About Japan

Located in the Pacific Ocean, Japan consists of four main island(Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu) and many smaller island. The population is about 125 million and has thousands of cities. The major cities have a high population density with 11 cities containing over one million residents. The three neighboring cities of Tokyo, Kawasaki and Yokohama alone account for approximately 20 million people. The climate varies from one region to region. Japan has four seasons. Spring months are March, April, and May. Summer months are June, July, and August. Autumn months are September, October, and November. Winter months are December, January, and February. Summer is usually hot and humid. During the winter, it snows a lot on the Sea of Japan side, and it is dry on the Pacific Ocean side.

 

Quick Facts

Capital	Tokyo
Population	127,463,611(2006)
Government	Parliamentary Goverment
Prime Minister	Taro Aso
Area	377,853km2
Language	Japanese
Religion	Shinto and Buddhism
Currency	Yen

 

Living In Japan

Crime
Japan is considered one of the safest countries in the world to live in. Although violent crime, such as robbery, murder has been dramatically increasing in recent years, it is still rare for foreigners to encounter any of these.

Living Cost
Living costs in Japan are famous to be among the world's highest. However, with careful planning and budgeting, you can get by $20〜 $30 a day for food and other personal expenses.

Transportation
Japan has an excellent public transport system, including trains, subways, buses, taxis. In the major city, you can always rely on the subway or train. The trains are on time and very frequent. Taxi is expensive here. The basic taxi fee is around 600 yen and then taxi fee goes up at every few kilometers

Guest House
If you are planning to stay in Japan for a long time, renting a room in a guest house is very economical. Most of guest houses have private rooms and places in dormitory rooms for budget travellers. In a guest house , tenants share toilet, shower rooms and kitchen and all rooms are usually furnished. It is also a great place to meet fellow travelers from around the world. Living costs of Japan is very expensive. You can save some money by staying in a guest house.

English
About 99% of the population speaks Japanese as their first language. Although most public and private schools require students to take courses in English, Majority of Japanese speak limited English.

Nightlife
You'll find plenty of bars, pubs and clubs around major cities. Roppongi(Gaijin-friendly area ) in Tokyo, is the party capital for foreigners.