Fun Facts About Japan

It’s good manners to slurp your noodles

Japan values good manners highly, but when it comes to chowing down on bowlfuls of noodles, there’s
only one way to eat: noisily. Slurping is a sign of enjoyment and also cools down the noodles as you eat.
Get your chopsticks in one hand and lean over your bowl. Bibs are sometimes provided for foreigners,
but by the time you leave, you should be able to polish off a bowl in a white top and walk out spotless.

Japan is mostly mountains

Japan’s big-name stars are its densely populated cities, and it’s not a country you’d think of as a scarcely
populated, mountain wilderness. However, around 70% of Japan is made up of forest and mountains
that aren’t suitable for farming or living in. There are over 100 active volcanoes, and its tallest mountain
is the famed Mount Fuji, with its elevation of 3,776 feet.

There’s a Rabbit Island in Japan

Japan is made up of nearly 7,000 islands. The little island of Okunoshima in the Inland Sea is best-known
for its curious, big-eared population. The island was used to test chemical weapons during World War II,
and it’s said the test subjects roamed free after the war. Either way, the numbers flourished in a
predator-free environment (dogs and cats are banned from entering), and today Okunoshima is a
popular spot for cuddle-bunny tourists.

The number four is extremely unlucky

The number four (‘shi’) is widely avoided in Japan since it sounds too similar to the Japanese word for
death. Keep an eye out in Japan and you’ll notice buildings don’t have a fourth floor, items are sold in
sets of three or five and special care is taken to avoid encountering the number in daily life.

Japanese trains are some of the most punctual in the world

The average delay of Japanese trains is 18 seconds. What makes them so punctual? Drivers are trained
in ultra-realistic simulators and drive one train line only – many don’t even need a speedometer to know
how fast they’re going. Competition is also fierce between rail companies, so lagging behind won’t do –
they work hard to keep hold of Japan’s huge numbers of train commuters, whatever it takes (even if it
means building fancy department stores in the stations…).

Everyone has their own seal

In Japan, people don’t have signatures – they have their own seal. Known as Hanko, the seal is typically
your name translated into Kanji characters, and are made from silk or plant-based paste. Adults will
often have three Hankos; one for signing off letters and personal matters, a bank seal and an identify
seal. They’re not necessary for tourists, but foreigners living in Japan can have one handmade in small,
local shops.