Japan – NIPPON, the Land of the Rising Sun

73 per cent of the country is covered by forests and mountains. The tallest mountain, Mount Fuji, reaches 3,776 metres high. Fuji-Q Highland amusement park is located just an hour from Mount Fuji. In collaboration with our partner GET YOUR GUIDE, we have two offers for our fellow travellers, namely a one-day pass ticket and an afternoon pass ticket for the amusement park. The Fuji-Q Highland is an amusement park, located in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi. It was founded by the company Fuji Kyuko Co. on 2 March 1968.

Japan is the juncture of four tectonic plates, the North American plate, the Eurasian plate, the Pacific plate and the Philippine Sea plate, resulting in approximately 1,500 earthquakes per year. 108 active volcanoes have been listed in the country. Japan’s climate has cold winters in the north, particularly in the northern part of Honshu and in Hokkaido, and hot summers that bring six weeks of rain, which stops around mid-summer. The Tone is the country’s longest river with 322 kilometres, covering a surface of 16,840 square kilometres. It drains into the Pacific Ocean near the Inubo peninsula and the city of Choshi in Chiba prefecture. Seven per cent of the country is interlaced by water sources, such as hot springs, lakes and rivers. Japan has native plants and fruit, such as the Japanese cherry and persimmon, native fish, such as the koi fish, native fowl, such as the Japanese green pheasant, and other native wildlife, such as the Japanese macaque, the Japanese red fox, the Japanese raccoon dog and the Japanese spitz dog breed – Shiba Inu.

The Chinese described the Japanese as a nation living in the land of the rising sun because they regarded Japan as a land where the sun rises. Japanese government consists of the constitutional monarch or emperor and prime minister as per the constitution dating back to 1947. The national currency is the Japanese yen. The constitutional monarchy has three religions. The first Japanese religion is Shinto, which worships the spirits of ancestors and natural forces. The second one is Buddhism with its founder, Buddha, and the third one is Christianity, whose adherents worship Jesus Christ as their god. The Japanese have three writing systems. They combined the two syllabaries, hiragana and katakana, with the logographic Chinese characters kanji. Japan is the tenth most populous country in the world.

Hokkaido and northern Honshu are home to the indigenous Ainú people whose numbers reach over 50,000. Another related ethnic group are the Ryukyuan people. They are native to the Ryukyu islands, the largest of which is Okinawa. The Japanese named them the Hawai’i Japanese, due to their similarity to the people of Hawai’i.

Visit the most interesting cities in Japan

We offer plenty of opportunities for fun, relaxation and various activities in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Wakayama, Nara, Miyakojima and Nagano to all HI travellers/members through the Tiqets platform. You can experience Tokyo with the National museum of Modern Art ticket. Kyoto offers adventurous travellers a special Hozugawa river cruise. We recommend visiting the National museum of Art in Osaka and taking part in the Nakano BC Co. Sake Brewery workshop in Wakayama. The city of Nara is home to the Nara National Museum where you can enjoy benefits with a premium card and the museum membership card. You can also go on an adventure with a day trip to Miyakojima on Miyako Island with Adventure PiPi or visit the Zenko-ji Buddhist temple in Nagano. Japan draws travellers, tourists and new immigrants from other countries with its cities, and establishes intercultural co-operation and integration.

Japan’s good co-operation and connectivity with other countries can be seen in numerous migrations that alternate with Brazil, Peru and the Philippines. The most popular second language in the country is French. Education was of vital importance after the war, as it affected the country’s economic growth. The University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, two prestigious educational institutions, educated sixteen Nobel laureates. More than 75 students that finish higher vocational education continue their education at university level.

Travelling or moving to Japan comes with a number of changes they have to face in the new country. It’s good to complete some of the formalities before arriving in Japan, so that you’re not dependent on your mobile and internet operator. We can help you arrange a good mobile and internet connection even before you get to Japan. With GET YOUR GUIDE, you can get a SIM card with limitless access to outgoing calls in Japan for eight, sixteen or thirty-one days, and a pocket Wi-Fi modem with 4G LTE speed for thirty days, with which you can connect to up to ten devices. 

Economy and the Japanese trademark

Train is an important mode of public transport in Japan and the railway line is 27,268 kilometres long, with trains reaching a maximum speed of 320 kilometres per hour. The car infrastructure totals to 1,215,000 kilometres of roads, and the motorbike infrastructure to 8,050 kilometres of roads. A statistical comparison shows that out of 1,000 Japanese people, 593 use a car. Brands of cars manufactured by Japanese companies are Honda, Nissan, Suzuki, Mazda and others. Traffic in Japan in left-hand.

The average size of a flat is 95 square metres, compared to the UK where the average flat size is 76 square metres. The estate prices range from 3,846.24 and 7,692.48 euros per square metre. Japan has an unemployment rate of three per cent, the lowest in the world. Employers ensure their employees ten paid days off per year. The average monthly wage is 2,513.52 euros. Among world’s national economies, Japan, with its exemplary economy by gross domestic product (BDP), takes third place, right after the United States and China. Due to excessive workaholism and the consequent burnout, many a Japanese has experienced sudden death by heart attack or stroke. The Japanese have a name for it – karoshi.

The Japanese tech market, with its robotics and electronics, is known as one of the world’s leading, and it exports products to foreign markets. Japan is known for its many trademarks, such as Canon, Sharp, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Nintendo, Sega and others. The video game industry produced the first games for arcade machines, PCs and games consoles in the second half of the 20th century. In 1983, two competing Japanese companies, Nintendo and Sega, created the first game consoles – the Family Computer and SG-1000. The first world-famous video game, Super Mario, was released in 1985, and later, in 1991, the anthropomorphic Sonic the Hedgehog was launched. Five years later, in 1996, the animated hero Pikachu first appeared on the market. The development of the entertaining world of video games began to shape virtual reality which, in addition to a positive effect on an individual, also leads to various psychological issues linked to violence, addiction and death.

Tradition, culture, sports and cuisine

With her knowledge of the ancient art of Japanese dance and music as well as with her beauty, grace, refinement and fine conduct, the geisha is a characteristic symbol of the Japanese tradition. A geisha must know the art of dancing, singing, painting, literature, calligraphy and drinking tea and alcohol. Another important part of the Japanese culture is folklore, which is directly linked to festivals and martial arts. National sports include karate, sumo and judo. Baseball, football, golf and motorcycle road racing are also popular. Japanese cuisine encompasses lots of various dishes consisting of rice and vegetables. The specialities of Japanese cuisine include dishes made with bamboo, sea food, algae and raw fish, which are used to make sushi. Beer is a popular drink in Japan.

Cultural landmarks are the most interesting tourist attraction in the Japanese archipelago and they draw countless visitors. With its 634-metre-high tower, the Tokyo Skytree is the second tallest building in the world. Guests can enjoy prepared food in the restaurant. It was built in 2012. Thanks to GET YOUR GUIDE’s incredible offer, you can visit the Tokyo Skytree and view the city at different heights. Or you can visit the Tokyo Tower which was built in 1958 and was modelled on the Eiffel Tower. Osaka is home to the Osaka Castle Museum. The building dates back to 1583. There are also other notable buildings, such as Buddhist temples like the 8th-century Todai-ji and Shinto shrines like the Ise Grand Shrine from the 4th century BC and the Itsukushima Shrine from 593.

Japan through the eyers of a HI traveller

Many travellers decide to visit Japan as part of their East Asia tour. East Asia covers 28 per cent of the Asian continent or approximately 12,000,000 square kilometres of Earth’s surface. Hostelling International Slovenia’s travellers have described their Far-East travel experiences in their travelogues, which can be found in the Globetrotter magazine. They tried to bring the Asian world closer to the readers through the adventures they had along the way. You can read about how they experienced Japan and all the adventures they had there and in other Asian countries by visiting Hostelling International Slovenia’s website.

You can also experience the Land of the Rising Sun with Lonely Planet and the excellent Experience Japan book, where you’ll find tips for unforgettable experiences and local surprises. The book offers suggestions for travel challenges and includes colourful photos and maps as well as insights of experts etc. With the first edition that came out in March 2022, you’ll get fresh tips that will take you to Japanese cities, lakes, mountains and islands. The information about Japan, gathered in the wonderful Experience Japan book, is the resource that tells a traveller all they need to know about the country.

Secure your trip with World Nomads

Wherever you go, your trip can be safe, with simple and customisable international travel insurance for solo travellers and families. Get travel insurance through World Nomads and get a policy with 24-hour assistance and transport for medical emergencies, as well as cover for more than 220 sports and leisure activities on snow, water, air and land. The insurance policy may include, among other things, coverage for experiential activities, such as au pairs – part-time or voluntary work with children, working in a bar, fruit picking, office work, teaching and some other work abroad. Protect yourself or your family with World Nomads travel insurance.