JapanChelsea Paige

Japans LocationJapan 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 OceanThe countries across the Sea of Japan are North Korea, South Korea and Russia

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

Japan FlagAdopted by Japan on February 27th, 1870Most commonly known as Hinomaru which means sun disk or Nipon, the The Land of the Rising Sun The red circle in the middle represents the sun, and the sun represents sincerity, brightness, warmth, bravery, strength and valorThe white background stands for purity and honesty

Japan CurrencyThe 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 AlphabetJapan 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

Japanese SuffixesThere are many ways to call people in Japan by adding suffixesSan means Mr./Mrs./Ms. or for people you barely met and its also for people youre not close to but know them, and a way of showing respectKun is generally used for boys, but also can be used for girls if someone elderly is addressing themChan is usually used if you have a certain fondness for the person, most commonly girlsNiichan and Neechan are for older brother and sister respectively and the more formal Niisama and NeesamaThere are many others, including uncle, aunt, grandpa, etc.

Politeness and ImpolitenessBeing polite is one of the most important qualitiesA bow is the proper way to greet someone, however when meeting a foreigner, a handshake is fineYawning, chewing gum, putting your ankle over your knee, and blowing your nose in public are all considered impoliteWhen eating soup, slurping is not impolite, in fact, its considered as gratitude by showing the cook youre enjoying the mealWalking and eating is impolite for an adult, but for a kid, its alrightLaughing can be a sign of embarrassment

FamilyA man is the head of the family The woman works and raises the children Usually the male and female are equalThere are almost always fewer than three kids Teenagers date around fifteen and do the same things as us, such as going out to eat, seeing a movie, etc. The usual marrying age is twenty-seven for males and twenty-six for females Weddings are important and also expensive and are most commonly held in hotels Divorce and single parenthood is very rare

Living StyleThere 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

SchoolSchoolwork is very importantEven in kindergarten, kids are expected to do their very best and nothing less Its very serious and rigorousGetting into the right school can guarantee success for their whole life School is free ages six to fifteenThere are often school uniforms students are required to wear, which helps distinguish schools from each other English is taught in all secondary schools (which is around high school age) because it is often used in business deals and etc. School is everyday except Sunday and is held twice a month on Saturday

Anime and MangaAnime is like a cartoon, except for all ages, not just kids while manga is Japanese graphic novels and also directed towards older agesSome popular ones are: Bleach, Detective Conan, Inuyasha, Ranma , and many moreMany are ongoing, and publish them weekly in a magazine called Shonen SundayPeople love anime and manga all around the world, not just Japan

TraditionsPeople go to temples to pray for many things, such as a good grade on a testYou 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 onceThey 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 luckYou can also buy good luck charms

Mount FujiMt. Fuji is a currently dormant volcano near the Yamanashi and Karagawa PrefecturesThe last time Mt. Fuji erupted was in November 1707 and has remained dormant since February 1708Mt. Fuji is 3,776 meters high or 12,388.45 feetMt. Fuji is also known as Fuji-san and is a well known landmark

Cherry BlossomsCherry blossom trees are called sakuraA popular thing to do in Japan is go flower viewingThere are many cherry blossom parks you can visitUsually schools have cherry blossom trees outside of themThere are festivals called hanami to enjoy the flowers

Tokyo TowerTokyo Tower is in Tokyo and is the worlds tallest self-supporting towerBased of Frances Eiffel Tower333 meters tall, 13 meters higher than the Eiffel TowerAt the top of the tower, theres a TV and broadcast antennaBuilt in 1958 as Japans birth economically

Located in Tokyo Dome CityOpened on March 17th, 1988Many sports and concerts have and still are taking place in the Dome60 NFL and baseball games are held yearlyMadonna, Michael Jackson, the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, etc. have had a concert in the DomeCan fit up to 55,000 people at once

Peace Memorial ParkBuilt in Hiroshima after the US dropped the Atomic Bomb120,000 square metersEvery year, theres an anniversary the day the bomb was dropped with speeches for loved ones, etc.The main facility is the Peace Memorial Museum

AkihabaraAkihabara is also called AkibaIn TokyoHundreds of stores and shops, mostly for electronicsGaming, anime and manga is also popular Famous for cosplay cafes: Regular cafes except where waitresses dress up as anime characters

Random FactsSushi is expensive; it is usually only bought on rare occasions Adults like to drink a type of alcohol called sake, which is rice wine.Medical teams wear helmets and blue scrubs The life expectancy rate for males are 79 and 86 for female. Business people wear ties and suits, just like in America and Europe. People dress in harmony with other people, but comfortablyA major holiday is New Years EveThe prime minister is the head of government The voting age is twenty People travel in cars, planes, subways, and trains For a funeral, bodies are burned instead of buriedThey have cigarette vending machines as well as regular ones They have indoor beaches

BibliographyAiming for Japan 2009. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . AnimeCrazy.net. "Detective Conan Wallpapers for Free| Download Detective Conan Wallpapers." AnimeCrazy.net - Discuss Anime | Read Fan Reviews | Download Wallpapers | Watch Anime. 2007. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . Asia Hotels. "Nihongo For Dummies Japanese Alphabet Table Asian News on Travel and Hotels." AsiaHotels.com Travel Blog. 2007. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. . Best Places. "Tokyo Tower." Best Places. 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . Bruno, Laura. "In U.S., Afghan Women Find Freedom to Study - Worldnews.com." World News Network, 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . Eclipse Digital Imaging, Inc. "Japan Flag Flying - Symbols and Signs - 3D Animated Clipart for PowerPoint - PresenterMedia.com." Presenter Media - PowerPoint Templates, 3D Animations, and Clipart for Presenters and Creative Professionals. 2009. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. . Globe Media Ltd. "Japan Map, Japan Maps and Travel Guides." Word Travels - Travel Guide. Destination Guides for the World Traveller. 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. . JapanNewbie. "Omamori, Japanese Good Luck Charms|JapanNewbie." JapanNewbie|. 2009. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. .

Bibliography Continued

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Land. "Hiroshima City (Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Pref.)." Japan National Tourism Organization Web Site. 2007. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . MyDisguises. "Top Cosplay Cities - Tokyo!" My Disguises - We Love Costumes. 2007. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . SDK. "Home Page." SWiSH [global2.swi]. 1988. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. . "SmTown Live in Tokyo." | Trust and Support HoMin :: Current Members of TVXQ: U-KNOW Yunho & MAX Changmin. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . Travel Destination Pictures and Travel Photography. "Japan Landscape Mt Fuji Picture." Travel Pictures from Great Travel and Vacation Destinations from around the World. 2000. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. . Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . WordPress. "Introduction of Japan Capital & Currency, Etc Japan Encyclopedia." Japan Encyclopedia. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . Yahoo Inc. "Cherry Blossom Park. (Explored) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!" Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. .

Bibliography ContinuedMinistry of Land, Infrastructure and Land. "Hiroshima City (Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Pref.)." Japan National Tourism Organization Web Site. 2007. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . MyDisguises. "Top Cosplay Cities - Tokyo!" My Disguises - We Love Costumes. 2007. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . SDK. "Home Page." SWiSH [global2.swi]. 1988. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. . "SmTown Live in Tokyo." | Trust and Support HoMin :: Current Members of TVXQ: U-KNOW Yunho & MAX Changmin. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . Travel Destination Pictures and Travel Photography. "Japan Landscape Mt Fuji Picture." Travel Pictures from Great Travel and Vacation Destinations from around the World. 2000. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. . Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . WordPress. "Introduction of Japan Capital & Currency, Etc Japan Encyclopedia." Japan Encyclopedia. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. . Yahoo Inc. "Cherry Blossom Park. (Explored) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!" Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. .

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