General location
Japan is a country made up of thousands of islands of which Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku are the largest. Japan is an island country that forms an arc in the pacific ocean to the east of the Asian continent.
The latitude of Japan approximately coincides with the Mediterranean sea or Los Angeles in Northern America and Paris and London have latitudes similar to those of the northern tip of Hokkaido.
Japan's total land area is approximately 78,000 square kilometers which is the approximate size of Germany, Malaysia, Vietnam or Finland. It is only 1/25 of the size of the United States and is smaller than the state of California.
The coastlines across Japan are quite varied. In some areas such as Kujukurihama in Chiba
Prefecture there are long sandy beaches that continue for over 60 kilometers in a reasonably straight line. However the coast of the Nagasaki Prefecture is an great example of how diverse the landscape is as these areas consist of many inlets and steep cliffs.
About 3/4 of Japan is covered in large mountains and forests. The Chubu region of central Honshu is known as the 'roof of Japan' because of it's many mountains that are over 3,000 metres high. Perhaps one of these and most famous mountains is Mt Fuji, which stands at (3,776 meters) on the border of Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures. Japan’s second highest peak is Kitadake in the Yamanashi Prefecture standing at 3,192 meters high.
http://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1000.html
The latitude of Japan approximately coincides with the Mediterranean sea or Los Angeles in Northern America and Paris and London have latitudes similar to those of the northern tip of Hokkaido.
Japan's total land area is approximately 78,000 square kilometers which is the approximate size of Germany, Malaysia, Vietnam or Finland. It is only 1/25 of the size of the United States and is smaller than the state of California.
The coastlines across Japan are quite varied. In some areas such as Kujukurihama in Chiba
Prefecture there are long sandy beaches that continue for over 60 kilometers in a reasonably straight line. However the coast of the Nagasaki Prefecture is an great example of how diverse the landscape is as these areas consist of many inlets and steep cliffs.
About 3/4 of Japan is covered in large mountains and forests. The Chubu region of central Honshu is known as the 'roof of Japan' because of it's many mountains that are over 3,000 metres high. Perhaps one of these and most famous mountains is Mt Fuji, which stands at (3,776 meters) on the border of Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures. Japan’s second highest peak is Kitadake in the Yamanashi Prefecture standing at 3,192 meters high.
http://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1000.html
Climate
Japan's climate experiences extreme changes from season to season. Because of the change of latitude of 25 degrees between the north and south areas, Japan experiences winds during winter that are blowing over from Siberia. In the summer, Japan is also influenced by winds coming from the pacific ocean.
Even though Japan only covers a small area it is categorized by four different climatic patterns,
In Hokkaido there is a sub-arctic climate. The average temperature for Hokkaido is around eight degrees Celsius and receives an average annual rainfall of 1,150 millimeters. The Northern Honshu to Kyushu region in Japan belongs to the temperate zone where the summers are very hot from influences by the Pacific ocean winds. Theses areas have a complete opposite climate compared to Hokkaido. The side of the country that faces the sea of Japan experiences lots of heavy rain and snow which are produced when the alps stop the cold winds that come from the continent from passing into the rest of the county. A string of mountains and volcanoes lies across the back of the country acting like a back bone for the climate. The southwestern islands of the Okinawa Prefecture belong to the subtropical climate zone and have a yearly average temperate of over 22 degrees Celsius while receiving over 2,000 millimeters of rain.
During spring, Japan experiences winds and relatively warm weather before going into the hot summer months of June, July and August. The summer months consist of moist, hot air that resides after a particularly rainy season just before the start of summer. During the Autumn and Winter months Japan can experience anything from typhoons to mild, neither warm or cold weather.
Even though Japan only covers a small area it is categorized by four different climatic patterns,
In Hokkaido there is a sub-arctic climate. The average temperature for Hokkaido is around eight degrees Celsius and receives an average annual rainfall of 1,150 millimeters. The Northern Honshu to Kyushu region in Japan belongs to the temperate zone where the summers are very hot from influences by the Pacific ocean winds. Theses areas have a complete opposite climate compared to Hokkaido. The side of the country that faces the sea of Japan experiences lots of heavy rain and snow which are produced when the alps stop the cold winds that come from the continent from passing into the rest of the county. A string of mountains and volcanoes lies across the back of the country acting like a back bone for the climate. The southwestern islands of the Okinawa Prefecture belong to the subtropical climate zone and have a yearly average temperate of over 22 degrees Celsius while receiving over 2,000 millimeters of rain.
During spring, Japan experiences winds and relatively warm weather before going into the hot summer months of June, July and August. The summer months consist of moist, hot air that resides after a particularly rainy season just before the start of summer. During the Autumn and Winter months Japan can experience anything from typhoons to mild, neither warm or cold weather.