TOPOGRAPHY

The four main islands form an arc that is about 1300 miles long from north to south. Japan is a mountainous country of which only about fifteen percent is suitable for agriculture. Since there are so many mountains, the habitable regions of the country are overcrowded. The islands that form Japan cover 377 835 square kilometers. The four main islands are called: Hokkaido, Kyushu, Honshu and Shikoku that are surrounded by smaller ones. Japan is encircled by ocean, on the east and south side there is the Pacific Ocean and on the west side it is the Sea of Japan. The three closest countries across the sea are: China, Russia, South and North Korea. The highest peak is mount Fuji which rises 3775 meters high. In the whole country there are roughly 50 active volcanoes. The reason why this country is called "The Land of the Rising Sun" is because Japan is always the first to see the sun rise on the new day. 

Japan is made up of a chain of more than 3000 islands. The four main islands make up ninety-eight percent of land area. The land use in Japan is divided into parts; eleven percent arable, two percent permanent crops, two percent meadows and pastures, sixty-eight percent forest and woodland seventeen percent other; including nine percent irrigated. Almost six sevenths of it is covered by hills and mountains. That’s why this country is renown for its outstanding skiing. The 1998 Winter Olympics were in Nagano Japan partially for this reason. Japan has almost two hundred volcanoes and some are still active. The highest mountain range is the Japanese Alps many peaks are over 3000 meters high. The highest and most famous peak is Mount Fuji or as they say in Japanese Fuji-yama. It is actually a volcano that erupted almost three hundred years ago. It is surrounded by five lakes, during the winter season the top is covered in snow. 

There are very few natural resources, Japan has a very negligible amount of mineral resources and the second one is fish. This is why the Japanese import a lot of raw materials from other countries like Canada. 

It is believed that the mountain range has not stopped growing yet. Scientists are saying that the Eastern shores along the Pacific Ocean are rising out of the water and that the Western shores along the Sea of Japan are sinking down, obviously at an incredibly slow rate. This is the explanation why there are many earthquakes in Japan; the earth’s crust is in gradual and continuous movement. 

HONSHU

Honshu is Japan’s largest island. This is where the capital city of Tokyo is and other large cities such as: Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya and Yokahama are situated there. About eighty percent of the total population live on this island. Tokyo is surrounded by plains and lowlands; it’s called the Kanto Plain. There are many high mountains and extinct volcanoes and other volcanic features. There is a range of mountains that is called the Japanese Alps; they have the highest peaks and rise in the middle of the island. Along the mountainsides there are thick forests. This is where mount Fuji is situated. The island also has many fast moving rivers that are used for hydroelectric power. It also has many lakes of which Lake Biwa is the largest. Hot springs can be found all over the island of Honshu. 

HOKKAIDO

Hokkaido is the second largest island and covers 78 073 square kilometers. It is situated in the northern part of Japan. Only about five percent of the of Japan’s people inhabit this island. The reason is because there are many flat regions of volcanic ash, gravel and coarse sand that make it impossible for agriculture. The only part suitable for farming is the Ishikari Plain, it is situated in the Southwest. Sapporo is the biggest city on the island. At the North it is separated from Russia by two small straits called; Soya Strait and Nemuro Strait. The highest mountain is Asahi-dake that measures 2210 meters and is placed in the center of the island. 

SHIKOKU

The smallest of the four main islands is Shikoku which covers approximately 18 257 square kilometers. It is situated in the Southeast under the island of Honshu. Only about four percent of Japanese live on the island. The main city on Shikoku is Matsuyama, right by the Inland Sea. Along that sea rice fields take up a large amount of the space though little land can be farmed. There are many small narrow plains all along the coast. The island forms a "U" around a body of water named Tosa Bay. The highest peak is Tsurugi-san measuring roughly 1886 meters. It is part of a chain of mountains that stretches across the island from East to West. While there are volcanoes on some other islands, there are none on this one. 

KYUSHU

Kyushu is located in the Southeastern part of Japan and extends over an area of 36 555 square kilometers. The largest city on Kyushu is Kitakyushu, situated at the North facing the Korea Strait. After the main island of Honshu, Kyushu is the most populated with over ten percent of the population. Most of the island is not fit for agriculture but certain spots along the coastline and some places inland are utilized for the raising of crops. In the middle of the island there are very steep mountains covered with thick forests. The highest elevation is a mountain called Kuju-san, standing 1725 meters high. Many volcanoes, lava plateaus, and deposits of volcanic ash are found in the Northern section. In the West lies the biggest plain, it was formed by all the small streams flowing from the mountains bringing with them some fertile soil. 

Between Kyushu and Taiwan there are about a hundred islands called Ryukyus. They cover an area of 3792 square kilometers and have a fairly large population of over one million people. What is fascinating about these islands is that they are the peaks of a submerged chain of mountains and some of them are either extinct or active volcanoes. 

EARTHQUAKES

It is hard to believe but there is an average of 1500 earthquakes a year, but very few of them actually cause any damage. One of the last major earthquakes was in 1923,it hit Tokyo and Yokohama. One-hundred-forty-three-thousand people were killed by fires and the tidal wave that followed. The next one was in 1964 that hit Niigata, it was almost as severe but barely any damage was caused; only 30 people died. The last one hit the city of Kobe and was considered to be a major disaster. 

The country has no long rivers but it does have many short swift streams that flow down from the alpine region. These rivers and streams are put to use by irrigating the lowlands and in some spots can produce electric power. The longest river in Japan on Honshu is only 368 kilometers long. There are many lakes up in the mountains or in the craters of dead volcanoes, the largest lake is Lake Biwa on Honshu; that covers 686 square kilometers. There are hot springs that surge from deep in the ground all over Japan. 

Between Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu there lies a sea called the Inland Sea. It has always been an important waterway for the Japanese. This sea has nearly one thousand little islands and some of them are wooded. Since the coastline has so many jagged bays and inlets it is 13 685 kilometers long. These bays are excellent harbors for boats. 

CLIMATE CHANGES

The climate in Japan is influenced by the ocean currents that surround it. There is a warm current flowing from the Philippines and flows north along the Southeastern coasts of Japan. Those areas are relatively warm considering the latitude. There is also a cold current called the Oyashio flowing from the North along the Western side of the country. This is why a slight wind change can change the weather of a region drastically. During the Olympics we saw many events postponed because of this. Kyushu and Shikoku have a comparable climate to Florida. Winters are mild in the South, are cold and get enough snowfall in the North. Tokyo will rarely ever get any snow. 

Japan gets enough rainfall in a year. The heaviest rainfall is between mid-June to early July and from September to October. In Asia there is a seasonal wind called the Asiatic monsoon that passes through Japan also. It also gets hit frequently by typhoons that come from the West-central Pacific side and across the whole country. In July the average temperature is over twenty degrees Celsius and in January it is about zero degrees Celsius. 

Japan, "The Land of the Rising Sun" is a relatively small country in East Asia that has a lot of diversified geographical aspects. In the essay I have discussed the main points of the Japanese geography. I spoke of all the major islands, the climate, the mountains and other topics relative to the subject. I would really like to visit this country now that I learned more about it; the scenery must be beautiful. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

WRIGHT, John W., "Japan", The Universal Almanac, Kansas City, Andrews and McMeel, 1997, 1: 452. 

HARKAVY, Michael D., "Japan",  The New Webster’s International Encyclopedia, Naples, Florida, Trident Press International, 1996. 1: 566-567.