Japan. The so-called ‚land of the rising sun‘ is a country far beyond many people’s imaginations.
So what exactly is this mysterious place? It is located in the most eastern part of Asia. As it is an island, Japan does not have any direct neighbors.
Roughly 127 million people live in Japan (日本) today. The crazy thing is, about 98% of those are native Japanese! That means foreign residents make up only 2% of the entire population.
More than half of that is made up of other Asian ethnicities such as China, Vietnam or South Korea. Black and white people from areas like Europe or the US amount to not even 1%.
As a result of that Japan is, considering that it is a first-world country, culturally not as diverse as other countries on that level. This fact leads back a few hundred years, where Japan was completely isolated from the rest of the world.
Only when the US showed up and told them to re-open the borders, Japan once again allowed contact with other countries. Combined with the fact that it is indeed more isolated just because it is an island, internationalization becomes more difficult.
Culture
But that only means that Japan’s rich culture leaves all-the-more to explore and discover! And that is why I love Japan so much and created this blog! You will most certainly encounter things you have never seen before and that you will not see anywhere else.
Think of all the different cultural activities you can experience there! Things like tea ceremonies, flower arrangements, origami all the way to meet-ups with real geisha (芸者)!
You will never ever get bored regardless of where you go. Many of you have probably watched at least one anime (アニメ) in their lifetime and that is how you got interested in Japan in the first place. It is surely not the anime-wonderland many people expect when coming here, but it still offers a fair amount of geek culture.
I am sure most of you have heard of Akihabara (秋葉原), and it is not an understatement to call it the mecca of said culture. As an anime fan myself, I was really amazed what this place had to offer.
Food
Sushi (寿司). This is what most people give as a first answer when asked about Japanese cuisine. And I can definitely understand why: There is an enormous amount of sushi places in Japan, and so many varieties of sushi too!
But what else does it have to offer?
The answer: A lot!
There are a big variety of noodle, meat, fish and also vegetarian dishes! Among my favorites are of course the all-time famous noodle dish Ramen (ラーメン), Yakitori (焼き鳥) (grilled Chicken on a skewer), Yakiniku (焼肉) (very similar to Korean BBQ, basically meat that you grill at your table) and Udon (うどん) (similar to Ramen, but the noodles are a lot thicker)
Japan pretty much serves any taste that you can imagine. Even if you are a picky eater, you will not starve I promise!
Takeaway
If you have always wanted to go to Japan but you’re having worries you might not be able to enjoy it much due to language barrier or other reason, don’t fret!
Definitely go when you get the chance! Trust me, you will not regret it. I was lucky enough to be able to go for the first time in July last year. No words can describe what you will experience on your first travel there.
Let the country take you in and make the most out of it. Just do it!
By now you should have a general idea of what Japan is all about. Of course this is by far not all there is to know! That is why I will provide you with all the information you need to have a wonderful stay in the country and to enjoy your time to the fullest!
Japan is awesome!
Thank you very much for reading my very first real article. Liked it? Drop a comment down below or share it with your friends!
I am always open for suggestions regarding topics to write about!
Have something that you really need to know? Hit me up and I will surely write an article about it!
Stay tuned for my next article which will be released very shortly and is going to be about Tokyo!
See you next time!
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