10 Amazing, Fun & Interesting Facts About Japan

Japan, the island country located in the east Asia. Japan is well known country for it technology, culture and food cuisines like sushi etc. Lets us know some interesting facts about Japan

Interesting Facts About Japan

#1: Name

In Japanese, Japan is called “Nihon” or “Nippon”, meaning sun origin.

#2: Pacific Ring of Fire

The Pacific Ring of Fire is the area which very prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, there are some interesting facts about Japan related to this Pacific ring of fire, here they are:

Japan is covered with mountains up to an extent of 70%, out of which at least 200 of them are volcanic.
Mt.Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan and is volcanically active.
Japan’s mountains are a part of the volcanic mountains included in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

#3: Footwear

There are some strange and interesting facts about Japan related to the footwear tradition, here they are:

The floors in Japan guide us on the type of footwear to be worn. Raised floors indicate when slippers are to be worn or when they are to be taken off completely.
The entrance to a house is usually raised six inches to indicate that one should remove their shoes and put on slippers.
The floor of room having tatami mat is raised an inch or two to indicate that you are supposed to walk barefoot and remove your slippers.
If ever, you have to use the restroom at someone else’s house, you would have to wear special slippers meant for the restroom.

#4: Sumo

Although baseball is very popular, Sumo is the national sport of Japan.
Sumo wrestlers eat Chankonabe, a kind of a stew to fatten themselves up. It is even available in many restaurants in the district of Ryogoku of Tokyo.
The junior Sumo rikishi are expected to help their seniors bathe cleanly and make sure that the places that are hard to reach by one self are clean in the Sumo training stables.
Apart from Sumo wrestling, Japan is home to a variety of martial arts. Karate, Judo, Ninjutsu, Jujutsu, Kendo and Aikido are some to name.

#5: Delicacies

The traditional Japanese breakfast includes rice topped with natto, which are fermented soy beans.
Japanese eat squids, octopuses, eel, all varieties of fishes, crabs, prawns, etc.
The basahi which is the raw horse meat is enjoyed. It is thinly sliced and eaten raw.
Beer is dispensed through vending machines.
A well grown musk melon may fetch $300 in Japan.

Japan Fact #6: Fish

The Tsukiji market is the world’s largest fist market.
Whale meat is not a delicacy in Japan, though many believe the contrary. The taste is said to remind older people of the Second World War. Whaling is banned, but Japan claims to do it for research purposes.
The poisonous fish Fugu is being produced in fish farms as non poisonous varieties. This would help avoid the intense 7 – 10 years of intense training a chef has to undergo, to be qualified to cook it.

Japan Fact #7: Noodles

Ramen noodles are popular food in Japan.
In Japan, noodles are eaten somewhat loudly by slurping them. The slurping is an acknowledgement to the cook as to say the food is delicious. The slurping also helps cool the food down.

Japan Fact #8: Literacy

Japan can be really proud of the fact that it has almost 100 percent literacy.
Japan has four different writing systems namely Romaji, Katakana, Hiragana, and Kanji.

Japan Fact #9: Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty originated in Japan, in the seventies.

Japan Fact #10: Laureates

Japan boasts of 15 Nobel Prize Laureates when it comes to physics, chemistry and medicine. It also produced 3 Fields Medalists and 1 Gauss Prize Laureate.