Konichiwa! Japan is one of the most fascinating countries in Asia. There are some curiosities that you may not know and I discovered investigating (a lot) on internet.
Source (and BTW amazing photo from his author, I hope one day I can take this type of pictures by myself)
1) It has the highest life expectancy in the world
86 years for women and 79 for men. The maximum life expectancy inside Japan is located on the island of Okinawa.
2) is the country with the most elderly and one of the lowest birth rates
21% of Japan's population is over 65 years old. The year 2050, Japan is expected to have 95 million of inhabitants as it now has 130.
3) Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, is the busiest in the world
According to Wikipedia, 3.64 million people pass through this station on a daily basis. The station has 200 exits.
4) is not too expensive
You can eat for $8-9 and the water is free. You can find accommodation for 29-34 $ per person and the Tokyo Metro costs $2 the way. High-speed Shinkansen train lines are expensive.
5) The same political party ruled Japan 54 years up to 2009
The Japanese Liberal Party ruled the country from 1955 to 2009. Now the Democratic Party of Japan rules the country.
6) 86% of the Japanese practice Buddhism or Shinto
The Shintoism is a native religion of Japan in which the Japanese people worship the spirits of nature. Some Japanese practice both religions at once.
7) Many Asian countries don't like Japan
If you travel around China and Southeast Asia, you could see a bit of mania for everything Japanese. In particular among older people. Since Japan invaded Korea, China, and part of Southeast Asia, committing crimes like the Nanking Massacre in China.
8) The Japanese government and the Russian have been disputing the Kuril Islands for years
These islands are officially Russian since the USSR invaded them at the end of World War II.
9) In Tokyo, there is a statue of a dog: Hachiko
Hachiko was the dog of a Japanese teacher. Hachiko every afternoon waited for his owner in front of the train station. One day the owner died, but the dog kept going ten years to wait for him. There are two films, Japanese and American, that tell the story.
10) 80% of Japanese territory is hilly and has 6,852 islands
The highest mountain is Mount Fuji (3.776 meters). Most of the islands are small except the four large ones: Hokkaidō, Honshū (where Tokyo is), Shikoku and Kyūshū.
11) There are more than 3000 onsens in the country
Being a volcanic country (108 active volcanoes), Japan has thousands of onsen (thermal baths). They are usually divided into sections for men and women, and you must bathe naked.
12) You can't enter into the onsen if you have tattoos
I found information saying that if you wear tattoos you can't enter the onsen, to avoid the entry of members of the Yakuza (Japanese mafia), who are traditionally tattooed.
13) It is common to find covered streets in Japanese cities
Streets that give the feeling of being in a mall but they only have a dome on top.
14) Women still have a somewhat secondary role in Japan's political and managerial positions
For example, only 11% of the members of the Japanese Parliament are women.
15) In Tokyo, You can't smoke on the streets but in the bars.
You can only smoke in the smoking areas that are everywhere:
in some places on the street, in the bars, in the train station, etc.
16) The Tōkaidō Shinkansen, the train that goes from Tokyo to Osaka is the train line with more passengers of the world
This high-speed train carries about 151 million passengers per year, and since its inauguration in 1964, it has already taken more passengers than any other train line in the world. Each hour leaves 13 trains with more than 1300 seats available.
17) A Japanese experimental train has the speed record at 581 km/hour
The JR-Maglev is an experimental train of magnetic levitation that in 2003 was put at this incredible speed.
18) Is full of vending machines
There are vending machines all over the country, and many offer beer. Japan has been for decades the place where most are used these gadgets to sell everything: bread, tobacco, underwear, pirated games, hallucinogens...
The first vending machines appeared in Japan around 1950 and began to spread in the later years. Today Japan has the largest number of vending machines per capita in the world. Most of them are drinks, but there are all kinds of inventions.
19) During World War II Japan built the biggest warship in history
The Yamato was a battleship of 263 meters in length and 72 800 tons. Was sunk by the North American submarines in 1945 near the island of Okinawa without ever having used his massive cannons.
