Japan History, Flag, Map, Population, & Facts

Each group tour includes a private, guided tour of the house and garden, and will have the option to include  multiple add-on programs such as tea tasting and feeding the koi fish. Shofuso is the perfect destination for smaller wedding ceremonies in the Philadelphia area, hosting missavhub.com up to 40 people comfortably. The serene backdrop of our traditional Japanese garden will create so many unforgettable memories and picturesque moments for you and your guests.

The Americans captured most of the islands in the Pacific, started dropping bombs on Japanese cities, and prepared to invade. The Japanese landscape is rugged, with more than four-fifths of the land surface consisting of mountains. There are many active and dormant volcanoes, including Mount Fuji (Fuji-san), which, at an elevation of 12,388 feet (3,776 meters), is Japan’s highest mountain. Abundant precipitation and the generally mild temperatures throughout most of the country have produced a lush vegetation cover and, despite the mountainous terrain and generally poor soils, have made it possible to raise a variety of crops. Japan has a large and, to a great extent, ethnically homogeneous population, which is heavily concentrated in the low-lying areas along the Pacific coast of Honshu. The fires in the western towns of Okayama, Imabari and Aso broke out Sunday, quickly burning hundreds of hectares (acres).

A Sharp Japanese Paring Knife

• Unlike in other countries, most Japanese fine dining restaurants do not accept credit cards, and you will be expected to pay for your meal in cash.
• At the same time, Shinto and Buddhism have had an enormous influence on the country’s history and cultural life.
• With an increasingly totalitarian government controlled by the military, Japan overthrew the Korean monarchy and annexed Korea outright in 1910.
• There are no sizable structural plains and peneplains (large land areas leveled by erosion), features that usually occur in more stable regions of the Earth.

You’re about to get plenty of practice and your reading speed will naturally increase over time as you move on. This, in combination with mnemonics and worksheets, will allow you to learn how to read hiragana in a day or two instead of a month. These first steps you take are especially important because they’re going to set a foundation you can build off of. There’s gas station sushi (get over it, we’ve all done it), and then there are high-quality omakase meals that can cost as much as a pair of over-ear headphones.

Most sushi restaurants keep a handy multilingual decoding key on hand or on the wall. However, sushi in Japan often bears little similarity to what Western visitors may be used to back home; do not expect to find California rolls or volcano rolls in Japan. Sushi in Japan tends to be simple, just fish and rice, with an emphasis on freshness. Traditional Japanese inns (see § Ryokan) are a common way for travellers to enjoy a fine kaiseki meal. The elaborate meals featuring local seasonal ingredients are considered an essential part of a visit to a ryokan, and factor heavily into many people’s choice of inn.

Hiragana basics: Your first steps into reading, writing and typing Japanese.

If your phone is incompatible with frequencies used in Japan but you have a 4G-capable SIM card, you can rent a phone in Japan and slot in your card, allowing you to keep your home phone number in Japan. Be sure to double-check with your network provider before departing. Another option is to buy a used unlocked phone in Japan; second-hand electronics stores are plentiful and a basic unlocked device can be had for as little as ¥3,000. You may also be able to acquire an eSIM (no physical card) with newer smartphones. If you plan on visiting a hot spring or public bath, they’re almost always used nude (except for rare mixed-gender baths). Although you may get some questioning looks, bathing suits are allowed in some baths.

The islands are a famous attraction in Matsushima, and are said to be one of Japan’s “Three Great Views.” From day one, resource-poor Japan had looked elsewhere for the supplies it needed, and this soon turned into a drive to expand and colonize its neighbors. The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–’95 saw Japan take control of Taiwan, Korea and parts of Manchuria, and its victory against Russia in the 1904–’05 Russo-Japanese War cemented its position of strength. With an increasingly totalitarian government controlled by the military, Japan overthrew the Korean monarchy and annexed Korea outright in 1910. During World War I, Japan participated in the war as part of the Allies and would subsequently gain control of the German concessions in China.

Many people are curious about the possibility of visiting Iwo Jima. Military Historical Tours has exclusive rights to conduct tours of the island, and these tours are only open to U.S. citizens. The three must-visit places for World War II buffs are Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the main island of Okinawa. Okinawa is where some of the most brutal battles occurred between Japan and the United States, and the area is crawling with remnants from its dark past. The Peace Park, Prefectural Peace Museum, Himeyuri Peace Museum, and the Peace Memorial Hall in Itoman are some of the best places to learn more, see artifacts, and hear accounts of the battles that took place here. Buddhism has had a profound impact on Japan ever since it was introduced in the 6th century.

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Japanese Knife

The United States occupied Japan from September 1945 to April 1952 and forced it to write a new constitution, in which it promised to never go to war again. This new contact with Europeans and Americans changed the Japanese culture. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 stopped some old ways and added many new ones. The Empire of Japan was created, and it became a very powerful nation and tried to invade the countries next to it.

Most roads have no name; instead, cities are split into neighborhoods with names, which are divided into numbered districts (丁目 chōme), which are subdivided into numbered street blocks. Addresses are written in order from largest to smallest; an example address ending in 名駅4丁目5-6 or 名駅4-5-6 would be the neighborhood of Meieki (名駅), district 4, block 5, house 6. (Addresses are usually written in English as “Meieki 4-5-6” or “4-5-6 Meieki”, although the post office recommends the confusing “5-6 Meieki 4-chome”.) Additional numbers may be appended for the floor or room number. Foreigners who travel frequently to Japan may be able to take advantage of Japan’s Trusted Traveler Program to expedite arrival procedures.

Japan has several major political parties, which have shifted, merged, and split over time — which probably explains their confusing names. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP, 自民党 Jimintō), which is generally conservative and pro-business, has been in power almost continuously since 1955. Led by geriatric bureaucrats, mired in factional politics and endless minor scandals, the LDP is increasingly unpopular, but as of 2024 continues to reign with no compelling alternatives in sight. Japan is a constitutional monarchy, modeled after the British parliamentary system.

For example, the word tomodachi ‘friend,’ would become o-tomodachi when referring to the friend of someone of higher status (though mothers often use this form to refer to their children’s friends). On the other hand, a polite speaker may sometimes refer to mizu ‘water’ as o-mizu in order to show politeness. Since most relationships are not equal in Japanese society, one person typically has a higher position.

Japanese have pondered for centuries what the best hot springs in the country are, and they’ve come up with quite a few. Bathing is a big deal in Japan, and be it a scenic onsen hot spring, a neighborhood sentō bath or just an ordinary household tub, bathing Japanese style is a pleasure. Whereas a Western “bath” is used for washing in, “baths” in Japan are for soaking and relaxing, more like a hot tub.