8th Grade PPT

1. Geography of
Japan

2. Japan Basics
• The Japanese call their country “Nippon”
– Source of the sun
• “Japan” is actually a Chinese word
– Origin of the sun
• Japan is home to 127 million people
– Tokyo is the largest city with almost 13 million people
• One of the most crowded cities in the world

3. Physical Geography
• Japan is an “archipelago” of more than 1,000
islands in the Pacific Ocean
– Chain of islands
• 4 main islands
– Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku
• Honshu is the largest and most important island
• Japan’s physical environment is defined by three
things
– Rugged coastline
– Mountains and volcanoes
– Narrow Plains

4. Rugged Coastline
• Japan has 17,000 miles of sea/ ocean coast
– Everyone in Japan lives less than 70 miles from the
sea or ocean
• Japan’s coast is vulnerable to the ocean
– Monsoons
• Seasonal winds that bring mild temperatures and large
amounts of rain and snow
– Typhoons
• Severe tropical storms similar to hurricanes
– Devastate coastal areas of Japan as many as 12 times in one year

5. Mountains and Volcanoes
• Japan is located on the “Ring of Fire”
– Earthquakes and active volcanoes are common
• There are 190 Volcanoes in Japan
– Only 40 are still active
– Mount Fuji
• Famous for its perfect shape, but is no longer active
– Hasn’t erupted since 1707
• Climbing is considered sacred to followers of Shinto
– Believe spirits reside in mountain that determine one’s destiny
– “He who never climbs Mount Fuji is a fool, and he who climbs twice
is twice the fool”

6. Narrow Plains
• Majority of Japan’s land is covered by mountains
– Flat land is very valuable and considered precious
• Only small and narrow coastal plains exist
• Kanto Plain
– Largest and most productive plain in Japan
• Best farmland in the archipelago
• Birthplace of Japanese civilization
• Fought over by the “feudal lords”
– Early kings/ emperors of Japan
– Rice is most important, but also tobacco, tea,
potatoes, sugar, beets, and barley

7. Geography Issues in Japan
• Japan has an issue with limited space
– Food/ water
• Sushi and importing of food and water
– Housing
• Small apartments and capsule hotels
– Transportation
• Mass transportation is the key
– Trains, subway, buses
– All of this makes Japan very, very expensive and very,
very crowded

8. Food