From the school lessons of geography we know that Japan is an island nation. But not everyone remembers how many islands in Japan, as the main island of the country is called, and on which island the capital of Japan is located.
So, on the territory of the state there are more than 3 thousand islands of the Pacific Ocean, the largest of which form the Japanese archipelago. In addition, under the supervision of the country is also an innumerable small islands, remote from the archipelago for thousands of kilometers and forming extensive marine possessions.
The main islands of the country
Let's consider the main island territories of the state:
- The largest island of Japan, occupying about 60% of the total area of the country and being the most densely populated of the four major islands - the island of Honshu , also known as Hondo and Nippon. It is the capital of the country - Tokyo and such important cities of the country as Osaka , Kyoto , Nagoya and Yokohama . The area of the island of Honshu is 231 thousand square meters. km, and the population is 80% of all residents of the state. The island is concentrated most of the objects of interest to tourists. Also here is the main symbol of Japan - the legendary Mount Fuji .
- The second largest island in Japan is Hokkaido , formerly known as Jesso, Edzo and Matsumae. Hokkaido is separated from Honshu by the Sangarsky strait, its area is 83 thousand square meters. km, and the population is 5.6 million people. Of the major cities on the island, you can name Chitose, Wakkanay and Sapporo . Since the climate in Hokkaido is much colder than in the rest of Japan, the Japanese themselves call the island "a severe north". Despite the climatic conditions, the nature of Hokkaido is very rich, and 10% of the total territory is protected nature reserves .
- The third largest island of the Japanese archipelago, which is a separate economic region is the island of Kyushu . Its area is 42 thousand square meters. km, and the population is about 12 million people. Recently, due to the large number of microelectronics enterprises, the island of Kyushu in Japan is called "silicone". There is also a well developed metal-working and chemical industry, as well as agriculture, cattle breeding. The major cities of Kyushu are Nagasaki , Kagoshima, Fukuoka , Kumamoto and Oita. There are active volcanoes on the island.
- The last in the list of the main islands of Japan is the smallest - the island of Shikoku . Its area is 19 thousand square meters. km, and the population is close to 4 million people. The world fame of Shikoku was brought by 88 pilgrimage churches. Most of the major cities of the island are in the northern part of the island, among the most famous are Tokushima, Takamatsu, Matsuyama and Kochi. In the territory of Shikoku, heavy engineering, shipbuilding and agriculture are well developed, but in spite of this, a very small contribution is made to the Japanese economy - only 3%.
Small Japanese Islands
The structure of modern Japan, in addition to the Japanese archipelago, also includes a large number of small islands (including uninhabited) that are characterized by different climates, sights , culture, cuisine and even linguistic dialects. From a tourist point of view, the most interesting places are:
- Hasim is an abandoned island in Japan, it is also Gunkanjima or Gankajima. About 50 years this one was one of the crowded places on Earth, but after all the minerals had run out, the inhabitants left the area. Hasim turned into a ghost island;
- Okinawa , known in Japan as an island of long-livers. Here live half a million people whose age threshold has exceeded a hundred. It's surprising that the Japanese, who have reached the age of honor, look and feel much younger, and they are practically unfamiliar to such illnesses as heart attack or cancer;
- Aogashima Island is actually an active volcano in Japan, and also a miniature picturesque island attracting inveterate fishermen and travelers who are looking for unusual extreme sensations in the Land of the Rising Sun;
- Odaiba is a large artificial island in Japan, with which the term "island of garbage" is associated. The history of Odaiba shows the unique ability of the Japanese to create a real masterpiece even with the use of waste;
- a small piece of land Aoshima , which in Japan is considered an island of cats. There are no restaurants and shops, and the population is limited to only two dozen people. Nevertheless, tourists know this island thanks to the main inhabitants - cats, which are over 120;
- the southern island of Japan with the interesting name Ishigaki , which means "island of a stone fence". It is located in the island group of the Ryukyu archipelago. The main attraction of the island is Mount Omoto, whose height reaches 529 m.
The Kuril Islands and Japan
The stumbling block in relations between Japan and Russia has become disputed islands, which the Japanese call "Northern Territories", and Russians - "Southern Kuriles". In total, the Kuril chain consists of 56 islands and rocks belonging to Russia. Territorial claims Japan makes only to the islands of Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan and the chain of Habomai islands. Currently, the dispute over the ownership of these islands does not allow neighboring countries to reach a peace agreement that was violated during the Second World War. For the first time, Japan presented the right to own disputed islands in 1955, but since then the question has remained unsettled.