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The Land and Geographic Facts of Japan
The Land:
Japan is a country located in Pacific Ocean, east from China and Korea. The 
surface area of Japan is 374,744 square kilometers. Japan is actually 
smaller than California which has area of 411,00 square kilometers. After 
World War II, Japan's land was reduced to it's present size. Okinawa 
remained however under American control until 1971.

Japan is a country on volcanic land - most unsuitable for urbanization. This 
makes the land very fertile but also produces many earthquakes. There are 80 
active volcanoes in Japan, 10% of world's 800 volcanoes. The highest point 
of Japan is a dormant volcano Mount Fuji. It has a height of 3,776 metres 
(12,388 feet).

The Islands:
Japan has five main islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa. 
Okinawa is the southernmost island, while Hokkaido is the northernmost. In 
addition to these largest islands, there are many small islands around 
Japan. Such are Kagoshima, south from Kyushu (not shown in the map) and 
Kunashiri-to which is northeast from Hokkaido.

Also, south from the Bay of Tokyo there are so called Izu islands that 
consists O-shima, To-shima, Nii-jima, Miyake-jima, Mikura-jima Hachijo-jima, 
Aoga-shima and most distant, small Tori-shima, famoust of it's volcano 
Izu-Torishima. Island is called "shima" in Japanese, which explains the 
suffix.

The Lakes:
There are about 100 lakes in Japan. The most famous and largest freshwater 
lake is Biwa, located near Kyoto. Lake Biwa has been the subject for haiku 
poets and artists through times. The area of Biwa is 670 square kilometers.

Inawashiro-ko, in Fukushima prefecture, and Kasumiga-ura in Ibaraki are 
another famous lakes in Japan.

Lakes are called "ko" in Japanese. Therefore it's Biwako.

The Rivers:
Rivers of Japan flow rapidly since Japan is mountainous country. This causes 
rivers of Japan to be prone to flooding. River called Tone in Ibaraki 
prefecture floods almost every spring. Most famous river in Japan could be 
Sumidagawa which flows literally inside Tokyo. As Lake Biwa for people in 
Kyoto, Sumidagawa has been a lyrical paradise for haikuists in Tokyo. Rivers 
in Japan are galled with suffix "gawa". Rivers are facing a serious 
pollution problem especially in large populated areas in Japan if something 
is not done and fast.

The Cities:
The capital city of Japan today is Tokyo. In fact it has not always been the 
capital - Kyoto was the capital of Japan until Meiji Restoration of 1868, 
when Emperor packed his bags and moved to Edo. The name was then changed 
from Tokyo which means eastern capital. Other famous cities in Japan are are 
Nakano, Sapporo city in Hokkaido island, Hiroshima and Fukuoka in Kyushu.

Suburbs in Japan are formed usually around the railway lines and stations. 
Most Japanese do not use car to get to work since trains are more fast and 
convenient, even if very crowded.

The Prefectures:
Japan is divided to 47 prefectures that all carry out independent 
administrative duties. You can see these prefectures illustrated in Hanami 
Web Maps.

Timezone:
Japan time zone is GMT +9.


Climate:
Since northern islands reach up north, while southernmost islands south, 
there is great variation in weather conditions in Japan. Winter is as cold 
as in Finland in Hokkaido, while Okinawa is in fact a tropical island. The 
rainy season, tsuyu is in June and actual summer begins in Japan usually in 
July. Summer is generally very hot and humid season in Japan. Almost every 
house is airconditioned in Japan not only to remove moist from the air but 
to cool down the temperature into a bearable level.

Natural disasters:
Japan is a country on volcanic soil - therefore there are earthquakes and 
volcanic eruptions. Mt.Fuji is an active volcano only in dormant state and 
is expected to wakeup sometimes not too far in the future..

Most recent terrible earthquake happened in Kobe, 1995 and is known as "The 
Great Hanshin Earthquake". It is expected that Tokyo would have it's most 
terrible earthquake ever, the so called "Big One" soon. The earthquakes in 
Pacific can also cause the feared tsunami.
Typhoons are storms that come from Southern Pacific Ocean. Although they are 
not as dangerous as earthquakes and tsunamis are, it's wise to stay inside 
when typhoon warning has given.


-- 
Hanami Web - Special Knowledge about Japan
http://hanami.ath.cx