Did you know?//Random facts book

Japan

(Image above from google)
1. The Japanese name for Japan is "Nihon" or "Nippon" which means "sun origin".

2. Japan is made up of 6,852 islands.

3. The highest point in Japan in Mount Fuji, which stands at 3,776m (12,388ft).

4. Due to gases produced by power plants, Japan sometimes suffers from acid rain.

5. Japan is a world leader in robotics. Japanese engineers are known for producing a range of human-like robots such as ASIMO.

6. Japan has the third longest life expectancy in the world with men living to 81 years old and women living to almost 88 years old. The Japanese live on average four years longer than Americans.

7. Japan has more than 3,000 McDonald's restaurants, the largest number in any country outside the U.S.

8. Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's film The Hidden Fortress was the basis for George Lucas' famous film Star Wars.

9. The Japanese eat more fish than any other people in the world, about 17 million tons per year. Japan is the world's largest importer of seafood, with shrimp comprising about one third of the total, about four million tons a year. More than 20% of Japanese protein is obtained through fish and fish products.

10. Over two billion manga, Japanese comic books or graphic novels, are sold in Japan each year.

11. More than 5 billion servings of instant ramen noodles are consumed in Japan each year. Chef Momofuku Ando invented the first instant "chicken ramen" in 1958.

12. Cherry blossoms (sakura) are Japan's national flower.

13. The world's shortest escalator is in the basement of More's department store in Kawasaki, Japan; it has only 5 steps and is 32.8 inches (83.3 cm) high.

14. Haiku poetry, which was invented in Japan, consists of only three lines and is the world's shortest poetic form.

15. Anime, or animated Japanese films and television shows, account for 60% of the world's animation-based entertainment. Animation is so successful in Japan that there are almost 130 voice-acting schools in the country.

16. Ninety percent of all mobile phones sold in Japan are waterproof because youth like to use them even while showering.

17. The sole Japanese man who survived the wreck of the RMS Titanic in 1914, Masabumi Hosono, was called a coward in his country for not dying with the other passengers.

18. When Japanese people meet, they traditionally bow instead of shake hands, and the lowest bow shows the deepest respect.

19. In Japan, Kit Kat candy bars come in flavors like grilled corn, Camembert cheese, Earl Gray tea, grape, and wasabi. The Japanese pronounce Kit Kat like "Kitto Katsu," which sounds like "You are sure to pass" in Japanese, and so they make a popular gift to students during entrance exam season.

20. Around 25 billion pairs of waribashi (disposable chopsticks) are used in Japan each year. This is equivalent to the timber needed to build 17,000 homes.

21. In Japan, black cats are considered good luck charms or omens of good luck.

22. Raw horse meat is considered a delicacy in Japan. It is called basashi and is sliced thinly and eaten raw.

23. Hello Kitty was born in Japan in 1974 as a plastic coin purse. More than 20,000 Hello Kitty products are on the market today, including toasters, instant noodles, credit cards, and toilet paper. To her Japanese fans, she is known as Kitty Chan.

24. Tsukiji market in Tokyo is the world's largest fish market, handling over 2,000 tons of marine products daily.

25. The green traffic light in Japan is called ao shingō, or "blue."

26. The Japanese have more pets than children.

27. Baseball is the most popular sport in Japan. Known as yakyū, it was introduced to Japan by an American teacher named Horace Wilson. The first game was played in Japan in 1873 at Tokyo University. Japan has two professional baseball leagues, the Pacific and Central. The game is so popular that even high school games are broadcast on national TV.

28. Generally acknowledged to be the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji, was written by a Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century.

29. Karate is perhaps the best known martial arts form to have come out of Japan. It originated in China but was refined in Okinawa. It literally means "empty hands" and uses trained movements of the hands, arms, and legs for self-defense. An estimated 50 million people worldwide practice karate.

30. 21% of the Japanese population is elderly, the highest proportion in the world. Japan has more than 50,000 people who are over 100 years old.

31. Japanese trains are among the world's most punctual: their average delay is just 18 seconds!

32. Japan's birth rate is so low that adult diapers are sold more than baby diapers.

33. 685 kids were rushed to hospitals in Japan in 1997 after an intense pokemon episode that caused dizziness, vomiting and seizures.

34. Japan has 5.52 million vending machines offering anything from soda to sex toys and live crabs.

35. Ronald McDonald is called Donald McDonald in Japan due to a lack of a clear 'R' sound in Japanese.

36. They use more paper for comics than for toilet paper in Japan.

37. Norway introduced salmon sushi to the Japanese in the 80's.

38. Coffee is so popular in Japan that Japan imports approximately 85% of Jamaica's annual coffee production.

39. Tokyo is the second most expensive city in the world to live in.

40. The world's most expensive tuna was sold in Japan for $735,000 USD.

41. Sushi used to be eaten as street food.

42. The fortune cookie dates back to the 19th century and was first made in Kyoto, Japan.

I'm back!!!!! Happy new year everyone (I know it's late). I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. A lot of my friends love Japan so I thought I would write a chapter about it. What would you like facts about next?

Also go and check out jinsmarmalade she's a good friend of mine.

See you in the next chapter!

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