Figures and facts

The total area of Japan is 378,000 sq km (a little more than that of Italy or Finland). The length of coastal line is more than 280,000 km. About 4000 thousand islands form the Japanese Archipelago that stretches from the north-east to the south-west.  The largest islands are: Honshu (231,000 sq km), Hokkaido (85,500 sq km), Kyushu (42,200 sq km), Shikoku (19,000 sq km), Okinawa (2256 sq km). Mountains cover almost 80 % of the territory of Japan. The highest point is the volcano Mount Fuji (3776) with a crater which is 800 m in diameter and 200 m deep and which is an object of worship. The climbing season to Mount Fuji is from July, 1st to August, 31st. Over 60 active volcanoes (from 250 in the whole world) are located in Japan. The coast of the Honshu Island which is washed by the Japanese Sea has 1 to 3 and more meters of snowfall – more than anywhere else in the world. According to the irregularity of the coastal line and terrain Japan exceeds most countries in the world.

The largest in Japanese modern history Tokyo earthquake (September, 1st, 1923) was accompanied with mass fires and caused over 100,000 victims. The Kobe earthquake in 1995 killed more than 5500 people. In 1771 as a result of tsunami on the Yaeyama Island 12,000 people were killed; the tsunami of 1896 carried the lives of 22,000 people. In the 20th century the strongest tsunami was the Sanriki tsunami (in Tohoku region) in 1933 which killed more than 3000 people.

View of Fuji. Japan. Mid-to-late 19th cent.		Winter landscape. Japan. Late 19th - early 20th cent.		View of Fuji from tea plantation. Japan. Late 19th - early 20th cent.
Geographic map of Japan.		Administrative map of Japan		Weaving in Japan. Japan. Weaving in Japan. Soloviova T.
Traditional dwellings and everyday life. Japan. Soloviova T.