Japan is a country full of interesting history and traditions. Japan is Islands country because of the presence of 6,852 islands. As the Logographic Chinese characters make Kanji. Likewise, the writing system of Japanese is based on Kanji. Moreover, the Kanji characters that build the name Japan means, “Sun Origin”. The Land of Rising Sun is the other name of this country.

Like many countries have a specific name in their own language so Nihon and Nippon are the Japanese name of Japan .

Here are some amazing Japan facts.

No Handshakes

It is a tradition in Japan to show respect to the person they meet not by shaking hands but bowing. They believe that bowing shows more admiration, The lowest bow shows the intense respect. Bowing is so important in Japan that companies provide training to their employees on how to bow.

Kit Kat Candy Bars

Kit Kat candy bars comes in different like Wasabi, grilled corn, ginger, camembert cheese and grape in Japan. . “Kitto Katsu” is the Japanese pronunciation of Kit Kat candy. It means “you are sure to pass”. These candies are also presented as a gift to students.

Mount Fuji Japan

There are three holy mountains of Japan and Mount Fuji is one of them. Because it is considered the sacred mountain so many Japanese (more than one million) climb mount Fuji during the official climbing season in July and August. The tallest mountain of Japan, Mount Fuji, has one more name which is Fujisan or Fujiyama.

Janitors does not exists in Japan

In Japan, there are no Janitors to clean the streets. Tokyo is the largest municipality of Japan. But the important thing to notice is that it is cleanest city of Japan with no litter in its streets. Schools in japan does not employee janitors. Students clean their own class rooms. According to Japan’s Education system, by cleaning their own class room a sense of responsibility and respect is developed in students. The volunteer both old and young clean the streets because they want to leave in a clean country.

Inemuri

In japan it is common to take a nap after doing continuous hard work. This name of this nap is inemuri. It is a sign of overtiredness.

Companies in Japan do the same amount of work as other European countries but employees delay their work by taking short naps to show their willingness to do work for extra hours.

Sole Japanese Survivor

The sole Japanese who survived the wreck of Titanic in 1914, was called coward in his own country because people curse him for not dying with other passengers.

Cat Islands Japan

You must be surprised but it is true. As I mentioned Japan is full of Islands. And these Islands are home to many species of cats. Even, there is a Cat Island in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The original name of Cat Island is Aoshima.

Tashirojima is the second famous island for cats. It sounds interesting especially for cat lovers to visit an island full of cats. These island have gained importance as popular tourist attractions.

Busiest Train Station

Shinjuku station is Tokyo’s central train station. It is the busiest train station in the world with over 2 million passengers passing through it daily.

Japanese Ganguro

In Japan, the standard of beauty is smooth and lighter skin tone along with dark hair. In 1990, a fashion trend started in which the young girls decided to oppose the traditional conception of beauty. This fashion trend named Ganguro. The girls following this trend used to do heavy contrasting makeup. Young ladies also used to bleach their hair with light colors.

The Shibuya and Ikebukuro areas were the centers of ganguro fashion. This fashion trend was vanished by 2000 when the other trend of imitating favorite singer emerged.

Haiku Poetry

Haiku poetry was invented in Japan. It consists of only three lines and regarded as the shortest poetic form in the world. Furthermore, Hokku is the second name for Haiku poetry. This poetry can be written on any topic. The poetic form of Haiku consists of only 17 syllables. In terms of syllable count, the pattern of 5/7/5 syllables is followed. The principal focus of Haiku is love and mainly nature.

Funny Fun Facts about Japan

Here are some bonus facts about Japan.

Most of the Japanese population buy waterproof cell phones. The reason is, Japanese use cell phones even while taking shower. About 90 percent population keep waterproof mobile phones.

Japanese are concerned about their business a lot. For that reason, 98 percent adaptations are of male child so that their business will stay in their family.

A fashion trend of crooked teeth is prominent in japan. The girls, specially, get treatments to make their teeth crooked. In Japanese language, the name of this trend is Yaeba.

Have your ever seen the shortest escalator in the world. If not, than you should visit More’s department store in Kawasaki, Japan.

Japan facts About Food

Japanese are food lovers. Japanese cuisine is historically influenced by Chines cuisine. Rice, Beef Sukiyaki, Nikujaga, noodles such as soba and udon are staple diet in Japan. In addition to this, simmered dishes (like fish in broth) are also famous.

Raw horse meat called Basahi is a delicacy in Japan. The meat is sliced into thin layers and eaten raw. Japanese consume tons of horse meat each year.

Have you ever thought of eating dolphins? Probably not. But Japanese love to eat this friendly and smart creature. Kusiyaki soup is made with dolphin’s meat. Sashimi is made with raw meat.

Japanese Art

Chinese art has strong influence on Japanese art. Japanese art is more than 12,000 years old. Although Japanese art has developed its own styles. Paintings, Origami, Sculptures, wood-block prints are all included in Japanese art. You cannot relate Japanese art with reality because it is very complex. Religion is an important factor in Japanese paintings.

Origami is paper art, folding of paper in different style to make different things.

Japanese paintings are called Kaiga or Gado.