Tokyo Japan

CHRISTOPHER MS. BABB GR.7

Japan in the World

Location: yJapan is an island in Eastern Asia. yIt is an archipelago; a group of islands. yIts coast line is about 30,oookm. yThe area is 377,835 square km or 145,882 square miles. yThe island is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. yJapan is 3500km/2174miles from North to South. yI chose Japan, Tokyo because I knew nothing about this place and I also thought it would be difficult to do.

Tokyo Facts
Largest city in Japan Coordinates of Tokyo are 35 degree

41 minute North latitude and 139 degree 46 minute East longitude There are 23 wards & 62 municipalities in the Metropolis of Tokyo. The time zone of Tokyo is 9 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. Tokyo is in the Kanto region of Japan. It occupies an area of 2,187.08 sq km. The population of Tokyo census of 2006 is 12,678,395.

PLACE: Fascinating Facts

y Tokyo was previously known as Edo. It was renamed to y y y y y y

Tokyo in the year 1867 Home of the Emperor of Japan and is the capital of the country Japanese is the official language of Tokyo. The literacy rate in Tokyo is about 99 % The people of Tokyo follow the religions of Buddhism, Shinto and Christianity The Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport are two major airports in Tokyo The currency of Tokyo is Yen. 76.5JPY= 1 CAN Credit cards are not accepted by many organizations

Fascinating Facts
y One of the most developed areas in Japan y Tokyo has skyscrapers, cosmopolitan industries, y

y y

outsized shopping arcades and extravagant restaurants Very modern but also has time-honoured traditions in the form of its shrines, ryokans (guesthouses) and many museums. The Greater Tokyo Area that includes Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama, is the most densely populated metropolitan area in the world Tokyo is home to many of the world's most developed investment banks and insurance companies. Railways in Tokyo have the most extensive urban railway network in the whole world

Weather
y Tokyos seasons are similar to those in the Canada. The hottest months

y y

y y y

are July through September, with daily high temperatures in the 80s Fahrenheit, according to Weather.com. It can be so humid, that the Japanese people will say you can walk and swim at the same time. The coldest months are January and February. Tokyo is on an island, the ocean helps temper most severe weather. Located as it is on the ocean side of the island, Tokyo winters tend to be mild with sunny days. Tokyo has two rainy seasons June and the beginning of July. September is the other rainy season. The amount of rainfall during these two seasons is more than 7 inches per month. The average monthly rainfall in Tokyo is 4.6 inches. Because of the additional rain, June tends to have only 120 hours of sunshine, and September only has 113 hours of sunshine. That makes these two month the least sunny in Tokyo

Weather (continued)
y A typhoon is Japans version of a hurricane. Being on the

ocean side of the island, Tokyo is susceptible to them. y Buildings, roads and other things found in abundance in the cities absorb heat during the day and release it at night, which helps keep the temperatures high. Part of this is caused because Tokyo doesnt have many parks or trees.

Climate
Japan has many different climate zones. It has a temperate climate with all four seasons. There is heavy snowfall in the winter very year in the northern island of Hokkaido. In 1970 the town of Kutchan got 312m or more than 10 feet of snow in one whole day! The total amount of snow for that year was 20m or 66 feet of snow. On the island of Okinawa(with a daily temperature of 20 degrees Celsius/72 degrees Fahrenheit) receives 200cm/80 inches of rain due to semi-tropical climate.

Religion
y In Japan, 95% of the people follow a blend of y y y y

Shintoism and Buddhism. 1% of their religions are: Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Sikhs. The native religion of Japan, which is Shinto, was first developed in prehistoric times. Buddhists belong in the Mahayana school which came from Baekje, Korea to Japan. In Japan, the 2 religions practices are combined into a single religion with Buddhist temples at the same site as the important Shinto shrines.

Customs, Traditions & Celebrations

y Traditions of Tokyo reflect the age-old customs of

the country. y The bowing ikebana and the tea ceremony are considered to be important festivals that reflect the rich tradition of Tokyo. y The people of Tokyo strictly maintain decorum and consider bowing as a symbol of politeness. y The Japanese use act of bowing as a form of greeting each other.

HUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION: History

y Japan was likely to settle around 35,000 years ago by

Paleolithic people from Asian land, and, nearly 10,000 years ago after the last Ice Age, a culture called Jomon developed. y They loved and fashioned fur clothing, wooden houses, and elaborate day vessels. Scientists believe that Ainu people are descendants of the Jomon people. y The Yayoi people came from Korea and introduced us to metal-working, rice cultivation, and weaving.

HUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION: History

y The Japanese culture quickly developed during the y y

y y

Heian era (710-1185 A.D). During this time, a samurai warrior class developed. The Samurai lords, called shoguns took over governmental power in 1185 and overruled Japan until 1868. The Kamakura Shogunate, 1185-1333, ruled a lot of Japan from the governmental city of Kyoto. A strong emperor named Go-Diago tried to over through shogunate rule in 1331,resulting in a civil war between the northern and southern courts that ended in 1342.

HUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS: History

y In 1868 a new constitutional monarchy was

established, headed by the Meiji Emperor. Also, the power that the shoguns had was broken. y Later, the Meiji Emperor had his death and his son became the Taisho Emperor (1912-1926). y The Showa Emperor, Hirohito(1926-1989), saw that Japan had an aggressive expansion during WWII, its surrender, and rebirth as a modern, industrialized nation.

Famous People
y Popular Hollywood flicks like The Fast and the

Furious, Kill Bill, and Lost In Translation have been filmed in Tokyo. y Also, classical Japanese movies like Godzilla and Seven Samurai were great movies in Japan. y Yohji Yamamoto fashion designer y Hideki Matsui major league baseball player New York Yankees y Yoko Ono artist & musician was married to John Lennon of the group The Beatles

MOVEMENT
y There are many mountains in Japan, but the largest is

3,776m/12,390feet. y The longest river in Japan is Ishikari,268km long. y In Japan, they export goods all around the world to make our lives better and get imports from us to make their lives better. y The largest lake in Japan is Biwa, 670.3km2, depth of 103.8m.

REGIONS: Food & Drink

y In Japan one of the main types of food is usually sea

y y y y y

food and sushi. To make sushi, you need mainly 4 ingredients: rice, fish, vegetables, and seaweed. In Japan, rice is the most important food. In Japan, when you eat noodles it is OK to make slurping noises, but, you still need your table manners! Sea food in Japan is in almost every cuisine. You would always use chopsticks to eat in Japan. Sake is a Japanese alcoholic rice wine drink.

REGIONS: Language
y In Japan, a big majority of their people (99%) speak

Japanese as their primary language. y Japanese is in a Japonic language family, seems to be unrelated to Chinese and Korean. y The Japanese language has borrowed words from Chinese, English, and other languages. y 49% of the Japanese language has loaned words from the Chinese language and 9% from the English language.

Dress

Where I found my information

Books : Destination detectives Japan and Japan a primary source cultural guide.

Websites: y Google Images y http://worldinterpreting.com/Japan_Famouspeople .aspx, http://www.google.ca, www.youtube.com, and http://www.wikipedia.com.

THE END