The
island of Japan forms an arc in the Pacific Ocean to
the east of the Asian continent. The land comprises
four large islands name (in decreasing order of size)
Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, together with
many smaller islands. The Pacific Ocean lies to the
east while the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea
separate Japan from the Asian continent.
Japan's total land area is about 378,000 square km,
which is approximately the same size as Germany,
Finland, Vietnam, or Malaysia. As warm ocean current
known as the Kuroshio flows northeastward along the
southern part of the Japanese archipelago, and a
branch of it, known as the Tsushima Current, flows
into the Sea of Japan along the west side of the
country. From the north, a cold current known as the
Oyashio flows south along Japan's east coast, and a
branch of it, called the Liman Current, enters the Sea
of Japan from the north. The mixing of these warm and
cold currents helps produce abundant fish resources in
waters near Japan.
About 3/4 of Japan's land surface is mountainous. The
Chubu Region of central Honshu is known as the "roof
of Japan" and has many mountains which are more than
3,000 meters high. Japan's highest mountain is Mt.
Fuji (3,776 m) with Kitadake at 3,192 m being the
second highest.
Since it is situated along the circum-Pacific volcanic
belt, Japan has several volcanic regions - usually
considered to number 7- from the far north to the far
south. Of all the volcanoes, about 80 are considered
active, including Mr. Mihara, Mt. Asama and Mr. Aso.
Incredibly, Japan has about 1/10 of the world's
approximately 840 active volcanoes, this in spite if
it's small land area (about 1/400 of the world's land
area). Mt. Fuji, which as been dormant for almost 300
years, is still capable of erupting again in our
lifetime. All the instability under the Japanese
archipelago is conducive for earthquakes, thus placing
Japan among those countries most likely to suffer from
them.
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Overview
The
island of Japan forms an arc in the Pacific Ocean to
the east of the Asian continent. The land comprises
four large islands name (in decreasing order of size)
Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, together with
many smaller islands. The Pacific Ocean lies to the
east while the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea
separate Japan from the Asian continent.
Japan's total land area is about 378,000 square km,
which is approximately the same size as Germany,
Finland, Vietnam, or Malaysia. As warm ocean current
known as the Kuroshio flows northeastward along the
southern part of the Japanese archipelago, and a
branch of it, known as the Tsushima Current, flows
into the Sea of Japan along the west side of the
country. From the north, a cold current known as the
Oyashio flows south along Japan's east coast, and a
branch of it, called the Liman Current, enters the Sea
of Japan from the north. The mixing of these warm and
cold currents helps produce abundant fish resources in
waters near Japan.
About 3/4 of Japan's land surface is mountainous. The
Chubu Region of central Honshu is known as the "roof
of Japan" and has many mountains which are more than
3,000 meters high. Japan's highest mountain is Mt.
Fuji (3,776 m) with Kitadake at 3,192 m being the
second highest.
Since it is situated along the circum-Pacific volcanic
belt, Japan has several volcanic regions - usually
considered to number 7- from the far north to the far
south. Of all the volcanoes, about 80 are considered
active, including Mr. Mihara, Mt. Asama and Mr. Aso.
Incredibly, Japan has about 1/10 of the world's
approximately 840 active volcanoes, this in spite if
it's small land area (about 1/400 of the world's land
area). Mt. Fuji, which as been dormant for almost 300
years, is still capable of erupting again in our
lifetime. All the instability under the Japanese
archipelago is conducive for earthquakes, thus placing
Japan among those countries most likely to suffer from
them.
GEOGRAPHY
Japan is an island with a coastline ranging from long,
sandy beaches to areas with steep cliffs. The country
forms an arc and contains four large islands and many
smaller ones. Approximately the same size as Malaysia
or Germany, Japan has a total land area of about
378,000 sq km. To put it into further perspective,
it's smaller than the state of California and about
1/25 the size of the United States.
On
Japan's east is the Pacific Ocean and on the west is
the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. These two
seas, incidentally, are all that separate Japan from
China. Being in the middle of all these bodies of
water with their warm and cold currents has it's
advantages, a great abundance of fish! The currents
flow in different directions around Japan. The warm
currents flow from the southern part of Japan,
northward with a cold current flowing from the north
going south. These currents split, thus branching off
and flowing on both the east and west side of Japan.
VOLCANOES AND
EARTHQUAKE
Volcano Sakurajima Kagoshima
The
majority of Japan's land is mountainous, totaling
approximately 75%. Central Honshu's Chubu Region is
incredible with many mountains exceeding 3,000 in
height, which is why it's aptly named "the roof of
Japan".
The
highest mountain in Japan is Mt. Fuji, at an
impressive 3,776 meters. Mt. Fuji can be found
bordering the Yamanashi and Shizuika Prefectures.
It's easy to forget that this impressive and beautiful
mountain is actually a volcano. Although it hasn't
erupted since 1707, Mt. Fuji is not considered a
dormant volcano and could erupt again in the future.
Actually, many mountainous
regions, about seven of them, are considered to be
volcanic. These regions go from the far north all the
way down to the far south. The reason for the high
number of volcanic areas is because Japan is located
along the circum-Pacific volcanic belt. Of the 840
active volcanoes in the world, Japan has almost 1/10
of them (approximately 80) even though Japan has only
1/400 of the world's land area!
A positive aspect of
volcanoes is the money brought in by tourists.
Tourists go to see the beautiful scenery and go to the
surrounding hot springs as well.
It
is apparent by all Japan's volcanoes that there is a
lot of instability in the Earth's crust below. This
instability, and high energy, attributes to the
approximately 1,000 earthquakes Japan experiences
every year. Most of these are not serious and don't
cause extensive damage, but are simply those that are
strong enough to be felt.
CLIMATE
A
major feature of Japan's climate is the clear-cup
temperature changes between the four seasons. From
north to south, Japan covers a range of latitude of
some 25 degrees and is influenced in the winter by
seasonal winds blowing from Siberia and in the summer
by seasonal winds blowing from the pacific Ocean. In
spite of it's rather small area, Japan is
characterized by four different climatic patterns.
Hokkaido, with a subarctic weather pattern, has a
yearly average temperature of eight degrees centigrade
and receives an average annual precipitation of 1,150
millimeters. The Pacific Ocean side of Japan, from
the Tohoju region of northern Honshu to Kyushu,
belongs to the temperate zone, and its summers are
hot, influenced by seasonal winds from the Pacific.
The side of the country which faces the Sea of Japan
has a climate with much rain and snow, produced when
cold. moisture-bearing seasonal winds from the
continent are stopped in their advance by the Central
Alps and other mountains which run along Japan's
center like a backbone, The southwestern islands of
Okinawa Prefecture belong to the subtropical climate
zone and have a yearly average temperate of over 22
degrees, while receiving over 2,000 millimeters of
precipitation.
Spring (March,
April, May)
When winters nears its end, the cold seasonal winds
blowing from the continent become weaker and more
intermittent. At this time, low pressure air masses
originating in China enter the Sea of Japan; these
give rise to strong, warm southerly winds which travel
toward this low-pressure zone from the Pacific Ocean.
The first of these winds is called haru ichiban.
While it announces the warmth of the coming spring, it
sometimes causes avalanches and, crossing the
mountains to the side of the country facing the Sea of
Japan, it is at times responsible for exceptionally
hot and dry weather and can even become the cause of
large fires.
In
early spring, plum blossoms appear, followed by peach
blossoms. During the last ten days or so of March,
the cherry blossoms so beloved by the Japanese people
begin to bloom.
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Summer (June,
July, August)
Before the arrival of real summer-like weather, Japan
has a damp rainy season know as baiu. From May
until July, there is a high-pressure mass of cold air
above the Sea of Okhotsk to the north of Japan, while
over the Pacific Ocean there develops a high-pressure
mass of warm, moist air. Along the line where these
cold and warm air masses meet, known as the baiu
zensen, which extends from southern China over the
Japanese archipelago, causes prolonged periods of
continuous rainfall.
After the middle of July, high-pressure air masses
over the Pacific Ocean become predominant and the
rainy season comes to an end as the baiu zensen
is pushed northward. Seasonal winds from the Pacific
Ocean bring warm, moist air to Japan, and the country
has hot summer weather with many days when
temperatures rise to more than 30 degrees centigrade.
Autumn
(September, October, November)
From the end of summer through September, Japan is
often struck by typhoons. Typhoons originate from
large masses of tropical low-pressure air in the North
Pacific between the latitudes of approximately 5 and
20 degrees, and are the same phenomenon as hurricanes
and cyclones in other parts of the world. When a
typhoon begins to take shape, it gradually moves
north. Every year, during this period, around 30
typhoons form, of which on the average about 4 reach
Japan, sometimes causing great destruction.
After the middle or latter part of October, Japan
enjoys generally clear weather; it is neither hot nor
cold. The country also enjoys especially fine weather
at the beginning of November. Many of the trees take
on bright autumn colors, making this time of the year,
together with the time of new greenery in the spring,
a truly beautiful season.
Winter
(December, January, February)
Toward the end of November, cold seasonal winds begin
blowing over Japan from the continent. These
northwesterly winds pick up moisture over the Sea of
Japan and drop much of this moisture in the form of
rain and snow on the western side of Japan as they are
impeded in their eastern advance by the ridge of
mountains that runs through the central part of the
country. The Hokuriku region (Fukui, Ishikawa,
Toyama, and Niigata prefectures), which faces the Sea
of Japan and is separated from other regions of Japan
by high mountains, is known for its deep snows.
By
contrast, the Pacific side of the country enjoys
generally clear skies during the winter season. In
Tokyo, despite the fair skies, winter temperatures
average around 5 degrees, a difference of 25 degrees
from summer temperatures of 30 degrees or more.
The
islands of Okinawa Prefecture in the far southwest
have a subtropical climate with less marked
temperature differences between the seasons. Winter
temperatures there are much more moderate than in
other parts of the country.
Information provided by the Japanese Embassy |