Japan

📖 In short

Japan is an island country in the northern Pacific Ocean, east of mainland Asia. It's made up of four big islands and thousands of small ones. Its capital is Tokyo, one of the biggest cities in the world. In its people's language Japan is called “Nihon”, meaning “origin of the sun”.

🤩 Did you know?

Japan's capital is Tokyo.
Japan has 47 prefectures.
The currency is the yen, and the language is Japanese.
The four main islands stretch about 1900 kilometers.

🗂️ Fact file

Capital: Tokyo
Official language: Japanese
Official name: Nippon or Nihon (origin of the sun)
Currency: Basic currency unit: the yen
Area: 377,829 km²
Population: 2000 estimates: 126,472,000 people

🔎 Find out more

🌟 Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji is Japan's highest mountain, a volcano with a snowy top and a beautiful, even shape, and the Japanese see it as a symbol of their country.

🔍 Earthquakes and volcanoes

Japan lies on the Ring of Fire and has many earthquakes. So the Japanese build their buildings in special ways to withstand shaking, and children practice at school what to do in an earthquake.

💡 The bullet train

Japan has very fast trains called “shinkansen”, whose fronts are shaped like a bullet. They travel at more than 300 kilometers an hour and arrive exactly on time.

🎯 Lovely customs

The Japanese take off their shoes before going into the house and greet each other by bowing. In spring they celebrate the pink cherry blossoms by sitting under the trees with their families.