The Other Side of Japan

Japan is a unique Asian country. Not only is it home to the largest metropolitan area by population but despite how small of a country it is, it also has beautiful landscapes beyond Tokyo. I think that’s how most people view Japan, they either think of the never ending city of Tokyo or they think of small shacks of Japanese architecture somewhere in the plains of Japan. Let’s dive in deeper about the physical features this country has to offer.
Japan is a county that’s a part of eastern Asia. Japan is pretty much an island that’s between both the Sea of Japan and the North Pacific Ocean, and its east of the Korean Peninsula. Japan covers an area that’s approximately 377,915 square feet, which is just slightly smaller than the state of California. Pretty weird to think a country can be so small.
Let’s get to the important stuff…geography! Generally speaking, the terrain of Japan is mostly rugged and mountainous, and to be honest that’s all that the physical landscape of Japan has to offer. Most of the Japanese mountains are heavily forested and in between them run short rivers which aren’t navigable. Some of the most famous mountains in Japan are Mount Fuji and Mount Hotaka, but there are an abundance amount of different mountains throughout. Mountains make up at least 80% of Japan’s landmass. Within these mountains there are also cherry blossom trees that bring out vibrant pink colors, and add to the scenery. The reason this is due to the tectonic plates moving underneath (that’s a different story, however), but because of that Japan suffers from many earthquakes throughout the year. Since Japan is also located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, it has about 186 volcanoes and about six of them are actually active.
Japan’s climate varies and doesn’t stay the same during the year. South Japan’s weather is usually the more tropical climate throughout the country, while north Japan is somewhat cool but still temperate. June is when Japan gets the most rainfall which lasts about a month, and is followed by a hot summer.
Resources that Japan is able to obtain are many mineral resources. Fish are also easy to obtain considering Japan is an island and they can fish off the coast of any side of the country. Don’t worry I won’t forgot the most famous one, Japan’s traditional sample food, rice. The rainfall Japan receives every year is helpful for cultivating the rice to provide for the rest of the land.
As of two years ago (2013) Japan’s population was about 127.3 million people. That’s crazy, so many people in a country smaller than the size of California. They all fit, I’m not too sure how though. Anyway, the capital of Tokyo serves 36.507 million people as of 2009. That number may or may not be bigger now because the younger people aren’t having children and don’t want to have children, but we’ll see how everything goes these next couple of years.
Even though Japan mostly consists of mountains and short rivers, that doesn’t mean it should be a place you shouldn’t visit. I guarantee the mountainous terrain is absolutely gorgeous and besides, quality is better than quantity.

 

 

CIA. “East & Southeast Asia:: Japan.” The World Factbook (2014): 1-13. Document.
Heinrich, Amy Vladeck. “Japan’s Geography.” Contemporary Japan: A Teaching Workbook (1983): 1-2. Website.