The climate of Japan is diverse. The southern islands have subtropical and monsoon, and the northern ones – temperate climate. The largest city on the Hokkaido Island – Sapporo, is a famous winter sports centre.

Japan has rich and diverse flora – more than 17,000 species.

For the Japanese nature has become a cult. In the base of their most ancient religion – shinto, lies the love and affection for nature and the ability to live in harmony with it. Japan has 27 national, 53 regional parks, numerous reserves and other protected territories with total area of 1.2 mln hectares. The Ritsuri Park is one of the many large traditional Japanese gardens with area of 780,000 sq. M and was founded in 1603-1868. The village of Shirakawa has preserved the traditional Japanese houses with thatched roofs. The village is a famous tourist site and is under the UNESCO protection.

Volcanic mountains occupy more than ¾ of Japan’s area. In the country there are over 200 volcanoes, 77 of which are active. Nine of the ten highest peaks in Japan are located in the central part of the Honshu Island. Among them is Japan’s national symbol – the Fuji volcano. It is located 100 km off Tokyo and is the highest point of the country. Fuji is a sacred mountain. At least once in their lifetime all Japanese must go on a pilgrimage to Mount Fuji.

Japan has little arable lands. Rice is grown mainly. Fish and seafood are an important part of the Japanese cuisine. The country has one of the largest fishing fleets in the world and ranks first in the world by annual catch of fish. Because of the mountainous terrain only 20% of Japan’s area is inhabitable. Despite that fact the country ranks 9th in the world by the number of the population. It is concentrated in the large cities on the Honshu Island.

The Japanese culture is rich and unique. The respect to the elders and the little children, to people with higher ranks and to guests is emphasised. A great deal of the existing ceremonies, like tea drinking, is unique for the country.

The Japanese are the most ardent fans of reading in the world – over 70 mln newspapers are sold every day and approximately 1.5 bln books are sold every year.

The Hikone Castle is one of the most preserved in Japan. It is located near the city of Kyoto. Japan is economically and technically the most developed country in the world. It possesses 50% of the industrial robots in the world and allocates the biggest investments for the development of higher education and research work. Japan is one of the few countries in the world which can launch spacecrafts.