dress up as anime characters.

Sumo wrestling is a kind of sport. Sumo wrestlers weigh up to 300 pounds. There goal is to knock each other out of the circle. Men have to gain weight and become fat and strong. Another popular sport is kendo. Kendo means the way of the sword. Samurai and ninja do kendo to train. Sports in Japan

 Three fourths or the islands are covered with mountains.  There islands are covered with volcanoes.  Many animals live on their land like snow monkeys, brown bears and deer.  They saw the sunrise that’s why they named their land sources of the sun.  They called their land Nippon.  Each of their islands are not the same.  The northern land are a lot colder than others. They have plenty of snow.  Japan has islands as narrow as 3000 km.  Some forests look like gardens. Environment of Japan

Clothing We Wear JAPANESE CLOTHES- Talk about Japanese traditional clothes and show pictures. Then show modern clothes. The kimono is the traditional dress of Japan. It's got long sleeves and reaches from the shoulders all the way down to the heels. Different types of kimono are worn depending on the occasion; kimonos for everyday wear are a lot simpler than those for formal occasions. It usually comes in one size, although distinctions are made between what men, women, and children wear. When choosing which kimono to wear, people think about the designs and materials that best match the season and how well it goes with the belt.

Clothing We Wear Most kimonos are made of silk, although they also come in cotton, wool, and linen. Compared to Western dress, the kimono tends to limit one's movement, and it takes a lot more time to put on and store properly. So, most Japanese today wear kimonos only on special occasions like formal gatherings and traditional events. Examples include the New Year holidays, the Shichi-go-san festival to pray for the healthy growth of children, weddings and funerals, the coming-of-age ceremony to mark one's twentieth birthday

Clothing We Wear

Random Facts Sushi is expensive; it is usually only bought on rare occasions. Medical teams wear helmets and blue scrubs. Business people wear ties and suits, just like in America and Europe. People dress in harmony with other people, but comfortably. A major holiday is New Years Eve. The voting age is twenty. People travel in cars, planes, subways, and trains. They have indoor beaches.