Japanese are proud of their four seasons (and a surprising number believe the phenomenon is unique to Japan), but the discerning tourist should try to aim for two of them.
Spring is probably the best time of year to be in Japan. The temperatures are warm but not hot, there's not too much rain, and March-April brings the justly famous cherry blossoms and is a time of revelry and festivals. Just watch out for Golden Week (April 27 to May 6), the longest holiday of the year, when everybody travels and everything is booked full.
Summer starts with a dreary rainy season in June and turns into a steam bath in July-August, with extreme humidity and the temperature heading as high as 40°C. O-Bon (mid-August), when everybody is on the road again, is probably the worst possible time to visit. Avoid, or do as the Japanese do and head to northern Hokkaido or the mountains of Chubu and Tohoku to escape.
Autumn - Fall, starting in September, is a close second to spring. Temperatures become more tolerable, fair days are common and fall colors can be just as impressive as cherry blossoms.
Winter is a good time to go skiing or hot-spring hopping, but as the Japanese have yet to figure out the wonders of central heating, it's often miserably cold indoors. Heading south to Okinawa provides some relief. Also watch out for New Years (December 29 to January 3), the only days of the year when everything in the country shuts down.
The yen (Japanese 円 ) is the currency of Japan. It is the third most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling. The ISO 4217 codes for the yen are JPY and 392. The romanised symbol is ¥ while in Japanese it is also written with the kanji 円. While not a usage specific to currency, large quantities of yen are often counted in multiples of 10,000 (man, 万) in the same way as values in the United States are often quoted or rounded off to hundreds or thousands.
Japan is a country of over three thousand islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. The main islands, running from north to south, are Hokkaidō, Honshū (the main island), Shikoku and Kyūshū. The Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, are a chain of islands south of Kyushū. Together they are often known as the Japanese Archipelago.
About 70% to 80% of the country is forested, mountainous, and unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use. This is because of the generally steep elevations, climate and risk of landslides caused by earthquakes, soft ground and heavy rain. This has resulted in an extremely high population density in the habitable zones that are mainly located in coastal areas. Japan is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the juncture of three tectonic plates, gives Japan frequent low-intensity tremors and occasional volcanic activity. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunamis, occur several times each century. The most recent major quakes are the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake and the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. Hot springs are numerous and have been developed as resorts.
The earliest known inhabitants of this group of islands were hunters, fisherman and gatherers who came from Korea or Siberia, or by sea from Polynesia. The arrival of Buddhism in the sixth century influenced Japan significantly and introduced Chinese elements in political institutions, the writing system, and the lifestyle of the ruling class. Shinto deities took on Buddhist forms.
By the eleventh century, these influences waned and the country entered a long feudal period, during which different rulers and a Shogun (military leader) exercised power over Japan. This era lasted till the nineteenth century when the Tokugawa Shogunate’s reign, which insisted on strict obedience and loyalty and exercised almost fanatical control against outside influences, started declining. In 1868, the Meiji Restoration transformed Japan into a world power under the guidance of rulers dedicated to the pursuit of national wealth and strength. This was also the time that Westernization and modernization shaped the country into much of what it is presently.
While Japan sided with the Allied forces during WWI, it signed a tripartite pact with Germany and Italy in 1940 and WWII saw conflict with the US, with disastrous consequences—the release of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan was occupied until 1952 by US forces but a recovery program after that enabled the economy to expand rapidly, and Japan became the world's most successful export economy.
In recent years, a massive earthquake in 1995 and a poison gas attack on the Tokyo subway system as well as a sluggish economy have been concerns that the country has grappled with.
If a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will also be a holiday. If a day lies between two national holidays, the day will also be turned into a holiday.
Japan population is 127,463,610 according to the 2006 estimate. With an average population density of 323 persons per sq km, population of Japan ranks ninth in the world. Though the Japanese people are among the most crowded ones on this earth, yet they are slowest growing.
Population of Japan is not uniformly distributed within the country. The steep mountain and interior areas of Honshu and Hokkaido are sparsely populated. On the other hand Japan population density is very high in the coastal plains. With a population density of 13,000 persons per sq km, Tokyo is one of the most crowded urban cities of the world.
Japan population is known for its urbane character. The 70 percent of the total population of Japan belong to urban households. Even Tokyo is the biggest urban conglomerate of the world. Other cities like Yakohama, Kyoto and Ashikawa are major urban areas of the world. This high urbanization in Japan is attributed to the large scale industrialization and lack of land for agriculture in Japan.
Japan population is one of the world's slowest growing. People in Japan, at present are growing at a speed of 0.02 percent per annum. This led to the myth of Shrinking of Japanese society. This slow growth rate in the Japanese society is ascribed to low birthrates (9.4 births per 1,000 people as in 2006) and comparatively foreign immigration.
The standard rate of children per couple in Japan population is less than 1.5. The population of Japan is projected to start declining soon due to the decrease of net reproduction rate to below 1.0 for a decade. It means the number of aged is increasing and their place is not occupied by new born babies. Estimated to about 120 million in 2025, the population of Japan will decline to be about 100 million in 2050.
The section of the population of Japan between 0 and 14 years declined from 35.4 % in 1950 to 15.2% in 1998. On the other hand, people aged 65 or older augmented from 4.9% to 16.0% within the same time span.
People in Japan are known for their ethics, work standards and cultural ethos. Have you ever been to the land of such people? Japan Travel Guide offers online information on Population of Japan. To have a tour of Japan fill the form given below.
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