Japan Travel - 10 Interesting facts about Japan

The Land of the Rising Sun, Japan is located in the eastern region of Asia. It is an island with an area of 377,944 km2 .

Photo provided by Danny Choo - Flickr

Japan is a giant when it comes to their economy; it has the world’s third largest economy. It is also ranked as the 4th largest importer and exporter. As it is with every country, it has its own facts and figures. All of them contain great information regarding the place. It helps one draw a picture of the country in mind.

Given below are some interesting facts about Japan.

• Japanese people are expected to have long lives; they can live up to 90 years on average. This is due to their healthy diet and the healthy routines which they follow regularly and punctually.

• The people of Japan follow two major religions: Shinto and Buddhism. Over the years these religions have become very close to each other. For someone new to Japan it is very hard to differentiate between them.

• Japan has a very high population density. This is due to the fact that the land of Japan is covered by mountains by more than 70%, only 18% of the land is used as cities and towns.

• The area in which Japan is situated is known as 'The Ring of Fire' in the Pacific due to the volcanic nature of the mountains. It has 200 volcanoes, most of which are active. It could also be termed as the land of earthquakes, as it has been estimated that the Japanese endure over 1500 earthquakes every year.

• Another interesting fact is that the most famous and tallest mountain of Japan, Mount Fuji is an active volcano. Most people are unaware of this fact. The 3776m pit of lava can burst anytime so people should be careful.


• Amazingly Japan’s literacy rate is above 95%. Four different writing systems are used in Japan which are Hiragana, Romaji, Kanji and Katakana. Besides these, English is also used in most of the educational institutions to keep their youth in touch with the world.

• Japan’s national sport is Sumo Wrestling. A stew called Chankonabe is specially given to sumo wrestlers to help them gain weight and fatten up. Judo Karate and Kendo are also widely practiced in the country and several competitions are held every year. Surprisingly baseball is also a popular sport in Japan; the Japanese baseball league was started in 1936.

• In Japan, raised floors indicate that you have to take off your footwear before you enter the place. If you go to Japan you will notice that at entrance of houses the floor will be raised about 6 inches above normal level. People also put mats as indicators but still the floor is raised, and in these cases, it is only raised about 2 inches.

• The most expensive food in Japan is Fugu. To become a fugu chef one has to undertake intensive training of 8-10 years on average. However, in the near future this might not be necessary as fish farms are planning to produce non-poisonous blowfish.

• Raw horse meat is a popular food in Japan.
Other more popular foods will include their staple food rice as an ingredient.

Andrew is passionate about Japanese culture and food. Andrew is training on how to make sushi and maki using sushi machines and maki machines