Interesting facts about Japan

[GaijinPunch]

Usable for what ?

Building a house, raising a family -- doing things related to society basically.

[Pachipro]

Interesting facts you list here. Concerning geography I think I read somewhere that, since Japan is so mountanous, that 100% of the people live on only 18% of the land. I'll have to see if I can find this out.

Why is it that Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world? Could it be the food they eat? More vegetables and fish? It sure can't be lifestyle as some people have said that Japan is probably one of the most stressful countries to live in and it is said that stress causes more premature deaths among humans than anything else. I mean they live with the threat of a deadly earthquake on a daily basis; they live in small cramped quarters; everywhere you go it is so crowded; driving is a nightmare; there is basically no privacy. Could it be their philosophy of life? Hmmm, something to look into.

[Maciamo]

Building a house, raising a family -- doing things related to society basically.

I think you can build a house pretty much anywhere you want. Even in the mountains (ask the Swiss), in the hills (ask the Brits) or even in the desert (ask the Middle-Easters or Australians) or on frozen land (like in Greenland or Northern Canada). Anyway, Japan has not desert, no toundra or arctic land. It has a lot of mountains/hills, but few that reach 3,000m, where oxygens because sparse enough not to want to live.

Raising cows is another thing that's difficult on hilly terrain.

Really ? So why is Swizterland so famous for dairy products ? (milk, cheese, milk chocolate with a purple cow on it ). Anyway, Japan has plenty of non-mountainous land. The Kanto plain alone is 16172 square km, half the size of Belgium. Hokkaido, which is mostly flat and where most of Japan's dairy product indeed come from, is 77978 square km, i.e. slightly bigger than the whole Benelux. The you have the Kansai plain, and most of Kyushu...

Concerning geography I think I read somewhere that, since Japan is so mountanous, that 100% of the people live on only 18% of the land.

In that regard, I have often found the Japanese exaggerating about the lack of inhabitable land in their country. Especially that the Japanese have traditionally built very concentrated villages/towns, leaving plenty of empty land around, even when the country's population was 1/4 of what it is now. In most European countries (except maybe Spain), houses in the countryside are built "as far as possible" (within certain limits) from other houses, for the sake of privacy or having a bigger garden or "territory". That's why, coming from a country with almost exactly the same density of population as Japan, I was surprised to see so many "wild" expanses in the Japanese countryside, with only fields or forests. In the Belgian countryside, almost anywhere you look you'd find a hamlet or village. So for me Japan is a great place to explore nature (a bit exaggerating, but you get the picture).

In Japan, it's exactly the opposite. People build right next to each other, often without garden/backyard, even when it's in sparsely populated regions like Tohoku or Hokkaido. They do that because of a stronger gregarious intinct, for safety reasons (neighbours can look over your house when you are away), and because it's more convenient for business (closer from the shops, station...). Because of this different approach to land use, they could "pack" more people per square kilometre, or use more land for farming. I have noticed that in the countryside, most people have a patch of cultivated land in their backyard (like they did during the war in Europe) rather than a decorative garden like in Europe. You won't find many people with their own little "Japanese garden" with momiji, cherry trees, cedars and a pond with koi. This is left to old shogun or daimyo gardens or the super-rich (in some European countries like Britain or Belgium, its fairly standard to have a well-tended garden with various trees, parterres and maybe a small pond with Japanese koi).

Japan also produces enough rice to sustain its 128 million people, and many other crops (esp. vegetables and fruits). That means they have the space. And if you can cultivate some land, you can also live on it (but the reverse in not true, e.g. in the mountain).

In Western countries, the most expensive pieces of residential land are usually dramatically set over rocks in a valley or facing the sea, on top of a hill overlooking a city, or other difficult to reach places. Many European castles are located in such places. In LA, such places can be found at Malibu, a mountain flank running straight into the sea. Japan has plenty of places that would cost a fortune for the view they offer over a town/city, but it seems that the Japanese are not interested in living in such places, favouring convenience over landscape or exceptional situation.

Finally, the density of population in Tokyo is 5655 inhabitant/km² (Tokyo-to), or 13,333 inh./km² for the 23 inner wards, which is normal for a big city. NYC has 10,292 inh./km² and Paris (20 wards) has 24,448 inh./km². A city like Sapporo only has 1668 inhabitant/km². This shows that Japanese cities are not so crowded, despite their appearances.

Why is it that Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world?

We have already discussed that here.

[Index]

Really ? So why is Swizterland so famous for dairy products ? (milk, cheese, milk chocolate with a purple cow on it ). Anyway, Japan has plenty of non-mountainous land. The Kanto plain alone is 16172 square km, half the size of Belgium. Hokkaido, which is mostly flat and where most of Japan's dairy product indeed come from, is 77978 square km, i.e. slightly bigger than the whole Benelux. The you have the Kansai plain, and most of Kyushu...

Yes good point. Maybe Swiss cows have lopsided legs ? And Japanese cows are always drunk so they can't even stand upright on plains, let alone hills...

[Maciamo]

Yes good point. Maybe Swiss cows have lopsided legs ? And Japanese cows are always drunk so they can't even stand upright on plains, let alone hills...

Yes, that started when they opened Japan's first beer brewery in Sapporo 100 years ago. When the Japanese think about Hokkaido, they think "beer" and "milk". Before the age of 20 they drink milk, and after beer... Without Hokkaido, Japan would be... well, more like Westerners imagine it, with people actually drinking "sake" (nihonshu).

Japanese people are quite proud of their beef. They say that they give them beer to relax them, which creates more fat. Now we understand why Japanese people can't raise cows in the mountain !

[jread]

In that regard, I have often found the Japanese exaggerating about the lack of inhabitable land in their country. Especially that the Japanese have traditionally built very concentrated villages/towns, leaving plenty of empty land around, even when the country's population was 1/4 of what it is now. In most European countries (except maybe Spain), houses in the countryside are built "as far as possible" (within certain limits) from other houses, for the sake of privacy or having a bigger garden or "territory". That's why, coming from a country with almost exactly the same density of population as Japan, I was surprised to see so many "wild" expanses in the Japanese countryside, with only fields or forests. In the Belgian countryside, almost anywhere you look you'd find a hamlet or village. So for me Japan is a great place to explore nature (a bit exaggerating, but you get the picture).

In Japan, it's exactly the opposite. People build right next to each other, often without garden/backyard, even when it's in sparsely populated regions like Tohoku or Hokkaido. They do that because of a stronger gregarious intinct, for safety reasons (neighbours can look over your house when you are away), and because it's more convenient for business (closer from the shops, station...). Because of this different approach to land use, they could "pack" more people per square kilometre, or use more land for farming. I have noticed that in the countryside, most people have a patch of cultivated land in their backyard (like they did during the war in Europe) rather than a decorative garden like in Europe. You won't find many people with their own little "Japanese garden" with momiji, cherry trees, cedars and a pond with koi. This is left to old shogun or daimyo gardens or the super-rich (in some European countries like Britain or Belgium, its fairly standard to have a well-tended garden with various trees, parterres and maybe a small pond with Japanese koi).

Japan also produces enough rice to sustain its 128 million people, and many other crops (esp. vegetables and fruits). That means they have the space. And if you can cultivate some land, you can also live on it (but the reverse in not true, e.g. in the mountain).

In Western countries, the most expensive pieces of residential land are usually dramatically set over rocks in a valley or facing the sea, on top of a hill overlooking a city, or other difficult to reach places. Many European castles are located in such places. In LA, such places can be found at Malibu, a mountain flank running straight into the sea. Japan has plenty of places that would cost a fortune for the view they offer over a town/city, but it seems that the Japanese are not interested in living in such places, favouring convenience over landscape or exceptional situation.

Finally, the density of population in Tokyo is 5655 inhabitant/km² (Tokyo-to), or 13,333 inh./km² for the 23 inner wards, which is normal for a big city. NYC has 10,292 inh./km² and Paris (20 wards) has 24,448 inh./km². A city like Sapporo only has 1668 inhabitant/km². This shows that Japanese cities are not so crowded, despite their appearances.

Thank you for that very interesting and informative post. I have always had a huge interest in urban planning and it is very interesting to me how the Japanese regulate their landuse. I REALLY wish the United States would follow such a model but I don't see it ever happening. It's great to see how density really works, rather necessary or not.