Transcript Japan - Angelfire





HONSHU
SHIKOKU
KYUSHU

Railways

Airports

Roads
The Shinkansen, also known as the
bullet train, is a series of railway
networks connecting the major
islands of Honshu and Hokkaido in
Japan. They employ the use of high
speed electric trains that can attain
speeds of up to 186 miles per hour.
These trains are among the most
popular forms of transportation in
Japan and make traveling between
islands much faster. In fact, it was
estimated that when they switched
from normal to high speed
networks, the trains saved over 400
million hours of travel for
passengers per year, or an
estimated $5 billion per year.
Roads and highways span the
entire length of the four major
islands, though they’ve only been
around for about a half a century.
Paved construction is difficult in
Japan because of the highly
mountainous terrain. Never the
less, travel by car is still a highly
used form of transportation in
Japan and Japan has become of the
world’s leaders in automobile
manufacturing. They are also
leading the way to innovative new
forms of cars like hybrids to help
reduce traffic and pollution.
With Tourism being a
booming industry in Japan it’s
not a surprise that some the
largest international airports
are located there. There are
over 100 different airports
located in Japan, with 4 being
major links to other countries
around the world. Much of
the Japanese airlines is
handled by the government,
but more recently corporations
in the private sector have
began playing a larger role in
running terminals and airways.
JAPANESE CUISINE
Japanese meals are mainly
comprised of a few staple foods,
like rice or noodles, combined with
some form of meats or vegetables.
It’s typical to see a dish with a
mix of fish, meat, rice, and
vegetables together. Most meals
are either served as soups or as a
stir fry. In many cases they also
combine sauces like miso or soy to
add flavor to the dish. Most
Japanese meals are low in fat
and high in sodium.
Baseball & Sumo
Sumo wrestling is a Japanese sport that
originated in Japan and is only professionally
practiced there. The sport has been around
for several centuries and has adapted and
changed over the years. It also incorporates a
large amount of religious traditions and strict
rules. Sumo wrestlers live a very structured
life and high ranking wrestlers are regarded as
celebrities in their society.
For over a century Baseball has been by far the
most popular sport in all of Japan. It was first
introduced in the late 19th century and has
grown since. Japan has two professional leagues
and there are several teams at the college and
high school level. It’s the equivalent to
American Football.
Japanese Holidays
There are Japanese holidays for nearly every month
of the year. Perhaps the most important and highly
regarded of these is the Japanese new years, known
as Oshogatsu. With the start of each year Japanese
families thoroughly clean their houses in order to start
the year cleansed and renewed. They also serve
special dishes and pass out new years cards. Other
important holidays include Green Day, Children’s Day,
and Coming-of-Age Day. There are also many
Holidays that have been introduced from the West
like Christmas and Thanks Giving.