ABOUT JAPAN

GEOGRAPHY

Japan is a small, densely populated country. It is comprised of many islands with four main islands:

• Hokkaido
• Honshu
• Shikoku
• Kyushu

Okinawa became part of Japan in 1972. Many people think of Okinawa as a fifth main island.

The country is 145,825 square miles in area which makes it just a little smaller than California; but almost 70% of the land is mountains and forests. The remaining 30% must provide for 123.6 million people. For this reason, urban areas are extremely crowded.

On the other hand, such large wilderness areas afford some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Most of the mountains are rounded and whethered and present a peaceful, serene picture. They are covered with forests and dotted with lakes and streams.

There are volcanos scattered throughout the mountain areas but most are extinct or dormant.

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