Some Of The Most Fascinating Facts About Life In Japan
Japan is an incredible place. If you ever get a chance to visit the country, you should definitely take that opportunity. They have amazing food, fascinating creatures, monkeys in hot springs, and vending machines all over the place.
Keep reading to learn even more about this amazing country. Did you know that the Japanese government enforced some pretty strict rules during the Second World War, and those rules were still in place in 2015? More details ahead...
A Tough Bonsai
This bonsai tree in Japan is 400 years old and it even managed to survive the bombing of Hiroshima. That's one tough tree!
Can you believe that people have been pruning and maintaining this tree for that long?
Tokyo Is The Most Populated Megacity
Tokyo may not be the biggest city by area in the world, but it is the most populated megacity in the world.
There are currently about 38 million people living in the Greater Tokyo Area.
People Live A Long Time There
Japan has the second-highest life expectancy in the world. The average person in Japan lives to be 84 years old.
Hong Kong has a higher average life expectancy, but only just slightly.
A Lot Of Earthquakes
People who live in Japan are pretty used to feeling the earth move under their feet. Japan experiences around 1,500 earthquakes per year.
That's because it's situated close to four different tectonic plates.
They Have The Deepest Underwater Mailbox
Sure, it's a strange claim to fame, but it is absolutely true. The mailbox is located in Susami which is a small fishing village in Japan.
It can be found 30 feet underwater and it has actually collected tens of thousands of pieces of mail over the last 20 years.
There's A Highway That Goes Through A Building
The Hanshin Expressway in Osaka, Japan, goes straight through the Gate Tower Building's fifth, sixth, and seventh floors.
Apparently, the cars don't bother the people who work in the building because the building is totally soundproof.
A Very Long Coastline
If you love the beach, Japan might just be the country for you. Japan has the sixth-largest coastline in the world.
They even have a longer coastline than Australia.
So Many Pets
Around 2003, there was a pet boom in Japan. Owning a pet became super popular in the country.
By 2009, there were more dogs and cats than children in the country.
No Dancing After Midnight
During WWII, the Japanese government noticed that nightclubs were actually a front for more nefarious activity, so they decided to take some drastic measures.
Japan enforced a ban on dancing after midnight in public venues in 1948. The ban ended up lasting until 2015.
Low Unemployment Rates
One thing is for sure, there is no lack of work in Japan. In fact, many people complain that they work too much.
Japan has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world at 2.97%. Cambodia and Qatar have the lowest unemployment rates at 0.30% and 0.60% respectively.
So Many Vending Machines
Japan has been known as the land of vending machines.
There are around 23 vending machines for every one person in Japan, and there are a lot of people in Japan.
Always Slurp Your Noodles
In most places around the world, slurping your food isn't the most polite thing to do. In Japan, however, slurping your noodles is a display of appreciation.
It's basically a compliment to the chef.
Christmas Dinner Is KFC
In Japan, there is a long tradition of eating KFC on Christmas.
This is all due to a brilliant marketing campaign by KFC. They promoted their food as the ideal Christmas dinner. Now 3.6 million Japanese people eat KFC on Christmas.
Square Watermelon
Fruit is highly prized in Japan and people are always looking for new ways to make their fruit better.
They started growing watermelon in square boxes to create square watermelon.
Crystal Cola
Clear Coca-Cola is a thing in Japan. It's called Coca-Cola Clear and apparently, it tastes more like lemon since the caramel flavor was removed.
Maybe Japanese people just like clear soda better than brown soda.