The length of Japan. Japan, geographical location and composition of the territory. The state and political system of Japan

Japan is an island nation located in East Asia. More than 3,000 islands that this state occupies are located in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean and form an arc about 3,500 km long. Japan has maritime borders with Russia, China, North Korea, the Republic of Korea and the Philippines.

The main islands of the archipelago are (from north to south): Hokkaido, Honshu ("land"), Shikoku and Kyushu. The country also includes about 3,000 smaller islands, including Okinawa, some of which are inhabited and some are not. In total, the area of ​​Japan is 377,915 km2, of which 374,744 km2 is land and 3,091 km2 is water. Japan is larger than Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand and the UK, it is 1.7 times the size of Korea and 10 times the size of Taiwan.

The area of ​​Japan in numbers:

• total: 377,915 sq. km
• land: 374,744 sq. km (Honshu: 231,100 sq. km, Hokkaido: 83,456 sq. km, Kyushu: 42,177 sq. km, Shikoku: 18,790 sq. km, Okinawa: 2,275 sq. km) km)
• water: 3,091 sq. km

Maritime requirements:

• special economic zone: 200 nautical miles (370 km)
• territorial sea: 12 nautical miles (22 km); between 3 and 12 nautical miles (6 and 22 km) in international straits- La Perouse or Soya Strait, Tsugaru Strait, Osumi and East and West Channels of Korea or Tsushima Strait.

Climate of Japan

Japan belongs to a temperature zone with four distinct seasons, but its climate ranges from cold temperatures in the north to subtropical temperatures in the south. If the northern lands of Japan have the same latitude with the Crimea, then the south of the country is already at the latitude of Egypt. The climate also depends on seasonal winds blowing from the continent in winter and in the opposite direction in summer.

Japanese statistics
(as of 2012)

Each area in Japan has its own characteristics and differs from other parts of Japan in sights, nature, climate, and even the dialect of the Japanese language. These differences are associated with the history of the settlement of Japan, as well as with the long fragmentation of the territories.

Japan can be roughly divided into six climatic zones:

• Hokkaido: belongs to the cold temperature zone, Hokkaido has long frosty winters and cool summers.
• Sea of ​​Japan: Northeast seasonal wind brings heavy snowfalls in winter. Summers are less warm than in the Pacific Ocean, but extreme high temperatures are sometimes observed due to the Foehn phenomenon.
• Central Highlands: Typical insular climate with large temperature variations in winter and summer, night and day.
• Inland Sea of ​​Japan: Mountains in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions block seasonal winds, resulting in a temperate climate.
• Pacific Ocean: Winters are cold with occasional snowfall, summers are usually hot and humid during southeasterly seasonal winds.
• Southwest Islands: This zone has a subtropical climate. Winter is warm, summer is hot. The level of precipitation is very high, which is reflected in the existence of the rainy season and the occurrence of typhoons.

Natural features of Japan

Ten percent of the world's volcanic activity in the early 1990s was recorded in Japan. Up to 1,500 earthquakes every year, ranging in magnitude from 4 to 6, are not unusual. Small earthquakes occur daily in different parts of the country, causing buildings to shake.

Japan has become a world leader in the study and prediction of earthquakes. Discoveries in modern technologies make it possible to build skyscrapers even in seismically active zones. Another natural hazard is typhoons that come to Japan from the Pacific Ocean.

The mineral resources of Japan are not rich - these are small deposits of coal, iron and oil. High technologies and automotive industry are developed in the country.

Most of the land (80%) in Japan is occupied by mountains. At 150 kilometers from Tokyo is the highest mountain in Japan - Fuji, a height of 3776 meters. Fuji is an active volcano last eruption happened in 1707. Mount Fuji, which has a perfect conical shape, is one of the symbols of Japan and sacred place for the Japanese.

Plant and animal world of Japan

Due to the abundance of sunny days and moisture, the flora of Japan is very rich and diverse. Forests occupy 67% of the territory.

In the north, these are coniferous (spruce and fir) forests of the temperate zone, similar to those in the Far East. When moving south, they are first replaced by broad-leaved forests (oak, beech, maple), then - coniferous forests of Japanese cryptomeria, cypresses, pines (south of Hokkaido and north of Honshu), followed (in the south of Honshu and north of Kyushu and Shikoku) - evergreen broad-leaved forests (Japanese magnolia, scalloped oak). In the very south (southern Kyushu and Ryukyu), subtropical evergreen forests stretch. In addition, here you can even find tropical rainforests, in which palm trees, tree ferns, bananas and even ficuses are found. In the mountains - evergreen oaks and various tropical conifers. On some islands, natural forests of Japanese cryptomeria have been preserved, individual trees of which, reaching 40-50 m in height and 5 m in diameter, are already about 2000 years old.

Some mountains on the island of Honshu, including Mount Fuji, and the central mountain range on the island of Hokkaido rise above the upper limit of the forest. Thickets of rhododendron, elfin cedar, heaths, subalpine and alpine meadows are common there.

The fauna of Japan, on the contrary, is not very diverse, which is explained by the isolation and remoteness of the Japanese islands from the mainland. However, some species of woodpeckers, pheasants, dragonflies, crabs, sharks, snakes, salamanders and marine mammals are no longer found; are endemic Japanese islands.

The country is inhabited by the Japanese macaque, brown bear, short-legged wolf, fox, sable, weasel, mountain antelope. A variety of birds, including many migratory and marine. The seas, rivers and lakes of Japan abound with fish.

Introduction

1. Geographic location

2. Climatic conditions

3. Population of Japan

Conclusion

List of used literature

The sun rises in the east, brings happiness to people, and so does Japan, which is called the land of the “rising sun”. Japan is a country with a great history, starting from the most ancient times and interesting traditions, life and culture.

Japan impresses with its accuracy and correctness of lines. Neat geometric fields, neat private houses and even warehouses surprise with their cleanliness.

Japan is undoubtedly unique, incomparable and completely mysterious country, which is almost impossible to find in the world. And it's not just about its rich and ancient heritage - Japan itself is a huge museum.

Japan is interesting for its ancient traditions, which are rooted in the depths of history. This also applies to traditional offerings.

Gifts in Japan are made for any reason, but sometimes it obliges the recipient to do a lot, and the giver does not even consider it necessary to hide that he is counting on special services. Here, of course, the word "bribery" is not always applicable, and the recipient of the gift, as a rule, makes a counter gift, the value of which should be lower than the value of the received one. The difference is compensated by a beneficence, which depends on the status of the one who gives the gift and the one who receives it. They give everything to everyone, and in the end everyone is satisfied, since no one gives unnecessary things.

Japanese morality constantly demands from a person enormous self-sacrifice for the sake of fulfilling the debt of gratitude and the debt of honor. It would be logical to assume that the same morality inculcates ascetic strictness of morals, considering physical pleasures, carnal pleasures as a sin.

In our course work, we will consider geographical characteristic countries of the rising sun, climatic conditions, demographic situation in Japan. We will take a short tour of the sights of Japan, which is one of the world's great cultural centers of the world, as well as a pearl for tourists.

Japan is a country located on islands in the western part of the Pacific Ocean. The territory of Japan is approximately 372.2 thousand km2, it consists of the islands of the Japanese archipelago; the largest of them are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku. The bridges and underwater tunnels built between these islands made it possible to turn the scattered territorial space of the country into a single land formation. The islands of Hokkaido and Honshu are connected by the world's longest transport tunnel Seikan, laid under the Sangara Strait. Three bridges spanning the islands and waters of the Seto Naikai (Inland Sea of ​​Japan) united the islands of Honshu and Shikoku. The islands of Honshu and Kyushu are connected by two tunnels and one bridge.

Over the past few decades, the territory of Japan, although slightly, has increased due to the creation of artificial islands. So, in Tokyo Bay, Yumenoshima Island was filled in 10 years, on which a stadium, a museum, greenhouses were built, and a park was laid out. Ogishima Island was created specifically to house the smelter. For construction international airport an artificial island was also built in Osaka Bay.

The length of the coastline is 29.8 thousand km. The shores are strongly indented and form many bays and coves. The seas and oceans washing Japan are of great importance for it as a source of biological products, mineral and energy resources.

The geographical position of the Japanese islands to the east of the mainland determined the figurative name of the country - the Land of the Rising Sun.

Its southern tip is at the same latitude as the middle of the Sahara or south point Cuba. The northern tip coincides with the latitude of southern France, Northern Italy and Crimea. The capital of Japan - Tokyo is located on the same latitude as the southern tip of Turkmenistan.

75% of the territory of Japan is occupied by mountains up to 3 km high. and more above sea level, plains occupy only a fifth. In the flat regions of Japan, the largest cities and main industrial zones of the country are located: the bulk of the population lives.

Japan's most famous mountain is Mount Fuji. It rises on the border of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures. Mount Fuji is 3776 meters high, making it the highest peak in Japan. More than half a million people climb Mount Fuji every year.

A significant part of the mountain peaks of Japan are volcanoes, there are about 200 of them, 67 are considered "alive" (active or dormant). Among the volcanoes, Asama, Miharayama, Asosan and Sakurajima are especially active.

Active volcano Asosan is located in the middle part of Kyushu. This fire-breathing mountain is widely known not only within the country, but also abroad. In terms of the number of eruptions, Asosan occupies one of the first places among the world's volcanoes (more than 70 eruptions have been recorded), its crater is one of the largest in the world.

Fujiyama is also a volcano, and although it is now inactive, it is considered a relatively young volcano from a geological point of view, so it is likely that it will awaken.

The Japanese islands are an area of ​​very high seismic activity. In ancient times, according to Japanese mythology, a huge catfish was considered the culprit of earthquakes, which from time to time tosses from side to side, shaking the islands located on its back. Several thousand earthquakes occur in Japan every year, there are up to 20 shocks a day. For the most part, the tremors are so weak that only high-precision equipment of seismic stations can fix them. Large earthquakes are much rarer, but the damage they cause can be terrible.

The climate of Japan, with the exception of the island of Hokkaido, is that of a temperate country, with four distinct seasons and two rainy seasons, spring and autumn.

Winter is determined by one of the coldest air masses in the world - Siberian. Therefore, the temperature in Japan sometimes drops noticeably lower than in European countries located at the same latitudes. For example, in Asahikawa in Hokkaido, the temperature dropped to minus 41.0 ° C, and the average January temperature - minus 8.5 ° C - is almost the same as in Moscow. In Tokyo, at a latitude of 35°, the average temperature is plus 4.7°C, while in London, at a latitude of 51°, it is plus 4.2°C.

Icy winds periodically blow from the west, from the Siberian high pressure area, towards the low pressure zone over the sea area east of Hokkaido. This dry air, crossing the Sea of ​​Japan, absorbs water vapor and becomes a moist, unstable air stream with snow clouds. When it rises over the country's mountain ranges, these clouds thicken even more and fall in heavy snowfalls on the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan. If this happens simultaneously with the invasion of cold air masses from the Arctic, then the intensity of the formation of snow clouds increases even more, and in a day the Hokuriku area is covered with a 2-meter layer of snow. In January 1986, the town of Joetsu in Niigata Prefecture received a record amount of snow - 324 cm. This was enough to cover one-story buildings above the roof. For a country located in the temperate climate zone, Japan has a lot of snow.

Even when it snows on the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan, the sky from the Pacific Ocean is often cloudless, and fine weather is not uncommon.

As soon as the Siberian winds weaken, they are replaced by wandering anticyclones and extratropical cyclones, bringing with them alternately clear weather and light rains. This heralds the beginning of spring. First plum (ume) blooms, then cherry (sakura), and after them and on other trees, tight buds finally burst, delighting the eye with the first spring greenery.

Throughout Japan, with the exception of Hokkaido, summer is preceded by periods of rain called "bayu" (literally - "plum rain"). The rainy season begins in mid-May in southern Okinawa and mid-June in the Tohoku region of northern Honshu, and ends in mid-June and July respectively. At this time, the "bayou" front is established along south coast, and it rains almost every day as small low-pressure zones pass one after the other over the archipelago. At the very beginning of the rainy period, it is drizzling, but by the end it is already water squalls lasting for hours, which creates a constant danger of landslides caused by heavy rains. In July 1957, about 1109 mm of precipitation fell in a day in the city of Isahaya in Nagasaki Prefecture.

Summer is defined by the hot air masses of the tropical north Pacific, and Japan gets as hot and humid as the tropics. The highest temperature recorded in Tokyo is plus 38.7°C; the maximum temperature for Japan recorded in Yamagata was plus 40.8°C. guest, and it rains relatively rarely.

Tropical low pressure zones (tropical cyclones) form in the tropical Pacific Ocean. In Japanese, they are called "taifu", from this name the word "typhoon" was formed. Of the approximately thirty typhoons that occur each year, an average of four move north and hit the Japanese archipelago. Typhoons are especially numerous in tropical low-pressure zones and can sometimes be quite ferocious. Inside the "eye" in the center of the typhoon, the pressure can drop below 900 millibars, and the wind near the "eye" reaches a speed of 60 m/sec. Typhoons hit Japan between June and October.

The weakening of the North Pacific air masses that regulate summer weather, in turn, gives rise to high pressure zones and moderate low pressure zones, causing autumnal changeable weather. In northern Japan, the leaves of the trees turn red and yellow, and the combination of these flaming hills with the snow-white peaks of the mountains creates pictures of dizzying beauty.

The world's largest body of water, the Pacific Ocean, lies to the east and south of Japan. There are several main currents in the ocean; one of the most famous is Kuroshio, washing the southern coast. Like the North Pacific, which continues it, it is warm, and the volume of its flow is about 50 million tons per second. The temperature of Kuroshio is quite high compared to the surrounding waters and near the southern islands it never drops below 20°C, even in winter, thus promoting the growth of coral reefs. This powerful warm current helps warm Japan's climate. Because of its transparency, the water in it seems black, which is why it is called Kuroshio (Black Current). Although the current is home to warm water fish such as tuna and bonito, the amount of nutrients in its waters is low.

The cold waters of the Kuril Current, originating in the Bering and Okhotsk Seas, wash the coast of the eastern part of Hokkaido and Honshu to Sanriku, cooling the waters there in summer. Due to the large amount of plankton, the current has a dirty green color. The Japanese call it Oyashio (Parent Current). It serves as a favorable environment for salmon, trout and cod. Another current, similar in characteristics to the Kuroshio, is called the Tsushima, it crosses the Sea of ​​Japan from south to north.

The seas around Japan serve as a source of water vapor, which then falls as rain or snow, thus placing Japan among the top rainfall destinations in the world. Approximately 600 billion tons of rain and snow fall here every year. About one third of the precipitation evaporates, but the rest is absorbed by the earth and feeds rivers and lakes. The groundwater containing little mineral salts can be used as drinking water without special treatment.

water relief

The rivers of Japan are relatively short: the longest of them, the Shinano, is only 367 km long. However, the slope of the rivers is steep; many streams are tossed down by waterfalls until they reach the sea. This leads to large drops in water level: for example, during floods, the Tone River can compete with the Nile.

There are two types of lakes in Japan: shallow lagoon lakes on the coastal lowlands and lakes tectonic origin, formed as a result of faults (Lake Biwa) or at the site of volcanic craters (Lake Towada).

Flora

Due to the fact that Japan is located simultaneously in the subtropical, temperate and cold zones, besides, it is abundant in water, a variety of vegetation covers the land. Mangroves can be found on the coasts of the southernmost islands in the subtropical zone. Kyushu, Shikoku and southern Honshu are dominated by deciduous forests with almost evergreen oaks and dwarf chestnuts, while northern Honshu is dominated by temperate forests with beech and maple in abundance. And even further north in the forests of the cold zone of Hokkaido, various coniferous trees predominate, as well as white beech, birch.

The vegetation not only creates a beautiful landscape, but also has great commercial value. Bamboo is strong, flexible, fast-growing and therefore often used in the manufacture of furniture, baskets, musical instruments and other items. Cedar is used in the woodworking industry, construction of residential buildings.

Fauna

The fauna of Japan is also diverse, although it is poorer than the flora. It is characterized by some features caused primarily by insular isolation.

On the islands of the archipelago, many migratory birds, which arrive from Siberia, China and other territories neighboring Japan. Among them are cranes, herons, geese.

Wolves, foxes, deer, hares, squirrels live on the central islands. Honshu Island is the northernmost habitat of such southern species as Japanese macaques, Japanese black bears, gigantic (up to 1.2 m) salamanders. The southern Ryukyu Islands are characterized by tropical fauna, many monkeys - macaques and gibbons, squirrels and bats.

3. Population of Japan

In terms of population (125,860 thousand people at the end of September 1999), Japan ranks 8th in the world after China, India, the USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Russia and Pakistan. For 100 years, its population has increased from 35.3 million people. in 1875 to 111.9 million people. in 1975

In recent years, the population has changed little. In 1998, compared with 1997, the increase was only 0.2%, which is one of the lowest rates since 1968, when regular demographic observations began in the country.

Japan's population density is 331 people. per 1 sq. km.

The population of Japan is distinguished by exceptional national homogeneity, less than 1% of non-Japanese nationals live in the country. Among national minorities, Koreans are the most numerous - about 700 thousand people.

The vast majority of Japanese (78%) today live in big cities, and this trend continues to intensify. At the same time, the main part of the urban population is still concentrated in three huge metropolitan areas - Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, which follow one after another on a narrow flat strip along the Pacific coast.

The ratio of men and women in the population of Japan is almost equal to one: in 1996, women accounted for 50.99% of it, and men - 49.01%.

Over the past decades, the nature of the natural movement of the population has changed dramatically. Japan became the first Asian state to switch from the second to the first type of population reproduction. This "demographic revolution" took place in a very short time. It was the result of socio - economic transformations in Japanese society, achievements in education and health. Japan is the country with the lowest infant mortality rate in the world. Big influence also provided by the state demographic policy. The ratio of men and women in the population of Japan is almost equal to one. In recent years, the process of "aging" of the population, as a result of a decrease in the birth rate and an increase in life expectancy, has become an acute problem in Japan. This process is taking place here much faster than in other developed capitalist countries.

4. Landmarks of Japan

Japan is undoubtedly a unique, incomparable and completely mysterious country, the equal of which is almost impossible to find in the world. And it's not just about its rich and ancient heritage - Japan itself is a huge museum.

There is a common phrase: Japan-country contrasts”, and these are not just words. Here the temples coexist with modern life, they do not disturb the general flow, but form a single whole.

Nature and Japan are two inseparable concepts. For example, Naru is called the city of deer. More than a thousand noble spotted animals roam freely in the vast Nara Park and often wander into the city streets. Everywhere, specially for their feeding, salted biscuits are sold, which they take directly from their hands. The history of their appearance is connected with the foundation of the Shinto shrine Kasuga, one of the buildings of which is dedicated to a deity brought from the mountains by a deer.

There is a garden in Kyoto at Rozan Temple that combines old tradition with new creative thinking. This garden is only 33 years old and was created in memory of the famous 11th century Japanese writer Murasaki Shikibu and her novel Genji Monogatari. It is believed that this place was once her home. This is also a garden without fresh flowers - a dry garden. Against the background of light gravel, green islands of moss are randomly located. In some places, bushes of purple bells are planted on them. The garden is riddled with symbolism: bells in Japanese sound like “murasaki”, and islands of moss in the form of clouds are related to the protagonist of the novel, Prince Genji, who spent his whole life in amusements, destroying the hearts and lives of women, and died alone. The last chapter in the book is Hidden in the Clouds, which paints a picture of the Void from which everything comes and into which everything goes.

Conclusion

In the course of the work done, it should be mentioned once again that it is impossible to understand all the subtleties of the Japanese world outlook, especially for a representative of Western culture. However, we, Russians, in the course of history have absorbed many features of the civilization of the East, and we have been given a chance to understand the point of view of a person of a different culture. In recent years, interest in Japan has increased markedly in our country. Centers are opening where people get the opportunity to study Japanese, ikebana, get acquainted with the tea ceremony, Japanese theater and martial arts. Japanese film festivals are held.

Of course, the Japanese character is full of contradictions. A foreigner may call Japanese politeness ostentatious, the Japanese concept of duty is stupid. But where else can one find a more moral nation, people who compromise to their own detriment, who protect the dignity of others, sometimes humiliating themselves, people who are able to forget about pleasures at least forever, if their concept of duty requires it.

This does not mean at all that in the Japanese mind, reason triumphs over feelings. It's just that the Japanese know how to restrain their emotions, protecting others. But in fact, it is these emotions that remain inside that determine their attitude, their craving for beauty, naturalness and harmony of nature.

So, Japanese morality is very condescending to human weaknesses. Considering them something natural, she assigns, although a secondary, but completely legalized place in life. Since the Japanese do not see the confrontation between the spirit and the flesh in human nature, it is also not inherent to look at life only as a clash of good and evil.

The division of life into an area of ​​restriction and an area of ​​indulgence, where different laws apply, explains the inherent tendency of the Japanese to "zigzag." This people is extremely unpretentious in everything that concerns daily needs, but can be unrestrainedly wasteful when it comes to some holidays or solemn occasions. The cult of moderation concerns only everyday life. To be stingy, tight-fisted, even prudent in such cases as, for example, a wedding or a funeral, is just as immoral as being intemperate in everyday life.

If for the British the cornerstone of morality is the concept of sin, then for the Japanese it is the concept of shame. The Christian civilization of the West saw the way to the improvement of man in suppressing the carnal instincts in him and exalting the spiritual principle.

As for the Japanese, they have always followed the same principle in their ethics as in aesthetics: to preserve the original essence of the material. Japanese morality does not aim to remake a person. It seeks only to bridle it with a network of rules of proper behavior. Instinctive tendencies and impulses remain unchanged, only connected for the time being by such a network. This explains the duality and inconsistency of Japanese nature.

2. Gladkiy Yu.N., Lavrov S.B. Economic and social geography of the world. - M.: 1999., 156 p.

5. Mikhailov A. Do you want to feel the flying comet // Japan today. - M.: 2000, No. 4. - 120 p.

Japan is a small island state that occupies the 61st place in the world in terms of territory, its area is 377,944 square kilometers, while 126,400,000 people live in such a relatively small area. In terms of population, Japan ranks 10th in the world and in terms of population density per square meter - 25th out of 195 possible (Russia, for comparison - 181st place).

The Japanese call their country Nihon (during the war, the name Nippon appeared), and both names are used interchangeably in Japanese speech. Nihon literally translated from Japanese means the beginning of the sun.

The capital of Japan is Tokyo. The largest cities in Japan are Tokyo (population 13,052,000), Yokohama (population 3,700,000) and Osaka (population 2,700,000)

Japan is located on an archipelago consisting of 4 large islands (, Kyushu and) and more than 6800 small and medium-sized islands. The islands are mostly mountainous, unique islands Japan are .

The length of Japan is almost 3,000 kilometers. The country is washed by the waters of the Pacific Ocean in the east, the Sea of ​​Japan in the west, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk in the north, the Philippine Sea in the south, East China Sea in the South-West.

Japan is a country in which up to 1000 noticeable soil vibrations occur annually. So in Tokyo, every day there are 1.5 earthquakes per day with a magnitude of 2 or more points. Japan (like New Zealand, New Guinea, the Aleutian Islands) is located in a seismically active region called the "Pacific Ring of Fire", in the region of the islands of Japan, the Pacific lithospheric plate borders on adjacent plates with which there is constant friction. Places where lithospheric plates border each other are always places of increased volcanic and seismic activity.

In Japan, with a frequency of about once every hundred years, large-scale earthquakes occur with a large number of civilian casualties and destruction, but despite the fact that Japan is constantly under the threat of volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, typhoons, earthquakes,The Japanese consider their land fertile and are proud of it.

Where there are volcanoes, there are always a lot of hot geysers. In Japan, the water of hot springs is used for medicinal purposes, having equipped them as resorts, which both the Japanese themselves and tourists are happy to visit. Equipped hot geysers are called onsen. There are more than 2000 such resort establishments in the country and the complex consists of inns, hotels and restaurants.

Onsen, as a rule, are bathing in a hot spring under open sky mixed type, i.e. men and women bathe together, there can be onsen for separate bathing, children in this case can swim in either half. Basically, this is a type of family vacation or a large friendly company.

Japan is not only a country of volcanoes, but also a country of mountains. Over 70 percent of the territory is occupied by mountains, which are a majestic natural spectacle, the beauty of which is impossible to stop admiring. The most beautiful and highest mountain in Japan is Fujiyama, the Japanese call the mountain respectfully Fuji-san. This mountain began to grow about eleven thousand years ago and was formed as a result of repeated volcanic activity, the mountain showed the last strongest volcanic activity in 1708. Today, Fujiyama is an active stratovolcano (layered volcano).

In Japan, there are many mountain rivers, winding with a fast current. In places where they flow into the sea and ocean, there are a few plains and lowlands. But the rapidly growing need for fresh water for industrial needs, rice irrigation and local consumption is a problem for Japan, since there are almost no natural reservoirs of water in the country, building dams in high and steep mountains is not an easy task, and fast mountain rivers carry water into the ocean.

The major rivers of Japan are the Tesho and Ishikari (river length 268 kilometers), located on the island of Hokkaido. On Honshu, the big rivers are: Kitakami (the length of the river is 249 km, the fourth longest), Tone (322 km, the second longest river in Japan), Shinano (367 km - the main river in Japan), Kiso (229 km) and Tenryu ( 213 km), on the island of Kyushu the big river is the Chikugo (143 km).

Also in Japan there are many lakes, they are small in size. Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. The lake was formed more than 4 million years ago and is, along with Baikal, one of the most ancient lakes in the world. Lake Biwa is of great historical and cultural importance to the Japanese, and it is also a source of water for the people of Kyoto and nearby settlements. There are a large number of fish in the lake, the lake has its own small islands, picturesque mountains and forests are located on the shore. The average water depth is 41 km, the lake is 63.5 km long and about 23 km wide.

Japan is called a country rising sun. The sun in the center of her national flag means perfection, the flowering of the state. It is a symbol of light, wealth, abundance. Admiration for this country, its achievements, is possible only through its knowledge, penetration into its secrets, understanding of its traditions.

This Empire, the oldest in the world, still remains mysterious and incomprehensible to us. Mysterious Fujiyama, the temples of Kyoto, magical Tokyo evoke admiration and a desire to understand the secrets of an ancient civilization.

In this country, ancient samurai traditions and the latest technologies are intricately intertwined: in fact, it has long been in the 21st century.

Japan is an island country located on an arcuate archipelago consisting of more than 6.8 thousand islands, which stretch along the eastern coast of Asia in a curved chain of about 3800 kilometers.

The geographical position of the Japanese islands to the east of the mainland determined the figurative name of the country - the Land of the Rising Sun.

The total area of ​​the islands of Japan is about 378 thousand square meters. km. Only four of the islands can be called large. These are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu - the Japanese do not even call them islands, but call them the main land, the main territory: they account for 98% of the entire country.

Built between the four most big islands bridges and underwater tunnels made it possible to turn the scattered territorial space of the country into a single land formation.

The islands of Hokkaido and Honshu are connected by the world's longest transport tunnel Seikan, laid under the Sangara Strait. Three bridges spanning the islands and waters of the Seto Naikai (Inland Sea of ​​Japan) united the islands of Honshu and Shikoku. The islands of Honshu and Kyushu are connected by two tunnels and one bridge.

Over the past few decades, the territory of Japan, although slightly, has increased due to the creation of artificial islands. So, in Tokyo Bay, Yumenoshima Island was filled in 10 years, on which a stadium, a museum, greenhouses were built, and a park was laid out. Ogishima Island was created specifically to house the smelter. For the construction of an international airport in Osaka Bay, an artificial island was also poured. southern islands surrounded by coral reefs.

Mountains are a characteristic feature of the Japanese archipelago, they cover 71% of the land, and only certain areas along the coasts or channel big rivers- plains and lowlands that border mountain systems.

Japan's most famous mountain is Mount Fuji. It rises on the border of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures. Mount Fuji is 3776 meters high, making it the highest mountain in Japan. More than half a million people climb Mount Fuji every year.

A significant part of the mountain peaks of Japan are volcanoes, there are about 200 of them, 67 are considered "alive" (active or dormant). Among the volcanoes, Asama, Miharayama, Asosan and Sakurajima are especially active.

The active volcano Asosan is located in the middle part of the island of Kyushu. This fire-breathing mountain is widely known not only within the country, but also abroad. In terms of the number of eruptions, Asosan occupies one of the first places among the world's volcanoes (more than 70 eruptions have been recorded), its crater is one of the largest in the world.

Fujiyama is also a volcano, and although it is now inactive, it is considered a relatively young volcano from a geological point of view, so it is likely that it will awaken.

For Japan as volcanic country characterized by an abundance of mineral and especially hot springs.

Religion

Shinto ("way of the gods"), Shinto

Shintoism is the national religion of the Japanese, which arose on the basis of totemistic ideas of antiquity, incorporated the cult of ancestors and developed under the influence of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. The objects of the Shinto cult are both objects and phenomena of nature, and the souls of the dead, including the souls of ancestors - the patrons of families, clans, and individual localities. The supreme deity ("kami") of Shinto is considered Amaterasu Omikami (Great sacred goddess shining in the sky), from which, according to Shinto mythology, the imperial family originates. The main specific feature of Shinto is deep nationalism. "Kami" did not give birth to people in general, namely the Japanese. They are most intimately connected with the Japanese nation, which is therefore distinguished by its unique character.

In Japan, there are about 80 thousand Shinto shrines (jinja), in which more than 27 thousand priests (kannushi) perform rituals. While large temples serve dozens of kannushi, several dozen small temples have one priest each. Most kannushi combine Shinto service with mundane pursuits, working as teachers, employees of local municipalities, and other institutions. Jinja, as a rule, consists of two parts: honden, where an object symbolizing the object of worship (shintai) is stored, and haiden - a hall for worshipers. A mandatory attribute of the jinja is the U-shaped arch, the torii, installed in front of it.

The main source of income for large temples is traditional New Year's pilgrimages, when the number of visitors to each of them ranges from hundreds of thousands to millions. Trade in amulets, spells, fortune telling also brings a solid profit. At the same time, some of them "specialize" in the prevention of road accidents, others "save" from fires, others "ensure" the passing of exams in educational institutions, etc. An impressive income for the Shinto clergy is also brought by halls for wedding ceremonies run by temples.

The Shinto cult goes beyond jinja. Its object can be any object, the "holiness" of which is indicated by a rope woven from rice straw - shimenawa. Many families have home altars - kamidana, in which tablets with the names of ancestors serve as objects of veneration.

The Shinto rite begins with purification, which consists in washing the mouth and hands with water. Its obligatory element is the reading of prayers addressed to the deity. The rite ends with a ritual, during which the kannusi and the faithful drink a sip of rice mash, which symbolizes the tasting “along with the deity” of the offerings made to him.

Buddhism

Buddhism, along with Shintoism - the national Japanese religion - is practiced by the majority of Japanese believers.

In the process of establishing Buddhism in Japan, several of its sects, or schools, were formed, which, in contrast to the new religions Buddhist origin are called traditional. They all belong to the Mahayana, or the so-called northern branch of Buddhism. The most ancient sects (Kegon, Ritsu, Hosso), formed in the Nara period, lost their influence over time.

The most common direction of Buddhism in Japan is Amidaism, in which the basis of the cult is the worship of the Buddha Amitabha (Jap. Amida) - the ruler of the Pure Land - a Buddhist paradise. The most popular Amida schools, Jodo shu (Pure Land School) and Jodo shin shu (True Pure Land School), were founded in the 13th century by preachers Honen and Shinran. The cult practice of the Amidaists is the traditional appeal of believers to the Amida Buddha for help.

The Zen school, which preaches the achievement of the ideal of Buddhism - revealing the essence of the Buddha in oneself - by immersion in deep self-contemplation, has become widespread in Japan.

Zen Buddhism

It became widespread in the 12th-13th centuries. There are two main sects in Zen Buddhism: Rinzai, founded by Eisai (1141-1215), and Soto, whose first preacher was Dogen (1200-1253).

The peculiarity of this creed lies in the increased emphasis on the role of meditation and other methods of psycho-training in achieving satori. Satori means peace of mind, balance, a sense of non-existence, "inner enlightenment."

Zen was especially widespread in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. among the samurai, when his ideas began to enjoy the patronage of the shoguns. The ideas of strict self-discipline, constant auto-training, and the indisputability of the mentor's authority corresponded to the worldview of the warriors in the best possible way. Zen was reflected in national traditions and had a profound influence on literature and art. On the basis of Zen, the Tea Ceremony is cultivated, the method of arranging flowers is being developed, and gardening art is being formed. Zen gives impetus to special trends in painting, poetry, drama, and promotes the development of martial arts.

The influence of the Zen worldview still extends to a significant part of the Japanese today. Zen adherents argue that the essence of Zen can only be felt, sensed, experienced, it cannot be understood by the mind.

All organizations of traditional schools of Buddhism are members of the All Japan Buddhist Association. At present, Buddhist temples are engaged not so much in the preaching of the Buddhist doctrine in the interpretation of one or another school, but in religious rites and, above all, in funeral and funeral rituals. This serves as the main source of income for the vast majority of Buddhist temples. Temples also receive a lot of money from the sale of amulets, calendars, fortune telling. For temples with an ancient history, tourism has become the main source of income.

The clergy of the traditional schools of Buddhism show no interest in social life.

Bushido

Bushido (“the way of the warrior”) is a moral and ethical doctrine of the norms of behavior for samurai (bushi).

The main ideological sources for the emergence of the warrior's code of honor, as Bushido is often called, were Confucianism, Shintoism and Buddhism (especially the Zen sects). The basic moral and ethical norms of Confucianism, primarily fidelity to duty, honor, the concept and characteristics of a “noble husband”, were combined with a Buddhist reverent attitude towards death and, as a result, indifference to life, faith in the possibility of rebirth in best quality depending on how you managed to live and end your life.

The most striking example of the use of Bushido at this time is suicide pilots, the so-called kamikaze. The idea of ​​sacrificing one's life on the orders of the emperor was for them only the norm of Bushido, the obligatoriness of which there can be no doubt. After the end of the war, examples of following the Way of the Warrior in such orthodox forms became much rarer. One of the latest is the suicide of the famous nationalist writer Mishima Yukio, who committed seppuku (hara-kiri - ritual suicide by ripping open the stomach) after an unsuccessful military coup attempt in 1970.

Culture and art

There are several main cultural features of Japan that may be of interest to a modern tourist:

Public holidays and festivals in Japan

* the dates of public holidays are highlighted

The climate of Japan, with the exception of the island of Hokkaido, is that of a temperate country, with four distinct seasons and two rainy seasons, spring and autumn.

Winter is defined by one of the coldest air masses in the world, Siberian.

Throughout Japan, with the exception of Hokkaido, summer is preceded by periods of rain called "bayu" (literally - "plum rain").

The rainy season begins in mid-May in southern Okinawa and mid-June in the Tohoku region of northern Honshu, and ends in mid-June and July respectively. At this time, the bayou front is established along the south coast, and it rains almost every day. At the very beginning of the rainy period, it is drizzling, but by the end it is already water squalls lasting for hours, which creates a constant danger of landslides caused by heavy rains.

In general, the climate of Japan is clearly divided into four seasons, each of which is full of its own charm.

The best season for tourism is spring and autumn.

WINTER (DECEMBER - FEBRUARY) Winter temperatures in the plains along Pacific coast usually above zero. The weather is sunny with dry air. Winter in middle and northern parts Japan is the most convenient for winter views sports. In the southern part of Japan, the weather is pleasant and warm. Clothes: coat, sweater, etc. SPRING (MARCH - MAY) After a cold winter, peach blossom heralds the onset of spring, and cherry blossoms from late March to early April mean spring is in full swing. Mountains, fields and gardens are covered with beautiful light pink flowers. SUMMER (JUNE - AUGUST) Summer begins in June followed by a rainy season lasting 3 to 4 weeks. These frequent rains are necessary for the farmers during the rice planting period. From July comes the real summer heat. This season, the Japanese love to go swimming in the sea and spend time in the resort of the highlands. In summer, various festivals and events are held in Japan. Clothing: light dress. At the same time, it will be convenient for you if you have something like a cape with you, since air conditioners function in most rooms. AUTUMN (SEPTEMBER - NOVEMBER) After a hot summer, autumn comes with fresh winds and pleasant air temperatures. The forests are covered with wonderfully colored leaves, in parks and gardens you can enjoy beautiful view chrysanthemums blooming at this time. Various exhibitions, concerts and sports competitions are held in autumn. Clothing: light jacket, sweater, etc.

TEMPERATURE TABLE

Legend: "T"- temperature, "F"- Fahrenheit, "WITH"- Celsius, "R"- precipitation (in mm) in 2000.

Japanese dishes that tourists should definitely try

Chinese wheat ramen noodles

The Japanese love noodles, especially udon (wheat) and soba (buckwheat). Ramen (Chinese wheat noodles) is also very popular, especially among young people. It has almost become a national dish.

Ramen originated in China and used to be called Chuka-soba (Chinese noodles) in Japan. The Japanese began to eat it in the 10s of the XX century, around the time when Chinese cuisine began to attract widespread attention. Ramen is a simple dish that consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles in a soup seasoned with soy sauce, topped with simmered pork, naruto fish pate, bamboo shoot pickles, and vegetables such as spinach or komatsuna (a type of Chinese cabbage) . When this dish first appeared in Japan, it was mainly sold in small street stalls.

Chinese noodle dough is made by mixing alkaline water (containing sodium carbonate or potassium carbonate) with wheat flour. The dough is kneaded, and then cylindrical strips are made from it. Each strip is pulled into a rather thin thread, then folded in half and each of the halves is pulled out again. The stretching and bending is repeated over and over again, and in this way an increasing number of increasingly thinner threads is obtained.

The origin of the word "ramen" is unknown, although there are several theories. Most likely, judging by the way the noodles are cooked, this word comes from two Chinese characters that read as "ra" and "men" and mean "pull" and "noodles."

In the 50s, some of those who returned to Japan from China, a few years after the war, began to make "Sapporo Ramen" in Hokkaido. The noodles gained popularity, and the word ramen was soon on everyone's lips. By the 80s, both old and young already considered ramen noodles to be the most common dish. In the first half of the 90s, ramen experienced an unprecedented rise in popularity throughout the country, especially in large cities, and almost all the media rode on the crest of success, playing on its popularity in special commercials dedicated only to noodles. It was not a gourmet fad, but a whole social phenomenon that would be close to perfection throughout Japan. Since then, the ramen boom has somewhat subsided, but at the beginning of the new century, there is no decline in its overall popularity. Each specialty restaurant continues to hone in on the flavor in its own way, carefully selecting noodles and recipes for soups, seasonings, and whatever goes on top. They have to please people who have developed very fine tastes. The competition is strong and some restaurants have long lines waiting to get in. Enthusiasts go out to try new restaurants as soon as they open, write critiques, classify them according to their own subjective standards, and post the results on their homepages. So the ramen craze keeps up with the times.

The boom began in Sapporo, in northern Japan, and spread to the cities of various parts of the country, where local varieties were given their own names: Hakata, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Hiroshima, Kitakata and many others.

Egg-wrapped rice - Omurice

Omurice is best eaten with a spoon. When the spoon cuts into the airy yellow egg, some hot, ketchup-dyed rice wakes up from it. And on top of the egg, there's a hefty portion of tomato ketchup that you can spread over the rice. Omurice is a very common dish in Japan. It is considered a Western dish modified for Japanese tastes because it includes scrambled eggs and rice flavored with tomato ketchup. As you may have guessed, the word omurice comes from the words "omelet and rice".

Omelet, plov and other dishes of overseas cuisine came to Japan from abroad at the end of the 19th century. The Japanese strictly followed some Western recipes, and adapted others to their tastes. Soon these variations began to spread throughout Japan. Most experts agree that omurice was first served in 1902, at a western restaurant called Renga-tei in Tokyo's Ginza district. They say that the owner was inspired by the old recipe for chakin-zushi (sushi rice wrapped in a thin layer of scrambled eggs).

Omurice is still popular. It is served everywhere, from Western-style restaurants and family eateries to coffee shops. It is also often eaten at home, because everything you need for it is almost always available in the kitchen, and it is not difficult to prepare it.

Chicken fried on small skewers - Yakitori

If you walk through an entertainment district in Japan in the evening, you can easily catch the scent of yakitori and the sounds of laughter coming from establishments filled with people pouring sake and eating yakitori for each other. This is a common scene in any city.

Yakitori are pieces of chicken fried on bamboo skewers. Chicken meat is fried with soy-based jelly containing sugar and cooking sake myrtle, or with salt. They are similar to the Middle Eastern veal shish kebab, or the Indonesian chicken (or lamb) satay.

A feature of yakitori is that you can eat not only chicken legs and brisket, but also internal organs, and tail meat. Lightly charred and seasoned with a fragrant sauce or salt, these fleshy tissues are so appetizing that it is simply impossible to resist eating a lot. Yakitori are very popular not only in branded restaurants, but also in pubs and roadside stalls. Today, ready-made yakitori can also be bought in supermarkets.

After Buddhism became the state religion of Japan in the 7th century, a number of edicts were issued prohibiting the consumption of meat. After that, meat, including chicken, was not cooked or eaten in public places until the lifting of the ban in the second half of the 19th century. From this time on in the Meiji era, yakitori made from meat left over from restaurants was served at roadside stalls. They soon became very popular.

Yakitori became a common dish in the 60s, after broilers were imported from America and bred in large numbers in Japan. This bird grows quickly and is suitable for food. Subsequently, as the tastes of the Japanese became more refined, the number of outlets selling local varieties of yakitori chicken, such as hinai-dori from Akita prefecture and hyuga-dori from Miyazaki prefecture, grew. These days, restaurants continue to develop new recipes in the hope of gaining an edge over the competition. For example, they decide to use expensive binchotan charcoal, which is ideal for charcoal roasting.

If you're cooking yakitori at home without charcoal, place the grill on a gas or electric stove. You can make your job easier by lubricating the grill with oil to prevent burning. You can use a frying pan or other kitchen utensils that are usually used when frying meat.

Fried chicken can be made into aspic or sprinkled with salt, as you like. It tastes great with black pepper, lemon juice, or Shichi-togarashi (ground mixture of cayenne pepper, dried orange peels, and five grains).

Unlike beef or pork, chicken fat is concentrated in the skin, so chicken, when peeled, becomes a low-fat protein source.

Udon noodles

The Japanese prefer rice to any other grains, but they definitely like noodles made from wheat or buckwheat flour as well. Many people in Japan eat noodles once a day. This is partly because the noodles slide down the throat so easily and pleasantly, but also because they are easy to cook. The noodles only need to be boiled for a few minutes, and then you can eat them.

The first people to eat noodles were probably the Chinese. The art of making noodles is said to have been introduced to Europe by Marco Polo after his return from China. The secret of making udon came to Japan from China during the Nara Period (8th century), and throughout the country, udon became popular during the Edo Period (17th - 19th centuries).

Like Italian pasta (pasta), Japanese udon noodles are made from glutinous wheat flour, salt and water are also added to the dough. The dough is kneaded, rolled out, and then cut into long narrow strips. Buckwheat noodles (soba) are made in a similar way, except that the flour is a mixture of part buckwheat and part wheat. In Japan, both types of noodles are served, which are prepared in different ways, depending on the area.

Boiled udon is usually eaten with soy sauce-based broth. The broth is sometimes served separately, in its own small bowl, in which each portion of boiled noodles must be dipped to give it a certain flavor. Sometimes the noodles to be dipped are served in a hot pot filled with the water in which they were boiled, such udon is called kama-age, which means "out of the pot".

Another common way to enjoy udon is the combination of noodles and broth in one cup. In its most basic form, this dish usually combines only broth and a condiment such as chopped green onions or a spicy pepper-based concoction. Such udon is called su-udon ("simple udon") in the Osaka region and kake-udon in the Tokyo region. The taste of udon also varies from region to region, with a noticeable difference between west and east. Udon in the Osaka area uses a saltier soy sauce for the broth and green onions as a seasoning, while noodles in the Tokyo area use a more soy-rich broth that is flavored with chopped leek.

There are even more varied versions of the dish consisting of noodles and broth, known as tanemono or the so-called variations on the theme of udon. They contain various additional components, such as tempura, fried tofu pieces, duck or chicken meat, a beaten egg that is poured into the broth until it thickens, or even curry sauce.

One popular udon condiment, called ankake, uses starch that is mixed with a little cold water to turn a regular soup into a glaze. The simplest form of ankake udon is made by pouring a broken egg into a glaze. This creates the effect of a thick egg soup. A hot cup of egg ankake udon will really warm you up on a cold day! For a much more generous dish with a better nutritional balance, add chicken and pressed boiled fish paste (kamaboko) to this seasoning, as well as some vegetables. Chicken can be replaced with pork or beef, as well as seafood such as shrimp, mussels or scallops.

Soba

The dough for soba noodles is made by mixing buckwheat and wheat flour with water, then kneading it, rolling it thinly and cutting it into narrow strips.

In cool climates, buckwheat grows quickly and does not need fertile soil. From the documents of the Nara era (710-794), we know how buckwheat was used in Japan at that time - people boiled grains and ate them like rice, and dumplings and unsweetened cakes were prepared from buckwheat flour. When there was a crop failure of rice, you could count on buckwheat.

Soba noodles as we know them today first appeared in the middle of the 17th century. It is pleasant to eat, and by the beginning of the 17th century it was being eaten in many regions of Japan. It was a time of castle building and urban growth, with the bustling city of Edo (modern day Tokyo) having a population approaching one million. Demand from builders and townspeople for catering places grew, and stalls and restaurants sprang up along the roads. Some served steamed soba noodles (mushi-soba), a light meal that soon caught on. When making mushi-soba, the noodles were boiled, then quickly cooled in lukewarm water, and then steamed in a wicker basket. Like modern soba noodles, they were served with a seasoned dipping sauce.

In Edo, soba noodles were very convenient for a light snack on an empty stomach, because at that time people usually ate only twice a day. Soba was a great, uncomplicated dish to fill up quickly when hungry throughout the day.

Subsequently, the development of soba went in different directions depending on the variety of tastes. Now you can choose from mori soba (noodles that are boiled in cool water and served in a pile in a basket) or kake soba (noodles in a large bowl that are poured with hot broth), and more recently, such a variety has been added to this choice: tane mono (tempura topped noodles, deep-fried tofu skin, edible wild plants, duck, etc.).

Now in everyday life, semi-finished soba noodles are common, dried or frozen to increase shelf life. But more and more people are making their own noodles - it's not easy, but how interesting it can be: slightly change the recipe or form, and then try your own variation on the taste.

Buckwheat is rich in vitamins B1 and B2, it also contains rutin and choline, so a growing number of people see it as a very healthy food. Some of the nutrients dissolve in the water, but they are not wasted if you follow the Japanese custom of finishing your meal by mixing the water in which the noodles were cooked with the dipping sauce and drinking the mixture down. This makes a lot of sense, because the drink tastes good and is nutritious.

Curry on rice

Curries on rice are often made in Japan at home and in school kitchens. This is a favorite dish for almost everyone, probably because it goes well with rice, the main food in Japan. Curry on rice is now almost a national dish, as is ramen noodles.

As everyone knows, India was the birthplace of cooking with curries. At the end of the 18th century, the British brought curry recipes from India with them, and from England it spread throughout the world. It became more and more common to serve meat with curry - seasoned with curry sauce, with rice as a side dish. Carry powder was first invented and sold at the beginning of the 19th century in England. The powder contains a powdered blend of various spices and makes it easy to prepare curried dishes at home.

When curries first made their way to Japan towards the end of the 19th century, they were introduced as part of British cuisine. In those days, food with curry was a luxury, but little by little, a new taste appeared in homes and ordinary restaurants in cities and towns. The dish was known by one of two names - rice kare or kare rice. The recipe for curry on rice was born in the 10s of the last century and has remained virtually unchanged since then. Curry sauce, containing more vegetables than meat and thickened with flour, is served over rice with a spicy seasoning (often minced daikon radish marinated in soy sauce).

Before the war, the military found curry on rice to be a convenient dish because it can be cooked in large quantities and is highly nutritious. Curry on rice did not become a common homemade meal until after World War II, thanks to an important innovation, a mixture of curry spices and flour that could be used in "instant" cooking. It's very easy - just fry the ingredients you want, add water, simmer and then toss the instant curry bar, let it dissolve into the liquid. Making curry on rice is easy and cheap, which explains why it has become a common household meal throughout the country.

But it's not just served at home - a variety of curry dishes can be found in commercial areas as well. They are on the menu of almost every restaurant, some noodle shops serve both kare-udon (wheat noodles flavored with curry) and rice with curry mackerel broth, and many bakery shops sell kare-pan (buns with curry sauce). inside).

There is a growing popularity, especially among young people, of restaurants serving dishes with curries from India, Thailand, Indonesia and other countries. One of them is the well-known restaurant "Nakamuraya", which has been serving Indian curry in Tokyo's Shinjuku district for 74 years. In 1927, founder Soma Aizo learned how to make curry from his son-in-law, Rash Bihari Bose, a leader of the Indian nationalist movement who was living in exile in Japan.

Curries at Nakamurai's restaurant are naturally thickened not with flour, but with vegetables. Its taste is light but rich. It is a healthy food because curry contains many spices that are used as medicinal herbs and does not bother you even if you eat dishes with curry often.

Sushi from "Conveyor"

The traditional dish has received the worldwide status of balgodar low prices and relaxed atmosphere.

You sit at the counter and watch sushi pass you on plates, then you take what you like. The conveyor belt sushi bar has low prices and a relaxed atmosphere. This new method of serving sushi spread from Japan to the United States, England, France, China, Russia and other countries.

Sushi is usually expensive, a luxury even in Japan. The conveyor sushi bar arose from thinking about how to give enough to eat to people with limited means. This bar was invented by Shiraishi Yoshiaki. In Higashi-Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, he had a restaurant that mainly served workers from nearby factories. These were small and medium-sized enterprises, and those who worked for them, of course, could not pay for expensive sushi. That's why Shiraishi opened a new, innovative sushi restaurant - no chairs, that is, visitors eat standing up. He managed to cut prices by 30%, and word got out quickly. The sushi bar was designed for 10 people, but was often crowded with hungry customers.

In a traditional sushi bar, everything is based on freshness - sushi is prepared only after it is ordered. If orders come one after another, the restaurant needs to hire new employees. More staff means higher payroll costs. Shiraishi remembered seeing beer bottles moving along a conveyor belt in the brewery a few days ago. This gave him the idea that if you make sushi and show it to your customers, they will have a choice, and he will be able to reduce the cost. So Shiraishi decided to put the sushi on the conveyor.

But what to make a conveyor from? It would seem that wood is best, but from raw fish and frequent washing, it will quickly rot. Iron will rust, so he chose stainless steel. The conveyor must go in an endless loop, so he made it from sickle-shaped steel plates fitted together.

After four years of trial and error, in 1958, the first assembly line sushi bar opened. It was called Genroku-zushi. A few years later, Shiraishi already had a network of 240 points throughout Japan. "If I can make my customers happy," he says, "I'm happy myself." In such restaurants, the bill is issued when the client says how much he ate. Shiraishi's idea combined traditional Japanese cuisine and modern technology and spread it all over the world.

Kintaro lollipops

Wherever you cut, you will definitely see the same face. Kintaro lollipops are cut from a long stick. This wand has unique feature: no matter where you cut it, the same mischievous face will definitely appear on it. This is the face of a boy named Kintaro, the hero of a legend. Lollipops have been known for a long time, but the legend of Kintaro is even older. Kintaro lived in the mountains, fought bears, monkeys and other wild animals. And according to another legend, Kintaro is the name that was called in childhood by another hero who lived about a thousand years ago.

The first Kintaro lollipops appeared over 120 years ago. One Tokyo confectionery company, Kintaro-ame Honten, still makes them the old way. Making them is relatively easy. First, the hard malt syrup must be divided into portions, and then each portion must be colored with a different color. After that, each portion is shaped into tiles. Each such tile will become part of the face. The tiles are stacked on top of each other, starting at the chin and moving on to the mouth, nose, eye, and so on, so that in the end a large cylindrical piece of candy is obtained. At this stage, the piece still doesn't look like a face. But if you pull it out into a long, thin stick, and then cut it off with a large knife, Kintaro's face will appear right there!

Each stick has its own face, as much of the work is done by hand." Machines are only used in certain stages of the manufacturing process, such as kneading molasses and pulling large pieces into long, thin sticks. "We could arrange the candy bars with a machine to get a well-thought-out image, but then all the faces would always be exactly the same. I'm sure that such lollipops would be less interesting than our handmade ones," says Watanabe Tetsuo, fifth member of the Kintaro-ame Honten dynasty.

"Kintaro-ame no e yes!" ("Just like Kintaro lollipops!") - this Japanese expression means: without unique features, monotonously monotonous. An apt comparison, since Kintaro's faces are remarkably similar wherever you cut the wand. But at the same time, an enviable individuality is manifested in each face.

Watanabe says that more and more customers are ordering lollipops with a funny picture of their own face. Along with Kintaro, in the world of lollipops, popular cartoon characters such as Pokémon are also very successful.

Sweets with Japanese flavor

The first seven days of January in Japan are called matsu no uchi, literally "among the pines", because pine branches are part of traditional New Year's decorations. These days, the Japanese visit relatives and close acquaintances with courtesy calls. Treats during such meetings are very modest, usually tea and sweets, and national ones, although in recent years they have been greatly supplanted by Western confectionery.

The difference between Japanese and Western sweets is quite big. In the West, caramel products (lollipops, filled caramels), farinaceous products (biscuits, cakes, muffins), chocolate and chocolates predominate. And in Japan, national sweets are dominated by another group of confectionery products, the so-called. fruit and berry products (marmalade, marshmallow, marmalade, jams).

Firstly, Japanese sweets should not be too sweet, secondly, they should have an aesthetically pleasing appearance, and thirdly, they should be handmade. The main difference between Japanese and European sweets is that they contain practically no animal protein components, such as creams, butter, and milk. Sugar is acceptable, but very little.

The appearance of sweets in Japan is given a lot of attention. Perhaps that is why the Japanese are dominated by "soft sweets", which are easier to give both appetizing and aesthetic appearance.

Among the traditional Japanese sweets, yokan bean paste is the most common. A mixture of red bean paste, sugar and Japanese gelatin takes a long time to cook. The resulting mass is poured into wooden molds, in which it hardens. It is believed that the first yokan was made in Japan, in the city of Kyoto in 1589. At that time, very detailed rules for the tea ceremony were developed. Yekan began to be served during the tea ceremony, as it turned out that its sweet taste goes well with the slight bitterness of green tea.

There are many varieties of yokan in Japan. Somewhere it is made with the addition of chestnuts, somewhere it is mixed with dried persimmon or some local fruits. The popularity of yokan in Japan was also facilitated by the fact that it can be stored for a very long time, since it is boiled in sugar for several hours.

Uiro is prepared using a slightly different technology. It is softer than yokan and only slightly sweet. Another type of bean-based sweet is nerikiri, usually made from white beans. They are pre-boiled until a paste is formed, sugar is added to it and jam is obtained. This jam (it is called an) is used both as a filling and on its own, giving the prepared sweets a very different shape - pine, bamboo or plum tree. These plants in Japan are a symbol of longevity, and nerikiri with their images are presented as a wish on appropriate occasions. Usually nerikiri figurines are made small, for one sip.

Pies with sweet manju filling are very popular among the Japanese. In the 14th century, the technology of cooking steamed pies with meat filling was brought to Japan from China. But soon, in the Buddhist monasteries of Japan, instead of meat, they began to stuff pies with sweet bean paste, since monks were forbidden to eat meat. Sweet manju began to be served with tea at ceremonies in Buddhist temples. Typically, these pies are made from a mixture of flour, powdered sugar, and baking powder replacing yeast, and then stuffed with en pasta and steamed. There are many varieties of manju, not only by the nature of the filling. After cooking, they are often covered with glaze, which includes crushed green tea, sesame seeds and other ingredients.

A very common dessert dish in Japan has long been mochi - rice cakes or balls. Boiled rice of glutinous varieties is pounded in a special mortar and the resulting pasty mass is rolled into balls. Often crushed odorous herbs are added to the mass for aroma. The easiest way to make sweet mochi is to roast them and dip them in sweet soy sauce. This is how kinako-mochi is prepared. After frying, the koloboks are moistened and rolled in sweetened bean flour. But, as a rule, balls of prepared rice mass are steamed beforehand. After that, they are either covered with jams or sprinkled with additives. The design of the mochi is also important. So, in the manufacture of kashiwa-mochi, rice balls are wrapped in sheets of one of the varieties of oak, and in the manufacture of timaki - in bamboo sheets.

In the relatively recent past, mochi were considered a purely festive treat. These days in Japan, they can be bought in large stores all year round, although traditional families continue to prepare these sweets with their own hands.

Such sweets correspond to Japanese tastes and are often difficult to accept by foreigners. A few years ago, the Embassy of Japan in Moscow organized an evening of tasting Japanese sweets. It must be honestly said that the "exhibits", although they were eaten, did not delight many guests who had no idea about the peculiarities of Japanese cuisine, because they were too different from ours, sweet to cloying. Japanese sweets are the fruit of centuries national traditions. Nothing extravagant, everything is natural and in moderation, especially sugar.

Of course, globalization has left its mark on the confectionery tastes of the Japanese. Confectionery prepared according to foreign recipes has firmly entered the life of the Japanese, loved by both young and old, men and women, and of course, children. However, Japanese-style sweets have not disappeared, they can be found in any city. This suggests that the age-old skill of Japanese confectioners is preserved. Their products are distinguished by high taste in the literal and figurative sense. It has its own distinct culinary aesthetic, and it is hoped that Japanese sweets will continue to have an appeal in Japan and perhaps be appreciated overseas.

Table etiquette

There are two main types of sitting at a low table on the tatami - seiza and agura. Seiza is a strict official posture, a person sits on his heels, straightening his body. So they sit during official and ceremonial dinners. The Japanese believe that an upright posture allows you to concentrate better. Therefore, when discussing serious business issues at dinner, they prefer to sit in the seiza position. The agur pose is more relaxed, allowing you to sit with your legs crossed in front of you. It is acceptable during informal Japanese-style feasts, but with traditional etiquette, for example, at a meeting of classmates at educational institutions. Women do not sit in the agura position. In an informal setting, they adopt a somewhat simplified version of seiza. For foreigners, staying in an official position for a long time can be difficult. Therefore, the hosts most often offer a foreign guest to feel free and even substitute a special armrest.

If the tray in cafes and eateries serves as functional tableware, then at official dinners it is the main regulator of table etiquette. The placement of devices on it is strictly canonized. So, all small plates of food are placed on the right, and deep ones on the left, rice and soup are closer to the diner, snacks are at the far edge of the tray. A modest home-cooked dinner party usually includes 5 types of dishes: rice, soup and 3 appetizer courses. On solemn occasions, a dinner with a full set of dishes can be arranged. It includes rice, two soups and 5-7, even 10 appetizer options. In this case, 4-5 trays are used.

The chopsticks are placed on a tray in front of the guest on a special stand. Since most people hold the chopsticks with their right hand, their tips point to the left. In Japan, considering climatic features, before the start of the meal, they serve oshibori, hot wet wipe. She wipes her face and hands. In the summer, in the heat, it can be cold.

The rules of Japanese table etiquette have evolved over the centuries. Their observance always causes a benevolent reaction of the Japanese. Before starting a meal, one should, usually with a slight bow, address the host with the word "Itadakimas!" It has many meanings, and in this case: "With your permission, I start the meal!". As a rule, on the first tray served to you there are two bowls covered with lids. On the left side - with rice (or empty - for rice), and on the right - with soup. If the rice bowl is empty, then you should take the bowl with both hands and place it on a tray, which will be placed in front of you by the waiter (or hostess) laying out the rice. The bowl filled with rice is moved to its tray. Only after that, sticks are taken with the right hand, but not before the main guest took them. The bowl of rice is taken in the left hand and the chopsticks pick up the lump of rice. Thus, the oldest Japanese tradition is fulfilled - to start a meal with rice, the main product. After rice, a sip of soup is taken from the bowl, which is taken on the right palm.

This is where the ritual part of the dinners often almost ends. Then you can eat everything that is served on the tray, in any order.

When eating rice, there are a number of important conventions. If rice is left in the bowl, it means that you have not finished eating. A clean bowl is a signal that you have finished your meal and tea will be served to you. After tea, the bowls are covered with lids. Chopsticks during meals, when they are not in use, are placed on special coasters. Under no circumstances should they be left stuck in rice. After the meal is over, the chopsticks are placed on the tray as a sign of the end of the meal with the words: "Gotiso-sama!" ("Thank you for the treat!") and a bow.

Foreigners can be advised not to rush, to take a closer look at what and how the Japanese are doing, walking, as it were, half a step behind. But there are provisions in the rules of conduct at the table according to which it is not recommended to do something, something is simply forbidden. Most of them are simple, natural and similar to European ones. You can't, for example, lick sticks. It is not customary to pick up plates on which food is laid out. You should not take something from the soup without taking a bowl with it from the tray in your hand. You can’t bite off a large piece, such as an omelet, you should separate the part into one bite with chopsticks. Everything on the left should be taken with the left hand, and everything on the right with the right. It is indecent to leave rice in a bowl. And yet, there is a hierarchy of places by seniority and social status. Guests in the house sit facing the tokonoma - a niche for works of art, the Japanese have this place of honor

INFORMATION ABOUT THE COST OF FOOD IN RESTAURANTS IN JAPAN

*prices are per person

Japan is a very expensive country, especially for foreigners. If you want to save money, then it is recommended not to use a taxi, but to use the inexpensive subway and train network. Meals will cost you much less if you refuse to visit restaurants with a menu on English language and European cuisine, and you will visit those places where the Japanese themselves eat.

Approximate prices:

• a cup of coffee - 350-600 yen;
• a bottle of beer - 350-1000 yen;
• 2 kilometers by taxi - 840 yen;
• hamburger at McDonald's - 340 yen;
• a bowl of noodles - 700 yen;
• moderate lunch - 2500 yen;
• double room - 9000-35000 yen.

MENU IN RESTAURANTS IN JAPAN

The theater, as you know, begins with a hanger, and restaurants in Japan with osinagaki, menus. Outwardly, menus often resemble, without exaggeration, works of art. There are osinagaki, which are written with a brush on thin rice paper in the style of famous calligraphy masters. In many restaurants, menu texts are not inferior in artistic design. The list of dishes sometimes reminds of classic poetic verses. In any case, many images from poetry migrated to osinagaki. In autumn, for example, momiji oroshi will be offered to you. Momiji is scarlet autumn maple leaves, a traditional poetic image, and oroshi, literally, is something passed through a grater. Autumn moods are caused by the Japanese and a dish with the same name as tsukimi van. Van is a thick vegetable soup with meat or fish in a wooden bowl. And tsukimi is an autumn ritual of admiring the reflection of the moon in water-filled rice fields. Again, the name of the dish hints at the season. Late autumn is associated with shigure-ni boiled dishes. Shigure - translated as autumn drizzling rain, and ni - cooking.

Menus with such names read like an ode to autumn, especially if you know Japanese poetic images well. When autumn turns into winter and the "icicles" of the Japanese daikon radish are gaining the peak of their taste, the menu national restaurants furofuki (finely chopped boiled daikon with tofu bean curd) appears. The name of this dish is associated with the steam emanating from the hot bath, so beloved by the Japanese on chilly evenings. This dish, typical for late autumn, is side by side with mizore ae. Mizore is rain and snow, and ae is a vegetable salad, sometimes with fish and soy paste. It necessarily contains grated snow-white daikon with sweet sauce. The dish is usually prepared in such a way that it also gives the impression of wet snow that sticks to bare tree branches and covers city streets.

The poetic names on the menu, which evoke images and memories, correspond to the developed Japanese aesthetic taste, but they also carry specific information about the dish. A tsukimi van will almost certainly contain a perfectly round egg boiled in a special way, without a shell, in boiling water, or some other component that resembles a full moon in shape. Even McDonald's restaurants in Japan have been offering a hamburger with an egg for many years in the fall and call it tsukimi baga (i.e., a burger - cutlet). Momiji oroshi, as a rule, says that the dish includes bright red pepper with grated radish as a seasoning for fried and boiled foods. Shigure-ni warns gourmets to prepare for a sharp, heavily peppered, ginger-flavoured dish.

In addition to seasonal and poetic hints, many of the names of the dishes offered in the restaurant often date back to legendary and fairy-tale characters. The most famous of these names is associated with cucumber-loving water Kappa. A popular type of sushi is called kappa maki. It is a handful of rice wrapped in dried nori seaweed with a cucumber in the middle.

Infiltrated the menu Japanese restaurants and two popular characters of Japanese folklore, cunning rogues - kitsune (fox) and tanuki (badger). Menu references to kitsune are a direct hint that there will be something fried, golden brown in the dish. Many fairy tales say about tanuki that they like to expose their thick, drum-tight bellies during the full moon, demonstrating satiety. However, if you choose soba from the tanuki menu, this does not mean that you will be served something hearty, for example, that there will be pieces of meat or shrimp in soba (buckwheat noodles). Tanuki are cunning tricksters. Therefore, is it any wonder to find pieces of batter fried in oil instead of shrimp in a plate. Delicious, but far from satisfying. This is close to the tricks of the trickster tanuki in fairy tales. True, in reputable restaurants, such jokes with the names of dishes are very rare.

Often popular dishes are associated with the names of their creators. It may be recalled that sandwiches, a piece of ham or meat between two slices of bread, are named after their "inventor" the Earl of Sandwich. In Japan, the monk Takuan Osho, who lived in the 17th century, entered the culinary history as the author of the pickling process. Nowadays, on the menu you can find takuan-zuke - daikon marinated using a special technology.

It is difficult to capture all the features of the names of Japanese dishes. The fact is that in different parts of Japan, dishes with the same name can vary greatly in their components and flavors. Therefore, when entering a restaurant somewhere in an unfamiliar place for the first time, a foreigner, and even a Japanese who is not accustomed to frequent trips, should rely not so much on the poetry of the sound as on luck.

This video tutorial is dedicated to the topic "Japan, general characteristics." You will be told about the demographic revolution and the socio-economic transformations that have taken place in society. The stages of industrial development, features will become known local population. You will also learn about Japan's transport system, one of the best in the world.

Theme: Overseas Asia

Lesson: Japan, general characteristics

Japan is an island nation located on Japanese archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, which includes more than 6500 islands. The largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku. The shores of the archipelago are strongly indented and form many bays and coves.

The seas and oceans washing Japan are of exceptional importance for the country as a source of biological, mineral and energy resources. Territory area - 388 thousand square meters. km, population - 126 million people. (10th place in the world), the capital is Tokyo.

The economic and geographical position of Japan is determined primarily by the fact that it is located in the center of the Asia-Pacific region, which contributes to the country's active participation in the international geographical division of labor.

The geological basis of the archipelago is underwater mountain ranges. About 80% of the territory is occupied by mountains and hills with a highly dissected relief of an average height of 1600 - 1700 m. There are about 200 volcanoes, 90 are active, including the highest peak - Mount Fuji (3776 m). Frequent earthquakes and tsunamis also have a significant impact on the economy of Japan.

The country is poor in minerals, but coal, lead and zinc ores, oil, sulfur, and limestone are being mined. The resources of its own deposits are small, so Japan is the largest importer of raw materials.

Japan is among the top ten countries in the world in terms of population. Japan became the first Asian country to switch from the second to the first type of population reproduction. Now the birth rate is 12%, the death rate is 8%. Life expectancy in the country is the highest in the world (76 years for men and 82 years for women).

The population is distinguished by national homogeneity, about 99% are Japanese. Of the other nationalities, the number of Koreans and Chinese is significant. The most common religions are Shintoism and Buddhism. The population is unevenly distributed over the area. The average density is 340 people per sq. km, but the coastal regions of the Pacific Ocean are among the most densely populated in the world.

More than 85% of the country's inhabitants live in cities. 11 cities are millionaires.

Rice. 2. Map largest cities Japan ()

The largest urban agglomerations are Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka. The agglomerations merge into the Tokyo Megalopolis (Takaido) with a population of more than 65 million people.

The growth rate of the Japanese economy was one of the highest in the second half of the 20th century. The country has largely carried out a qualitative restructuring of the economy. Japan is at the post-industrial stage of development, which is characterized by a highly developed industry, but the most growing area is the non-manufacturing sector (services, finance, R&D).

Although Japan is poor natural resources and imports raw materials for most industries, in the output of many industries, it ranks 1st - 2nd in the world. Industry is mainly concentrated within the Pacific industrial belt.

Power industry. Mainly uses imported raw materials. Oil is the leader in the structure of the resource base, the share of natural gas, hydropower and nuclear power is growing, and the share of coal is declining.

In the electric power industry, 60% of the capacity comes from thermal power plants and 28% from nuclear power plants, including Fukushima, the most powerful in the world.

HPPs are located in cascades on mountain rivers. In terms of hydroelectric power generation, Japan is among the top ten countries. In resource-poor Japan, alternative energy sources are being actively developed.

Ferrous metallurgy. In terms of steel production, the country ranks second in the world. The share of Japan in the world market of ferrous metallurgy is 23%.

The largest centers, now operating almost entirely on imported raw materials and fuel, are located near Osaka, Tokyo, in the city of Fujiyama.

Non-ferrous metallurgy. Due to the harmful impact on the environment, the primary smelting of non-ferrous metals is reduced. Converting plants are located in all major industrial centers.

Engineering. Gives 40% of industrial production. The main sub-sectors among the many developed in Japan are electronics and electrical engineering, the radio industry and transport engineering.

Japan firmly occupies a leading position in the world in shipbuilding, specializes in the construction of large-capacity tankers and dry cargo ships. The main centers of shipbuilding and ship repair are located in major ports(Yokohama, Nagasaki, Kobe). In terms of car production (8.5 million units per year), Japan also ranks 2nd in the world. The main centers are Toyota, Yokohama, Hiroshima.

The main enterprises of general engineering are located within the Pacific industrial belt - complex machine tool building and industrial robots in the Tokyo region, metal-intensive equipment - in the Osaka region, machine tool building - in the Nagai region.

The share of the country in the world output of the radio-electronic and electrical industry is exceptionally large.

By level development of the chemical industry Japan occupies one of the first places in the world.

Japan also developed pulp and paper, light and food industries.

Agriculture Japan remains an important industry, although it contributes about 2% of GNP; the industry employs 6.5% of the economically active population. Agricultural production is focused on food production (the country itself provides 70% of its needs).

13% of the territory is cultivated in the structure of crop production (provides 70% of agricultural products). The leading role is played by the cultivation of rice and vegetables, and horticulture is developed. Animal husbandry (cattle breeding, pig breeding, poultry farming) is intensively developing.

Due to the exclusive place of fish and seafood in the diet of the Japanese, the country fishes in all areas of the World Ocean, has more than three thousand fishing ports and has the largest fishing fleet (over 400 thousand vessels).

Rice. 4. Fish market in Japan ()

Transport. In Japan, all types of transport are developed, with the exception of river and pipeline transport. In terms of cargo transportation, the first place belongs to road transport(60%), the second place - sea. Role railway transport is declining, while air travel is growing. Due to very active foreign economic relations, Japan has the largest merchant fleet in the world.

Rice. 5. High speed train in Japan ()

The territorial structure of the economy is characterized by a combination of two completely different parts. The Pacific belt is the socio-economic core of the country. Here are the main industrial regions, ports, highways and developed agriculture. The peripheral zone includes areas where timber harvesting, animal husbandry, mining, hydropower, tourism and recreation are most developed. Despite the implementation of the regional policy, the smoothing of territorial disproportions is rather slow.

The main partners of Japan are: USA, China, Republic of Korea.

Homework

Topic 7, Item 3

1. What are the features of the geographical position of Japan?

2. Tell us about the economy of Japan.

Bibliography

Main

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Additional

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Materials on the Internet

1. Federal Institute of Pedagogical Measurements ( ).

2. Federal portal Russian Education ().