-Enjoy a traditional stay-
ABOUT JAPAN
Country｜Japan
Currency｜Yen
Island｜6,852
Country code｜+81
Area｜377,975 km2
Capital City｜Tokyo
Largest City｜Tokyo
Rainy season｜Early May
Population｜125,960,000
National language｜Japanese
Driving side｜Left and Right
Average winter temperature｜5.1 °C (41.2 °F)
Average summer temperature｜25.2 °C (77.4 °F)
Famous city｜Tokyo・Chiba・Shizuoka・Kyoto・Kobe・Nagoya・Sapporo・Okinawa・Osaka
INTRODUCTION
-Introduction of Japan-
Japan is an island country of East Asia in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It borders the Sea of Japan to the west and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. Japan is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and comprises an archipelago of 6,852 islands covering 377,975 square kilometers; its five main islands, from north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Tokyo is the country's capital and largest city; other major cities include Osaka and Nagoya.
Japan is a global leader in the automotive and electronics industries and has made significant contributions to science and technology. Japan has the world's second-highest life expectancy, though it is currently experiencing a decline in population. Culturally, Japan is renowned for its art, cuisine, music, and popular culture, including its prominent animation and video game industries.
LANGUAGE
-Languages of Japan-
Kanji and Hiragana signs
More than 99 % of the population speaks Japanese as their first language. Japanese writing uses kanji (Chinese characters) and two sets of kana , as well as the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals.Public and private schools generally require students to take Japanese language classes as well as English language courses.
Besides Japanese, the Ryukyuan languages (Amami, Kunigami, Okinawan, Miyako, Yaeyama, Yonaguni), also part of the Japonic language family, are spoken in the Ryukyu Islands chain. Few children learn these languages,but in recent years local governments have sought to increase awareness of the traditional languages. The Okinawan Japanese dialect is also spoken in the region. The Ainu language, which is a language isolate, is moribund, with only a few elderly native speakers remaining in Hokkaido.
CLIMATE
-Climate of Japan-
The average winter temperature in Japan is 5.1 °C (41.2 °F) and the average summer temperature is 25.2 °C (77.4 °F). The main rainy season begins in early May in Okinawa. The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate but varies greatly from north to south. Japan's geographical features divide it into six principal climatic zones:
HOKKAIDO
The northernmost zone, Hokkaido, has a humid continental climate with long, cold winters and very warm to cool summers. Precipitation is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snowbanks in the winter.
SEA OF JAPAN
In the Sea of Japan zone on Honshu's west coast, northwest winter winds bring heavy snowfall. In the summer, the region is cooler than the Pacific area, though it sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures because of the foehn.
CENTRAL HIGHLAND
The Central Highland has a typical inland humid continental climate, with large temperature differences between summer and winter, as well as large diurnal variation; precipitation is light, though winters are usually snowy.
SETO INLAND SEA
The mountains of the Chugoku and Shikoku regions shelter the Seto Inland Sea from seasonal winds, bringing mild weather year-round.
PACIFIC OCEAN
The Pacific coast features a humid subtropical climate that experiences milder winters with occasional snowfall and hot, humid summers because of the southeast seasonal wind.
RYUKYU ISLANDS
The Ryukyu and Nanpō Islands have a subtropical climate, with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation is very heavy, especially during the rainy season.
FOUR SEASONS
Spring・Summer・Autumn・Winter
Japan’s weather and climate features four distinct seasons, something which the local Japanese seem to be quite proud of. Depending on the experience you’re after, each season offers its own unique conditions and attractions however, the best time to visit Japan is generally spring or autumn when the weather is fine and mild.
SPRING
The flower season
Spring from March to May is perhaps one of the very best times to visit Japan as temperatures are pleasantly warm without being too hot, with daytime temperatures ranging between 21C to 26C. The weather is fine with little rain and from March to April, the landscape is awash with colour as the famous Cherry Blossoms bloom and festivals are celebrated.
SUMMER
Sweet sweat, take a seat indoor
Summer from June to August begins with heavy rainfall which turns the country into a steam bath with temperatures as high as 35C and extreme humidity. If you plan on visiting Japan during the summer weather, northern areas such as Hokkaido or the mountains of Tohoku or Chubu are the most comfortable places to escape the heat. The best thing about summer however is the fantastic firework shows and festivals.
AUTUMN
Get stuck in a colourful culture
Autumn from September to November is also a wonderful time to visit Japan with the weather much more tolerable than in summer. The days are commonly fair and the landscape turns to rich autumn shades which are almost as impressive as the stunning cherry blossoms. However, visitors to Japan in autumn should be aware that this is also typhoon season in parts of southern Japan which can bring things to a standstill so plan accordingly.
WINTER
Experience powder snow from heaven
Winter from December to February is a magical time to visit as the landscape is turned white with snow. It’s the perfect time to go skiing or check out the hot springs however visitors should be aware that it does get very cold and some areas can receive quite heavy snow or freezing wind blasts from Siberia. Okinawa is a great place to visit during the winter as it is not quite as cold as the rest of Japan’s weather. Temperatures in winter generally range from -4C up to 21C in some warmer parts.
SERVICES AND TOURISM
Japan's service sector accounts for about three-quarters of its total economic output.Banking, insurance, real estate, retailing, transportation, and telecommunications are all major industries, with companies such as Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho, NTT, TEPCO, Nomura, Mitsubishi Estate, ÆON, Mitsui Sumitomo, Softbank, JR East, Seven & I, KDDI and Japan Airlines listed as some of the largest in the world.The six major keiretsus are the Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Fuyo, Mitsui, Dai-Ichi Kangyo and Sanwa Groups.
Japan attracted 19.73 million international tourists in 2015 and increased by 21.8% to attract 24.03 million international tourists in 2016. In 2008, the Japanese government set up Japan Tourism Agency and set the initial goal to increase foreign visitors to 20 million in 2020. In 2016, having met the 20 million target, the government revised up its target to 40 million by 2020 and to 60 million by 2030.For inbound tourism, Japan was ranked 16th in the world in 2015.Japan is one of the least visited countries in the OECD on a per capita basis.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
-Science, technology and Video gaming in Japan-
Japan is a leading nation in scientific research, particularly in the natural sciences and engineering. The country ranks 2nd among the most innovative countries in the Bloomberg Innovation Index. Nearly 700,000 researchers share a US$130 billion research and development budget, which relative to gross domestic product is the third highest budget in the world. The country is a world leader in fundamental scientific research, having produced twenty-two Nobel laureates in either physics, chemistry or medicine and three Fields medallists.
Japanese scientists and engineers have contributed to the advancement of agricultural sciences, electronics, industrial robotics, optics, chemicals, semiconductors, life sciences and various fields of engineering. Japan leads the world in robotics production and use, possessing more than 20% of the world's industrial robots as of 2013. Japan boasts the third highest number of scientists, technicians, and engineers per capital in the world with 83 per 10,000 employees.
The Japanese consumer electronics industry, once considered the strongest in the world, is currently in a state of decline as competition arises in countries like South Korea, the United States and China. However, video gaming in Japan remains a major industry. Japan became a major exporter of video games during the golden age of arcade video games. Japanese-made video game consoles have been popular since the 1980s. Japan is now the world's largest market for mobile games.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is Japan's national space agency; it conducts space, planetary, and aviation research, and leads development of rockets and satellites. It is a participant in the International Space Station: the Japanese Experiment Module (Kibō) was added to the station during Space Shuttle assembly flights in 2008.The space probe Akatsuki was launched in 2010 and achieved orbit around Venus in 2015. Japan's plans in space exploration include building a moon base by 2030.
AGRICULTURE AND FISHERY
-Agriculture, forestry, and fishing in Japan-
The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1.4% of the total country's GDP. Only 12% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation. Because of this lack of arable land, a system of terraces is used to farm in small areas.This results in one of the world's highest levels of crop yields per unit area, with an overall agricultural self-sufficiency rate of about 50% on fewer than 56,000 square kilometers (14,000,000 acres) cultivated. Japan's small agricultural sector, however, is also highly subsidised and protected, with government regulations that favor small-scale cultivation instead of large-scale agriculture.Rice, the most protected crop, is subject to tariffs of 777.7%.
In 1996, Japan ranked fourth in the world in tonnage of fish caught.Japan ranked seventh and captured 3,167,610 metric tons of fish in 2016, down from an annual average of 4,000,000 tons over the previous decade. In 2010, Japan's total fisheries production was 4,762,469 fish. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch.
CUISINE
-Japanese cuisine-
Japanese cuisine is known for its emphasis on seasonality of food, quality of ingredients and presentation. Japanese cuisine offers a vast array of regional specialties that use traditional recipes and local ingredients. Seafood and Japanese rice or noodles are traditional staple of Japanese cuisine, typically seasoned with a combination of dashi, soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Dishes inspired by foreign food—in particular Chinese food—like ramen and gyōza, as well as foods like spaghetti, curry, and hamburgers have become adopted with variants for Japanese tastes and ingredients. Japanese curry, since its introduction to Japan from British India, is so widely consumed that it can be called a national dish. Traditional Japanese sweets are known as wagashi. Ingredients such as red bean paste and mochi are used. More modern-day tastes includes green tea ice cream.
Popular Japanese beverages include sake, which is a brewed rice beverage that typically contains 14–17% alcohol and is made by multiple fermentation of rice.Beer has been brewed in Japan since the late 17th century. Green tea is produced in Japan and prepared in various forms such as matcha, used in the Japanese tea ceremony.
INDUSTRY
Manufacturing・Electronics ・Automotive
MANUFACTURING
Steel・Ship building・Aerospace・Petrochemicals・Biotechnology and pharmaceutics
Japan's major export industries include automobiles, consumer electronics, computers, semiconductors, copper, iron and steel.Additional key industries in Japan's economy are petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, bio-industry, shipbuilding, aerospace, textiles, and processed foods.
AUTOMOTIVE
Toyota・Lexus・Daihatsu・Hino・Acura・Infiniti・Suzuki・Mazda・Mitsubishi・Subaru・Isuzu・Nissan・Honda
A plug-in hybrid car manufactured by Toyota, one of the world's largest carmakers – Japan is the third-largest maker of automobiles in the world, the world's largest automobile company. Japan has a large industrial capacity and is home to some of the largest and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemical substances, textiles, and processed foods. Japan's industrial sector makes up approximately 27.5% of its GDP. Some major Japanese industrial companies include Canon Inc., Toshiba and Nippon Steel.The country's manufacturing output is the third highest in the world.
ELECTRONICS
Japan has 7 out of top 20 world's largest chip manufacturers as of 2005. Japan's electronic products are known for their quality, durability, and technological sophistication. Some of these companies cross over to automobile and finance sectors as part of a keiretsu.
Japan's computer industry developed with extraordinary speed and moved into international markets. Japanese computer technologies are some of the most advanced in the world.
The leading computer main frame manufacturers in Japan at the end of the 1980s (in the domestic market) were:
Leading personal computer manufacturers were:
NEC
Fujitsu
Seiko Epson
Toshiba
IBM Japan