Japan is a very small country, approximately 144,000 square miles (smaller than California), and is inhabited by a considerably large population of over 120 million people (half the United States.) This makes Japan the seventh most populous nation in the world. Japan is located at the far west side of the North Pacific Ocean, and consists of more than 4,000 islands. However, the Japanese people live on less than 10 percent of this land mass due to rough, mountainous, volcanic terrain, which make up a substantial 70 percent. One of the most famous and symbolic volcanos is Mt. Fuji. Among these many islands, only four are commonly known, including Hokkaido (northern-most, considered to be Japan’s “frontier”), Shikoku (the smallest of the four), Kyushu (most southern), and Honshu (the largest and most populated.) Japan’s capital city is Tokyo, which is also one of the world’s largest cities. It consists of 12 million people. Tokyo became the imperial capital in 1868, with the downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the end of the feudal period. And of course, it is home to the Imperial palace. The chrysanthemum flower is the symbol of the imperial family. Japan is an extremely modern civilization. After World War 2, much of Japan was destroyed, therefore in the rebuilding process of the nation; they were able to impose the very latest in technology, making them an “economic superpower” today. Their Gross National Product is so successful in fact, that it has nearly surpassed ours here in the United States, ranked second in the world. One of my favorite findings in their very technologically-advanced society is the “bullet trains”, which are able to carry many people at speeds of up to 130 mph. They are safe, reliable, immaculately clean, and on time to the very second. Another is their very modern system of parking in the
