みんなGeography of Japan

Nara, Kyoto, Tokyo

the former and current capitals of Japan in order from oldest to the present

one of the four main islands of Japan, located to the east of Kyushu

Shikoku

northernmost island of the four main islands of Japan

Hokkaido

main island of Japan - located north of Kyushu and south of Hokkaido

Honshu

one of the four main islands of Japan, located to the west of Kyushu and to the south of Honshu

Kyushu

Lake Biwa

Lake Biwa (Japanese: 琵琶湖 ) is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. It is located in Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Because of its proximity to the ancient capital, references to Lake Biwa appear frequently in Japanese literature, particularly in poetry and in historical accounts of battles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Biwa

Mt. Fuji

Mount Fuji is a symbol of Japan. The mountain contributes to Japan's physical, cultural, and spiritual geography. Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan, standing at 3,776 meters (12,380 feet). It is an active volcano, sitting on a "triple junction" of tectonic activity: the Amurian plate (associated with the Eurasian tectonic plate), the Okhotsk plate (associated with the North American plate) and the Filipino plate all converge in the region beneath Mount Fuji. It is only 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Tokyo, Japan's capital and largest city. In fact, the last time Mount Fuji erupted, in 1707, volcanic ash fell on Tokyo. Mount Fuji is the single most popular tourist site in Japan, for both Japanese and foreign tourists. More than 200,000 people climb to the summit every year, mostly during the warmer summer months. "Huts" on the route up the mountain cater to climbers, providing refreshments, basic medical supplies, and room to rest. Many people start climbing Mount Fuji at night, as better to experience sunrise from the summit—Japan, after all, is nicknamed "the Land of the Rising Sun." The sunrise from Mount Fuji has a special name, Goraiko. Mount Fuji has been a sacred site for practicers of Shinto since at least the 7th century. Shinto is the indigenous faith or spirituality of Japan. many Shinto shrines dot the base and ascent of Mount Fuji. Shinto shrines honor kami, the supernatural deities of the Shinto faith. The kami of Mount Fuji is Princess Konohanasakuya, whose symbol is the cherry blossom. Konohanasakuya has an entire series of shrines, called Segen shrines. The main Segen shrines are at the base and summit of Mount Fuji, but there are more than 1,000 across all of Japan. http://education.nationalgeographic.org/media/mount-fuji/

Hokkaido

Second largest of the four major islands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokkaido

Shikoku

Smallest of the four major islands of Japan... 四国=four provinces") is the smallest (225 km or 139.8 mi long and between 50 and 150 km or 31.1 and 93.2 mi wide) and least populous (4,141,955 as of 2005) of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshu and east of the island of Kyushu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikoku

Shinano River (信濃川)Shinano-gawa

The longest and largest[1] river in Japan. It flows from Nagano Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture. It is called the Chikuma River (千曲川 Chikuma-gawa) in Nagano Prefecture. The river rises from Mount Kobushi on the border of Saitama, Yamanashi and Nagano, and flows northwest to meet the Sai River from Matsumoto. Kawanakajima (川中島), the junction of the Chikuma and the Sai, is the historic site where the Battles of Kawanakajima broke out. It turns to the northeast and empties into the Sea of Japan at Niigata City. In 1922, the Ōkōzu Canal (大河津分水路 Ōkōzu Bunsuiro) was built to defend Niigata from floods. It enabled the Niigata Plains to be filled with rich rice fields. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinano_River

kyushu

Third largest of the four major islands of Japan... Kyushu (九州 Kyūshū?, lit. "Nine Provinces") (Japanese pronunciation: [kjɯᵝːꜜɕɯᵝː]) is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands.[2] Its alternate ancient names include Kyūkoku (九国?, "Nine States"), Chinzei (鎮西?, "West of the Pacified Area"), and Tsukushi-no-shima (筑紫島?, "Island of Tsukushi"). The historical regional name Saikaidō (西海道?, lit. West Sea Circuit) referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands. In the 8th century Taihō Code reforms, Dazaifu was established as a special administrative term for the region.[3] As of 2006, Kyushu has a population of 13,231,995 and covers 35,640 square kilometres (13,760 sq mi).

Honshu (本州)

This is the largest and most populous island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Straits. It is the seventh largest island in the world, and the second most populous after Java. It had a population of 103 million in 2005, mostly concentrated in the available lowlands, notably in the Kantō plain where 25% of the total population resides in the Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo and Yokohama, Kawasaki, Saitama and Chiba cities. Most of the nation's industry is located along the belt running from Tokyo along Honshu's southern coastal cities, including Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, and Hiroshima, part of the Taiheiyō Belt. The economy along the northwestern coast by the Sea of Japan is largely based on fishing and agriculture; Niigata is noted as an important producer of rice. The Kantō and Nōbi plains produce rice and vegetables. Yamanashi is a major fruit-growing area, and Aomori is famous for its apples. Eminent historical centers include Kyoto, Nara, and Kamakura

learn major Japanese cities here...

http://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1003.html

learn Japanese prefectures here...

http://www.memrise.com/course/83216/japanese-prefectures/

learn about Japanese agriculture here...

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Japan-AGRICULTURE.html and https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/japan/1930-07-01/agriculture-and-japanese-national-economy

Regions (HokKaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu) learn about Japanese regions here and here...

http://www.thejapanguy.com/japanese-geography-japans-regions/ http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/regions/

learn the bodies of water surrounding Japan here...

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/eastsea.htm

learn about the population of Japan

http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/japan-population/

learn about natural disasters in Japan here...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_disasters_in_Japan