ABOUT JAPAN

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south.

Capital	Tokyo
Population	127,433,494 (in 2007)
Official language	Japanese
Currency	Yen
Time zone	JST (UTC+9)
Internet TLD	.jp
Calling code	+81

08/26/07

 THE FOUR SEASONS

Japan belongs to the temperate zone with four distinct seasons; spring, summer, fall, and winter. Japanese people cherish the seasons and spend much time enjoying each season. We would like to introduce Japanese seasons briefly with some pictures.



We call spring "HARU". This is most beautiful seasons for us because we can enjoy cherry blossom, "SAKURA", in spring. Almost all of the Japanese people recall nostalgic feelings with fugacious cherry blossoms.

At this term, Japanese schools have graduation ceremony and enrollment ceremony. Therefore we think spring to be a season of farewell and welcome.



When every trees turn into ever-green, summer is coming. We call it "NATSU". In summer we have the longest vacation just like U.S has. We have lots of things to enjoy. For instance, going to a beach to meet their future partner, going to countryside to meet their grandparents, going to some local areaes' festival with YUKATA, which is Japanese traditional summer dress, and so on. People become active with this season.



After summer is gone and mountains become red or crimson, fall is coming. We call it "AKI". In this season we have moderate weather. Because of this comfortable climate, fall has several nicknames. For example, the good season for sports, the good season for reading books, and so on. In this season, mountains' landscapes are great, and various foods are harvested. Therefore, if you come to Japan during fall, you should spend great time.



Winter is called "Fuyu" in Japanese. Northern mountains are clad with snow in this season. We can enjoy winter sports like snowboarding at such mountains. In addition, snow makes Japan beautiful indeed. When everything like mountains, lakes, woods, cities, and houses are covered with snow, and down is coming, it starts to illuminate each other. We call it "Silver World". Winter is also important season for Japanese people because we have Christmas and New year at this time as US people have.

08/26/07