Japan has been attracting travelers since it first opened up to international trade in 1853 due to its beautiful temples, bustling city centers, and amazing food.
Whether you wish to hike up the well-known Mount Fuji, explore the beauties of Tokyo city, or even walk through the captivating bamboo forest, something is interesting for every traveler. Thus, this country is a dream travel destination for many.
Aside from its incredible wildlife, amazing culture, and unique experiences, there are many interesting things that you can enjoy in Japan. So, in this article, we will now discuss some interesting facts about Japan.
Fascinating Japan facts
Japan has the world’s 11th-largest population.
According to an estimate, about 126 million people live in Japan. Since the year 2011, the population of Japan in declining noticeably due to low birth rates. Some say it is because of the difficulty of finding well-paying jobs and expensive childcare.
Japan is an archipelago consisting of 6852 islands
Japan is an archipelago consisting of 6852 islands. The four main islands of this country are Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku.
Honshu is the largest island, and it is home to many of this country’s largest cities, including Osaka, Tokyo, and Kyoto. Located in Honshu, Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest mountain and also of this country’s most famous landmarks.
It stands at 12,389 or 3776 meters tall and is considered one of Japan’s Three Holy Mountains.
More than 80% of Japan in mountainous
About 80% of Japan is covered in the mountains, making this country a cool place to explore. There is a place on Honshu island that is famous as ‘the roof of Japan’ due to this area having so many mountains.
Most of the mountains in Japan, including the Japan Alps, were created because of the collision of the Pacific oceanic crust and the continental crust of Asia. This movement caused the mass of the land to uplift and offered Japan its recent look.
The mountains of Japan are home to many active volcanos
The mountainous parts of Japan are home to more than 100 active volcanos, with a few of the most famous being Mount Aso, Mount Fuji, and Sakurajima.
That number creates up almost 10% of all active volcanos worldwide, which is really interesting. So, to experience some amazing volcanos, you may visit this country at least once.
The life expectancy of Japanese people is 84 years
Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the globe. Second, only to Hong Kong, 84 years is the life expectancy of Japanese people, which is 3 years higher than the life expectancy of the people of the United Kingdom and 5 years longer than the people of the U.S.
Over 28% of Japanese people are 65 or above, the world’s highest proportion. Also, this country has more than 70,000 people that are more than 100 years old.
Japan is home to the island of longevity.
Japan mainly has a specific island known as “the island of longevity.” Japan’s Okinawa is an archipelago that is made up of 160 islands situated in the East China Sea, which is popular for its high life expectancy.
Many island inhabitants live very happy and healthy lives, and it is offered a healthy diet and the concept of “ikigai,” which translates as “reason for being.”
Here is the world’s oldest company, Kongo Gumi
The country Japan is home to the world’s oldest operating business. Kongo Gumi was established in 578 and was a specialist in constructing temples and shrines.
That means this company was founded only a century after the fall of the Roman Empire.
This company worked for over 1400 years as an independent business until 2006 when it became a subsidiary of Takamatsu Kensetsu because of financial difficulties.
However, although Kongo Gumi is not working as an independent business, it still works under a different company.
Japan is home to many other oldest companies.
Besides being the home to the world’s oldest company, Kongo Gumi, Japan has mainly 6 of the world’s oldest companies and thousands of significant firms that have been around for more than 100 years.
Being the earliest among those companies, Kongo Gumi was a specialist in repairing, constructing, and maintaining various Buddhist temples and shrines.
There is a rabbit island in Japan.
In Japan, there is a little island known as Okunoshima, which is popular for being a place full of cute rabbits you may like to cuddle. This island is called rabbit island and has become a very popular tourist attraction over several years.
It is estimated that about 1000 rabbits are wandering around this land, as there are no natural predators on Okunoshima. This island is situated in Japan’s inland sea so you can go there by ferry.
Number 4 is not lucky in Japan.
The number four, or “shi” in Japanese, is considered very unlucky in Japan. This number is avoided throughout the country. The reason is this number sounds very similar to the Japanese word for death.
Hence, this number is avoided in all aspects by the Japanese. Such as, many buildings in Japan don’t have a fourth floor, and also many items are sold in sets of three or five, especially leaving out sets of four.
Here KFC is a Christmas tradition.
In Japan, Christmas isn’t classified as an official holiday because many inhabitants of Japan are not Christian.
However, it is still celebrated by many people in Japan, and one of their Christmas traditions is something you might not expect.
In Japan, people love to head to their local KFC to enjoy a “KFC Christmas dinner.” In total, approx. 3.6 million Japanese people follow this tradition every year.
In Japan, people are hired as transit pushers.
In Japan, using public transportation is incredibly popular because it is completely reliable and almost always on time.
About 57% of people living in Tokyo, the capital city of Japan, get around by using public transport.
This is becoming a big overcrowding issue on trains considering the huge population of Tokyo and how high the percentage of Japanese using public transport is.
Thus, many railways function at about 199% over capacity, which is unbelievable. Thus, people get squished against windows to fit properly inside the train, so “transit pushers” are hired during rush hour.
Dining solo is common in Japan.
Japan is popular as the solo dining capital of the world. Because of an increase in single-person households and a shrinking population, requesting only one table in Japanese restaurants is popular.
So, if you wish to try a meal in a Japanese restaurant but don’t have any companions, you can still enjoy a meal alone.
Slurping noodles is not impolite.
In any other country in the world, slurping your noodles may be regarded as an irritating task to other people.
However, you can easily enjoy noodles by slurping them in Japan. In Japan, slurping noodles is seen as a sign of enjoyment and a gesture that shows the chef that you appreciate his cooking. It is also said that in those noodles, you must add flavor and cool them down.
As this may be a messy way to eat, sometimes bibs are given to foreigners when it comes to eating noodles in Japan.
The capital city of Japan is the world’s largest city
Tokyo city is made up of many different areas, and altogether they have an estimated population of more than 38 million people, which is bigger than the population of Canada. This makes Tokyo the most populated megacity in the world.
Along with the center of Tokyo, the fringe areas of Saitama, Chiba, Sagamihara, Kawasaki, and Yokohama help to make up this huge population.
Over time, these places have expanded, and now they are regarded as one megacity, Tokyo, the living place of Japan’s 28% population.
Japan encounters almost 1500 earthquakes every year.
About 1500 earthquakes take place in this country each year, and the reason behind this is Japan’s location. Japan is situated across three active tectonic plates on the “Pacific Ring of Fire.”
This Pacific Ring of Fire is a specific path home to almost 850-1000 volcanos. These volcanos have been active for the previous 11000 years, so many earthquakes occurred there.
The deadliest earthquake in Japan happened on 1st September 1923. This earthquake lasted for almost between 4 and 10 minutes, reaching a magnitude of 7.9.
Japan measures earthquakes a little differently.
Japan mainly measures earthquakes a little differently than other countries of the world. Most countries measure an earthquake’s strength by magnitude; however, Japan uses something known as the Shindo scale.
The magnitude scale can measure the strength of an earthquake, while the Shindo scale measures the degree of shaking in a specific place on the earth’s surface.
Japan has the world’s highest number of vending machines
Japan has a vending machine for anything you might think of. Whether it be flowers, berries, or even ramen, you can be very sure that you will get it in a vending machine in Japan.
Japan has almost 5 million vending machines, which is the highest density of vending machines on the planet. This even means that in this country, there is almost 1 vending machine for only 24 people in Japan.
Japan is home to some bizarre festivals.
Some bizarre festivals take place in Japan. One of those is Hadaka Matsuri. Hundreds of men strip naked in public at this festival, believing it will offer them a fortune-filled year.
So, Japan is a fascinating country with a rich culture, history, beautiful landscapes, and interesting festivals.
At the end of this article, we learned 19 interesting facts about Japan. These facts offer us a clear picture of this beautiful and unique country. To get some additional amazing facts, you can see our website.
I’m a former teacher (and mother of Two Childs) with a background in child development. Here to help you with play-based learning activities for kids. ( Check my Next startup Cledemy.Com)
