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1、,quiet city,the way to Japan,Japan,Japan is an island nation in East Asia comprising a large stratovolcanic archipelago extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. Measured from the geographic coordinate system, Japan is 36 north of the equator and 138 east of the Prime Meridian. The country is north
2、-northeast of China and Taiwan (separated by the East China Sea) and slightly east of Korea (separated by the Sea of Japan). The country is south of the Russian Far East.,The main islands, sometimes called the “Home Islands“, are (from north to south) Hokkaid, Honsh (the “mainland“), Shikoku and Kys
3、h. There are also about 3,000 smaller islands, including Okinawa, and islets, some inhabited and others uninhabited. In total, as of 2006, Japans territory is 377,923.1 km, of which 374,834 km is land and 3,091 km water. This makes Japans total area slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Montana, s
4、lightly bigger than the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Japan is bigger than Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand and the U.K., and is 1.7 times the size of Korea.,Composition,Climate,Japan belongs to the temperate zone with four distinct seasons, but its climate varies from cool temperate in the n
5、orth to subtropical in the south. The climate is also affected by the seasonal winds that blow from the continent to the ocean in winters and vice versa in summers. Japan is generally a rainy country with high humidity. Because of its wide range of latitude, Japan has a variety of climates, with a r
6、ange often compared to that of the east coast of North America, from Nova Scotia to Georgia. Tokyo is at about 35 degrees north latitude, comparable to that of Tehran, Athens, or Las Vegas. The generally humid, temperate climate exhibits marked seasonal variation celebrated in art and literature, as
7、 well as regional variations ranging from cool in Hokkaid to subtropical in Kysh. Climate also varies with altitude and with location on the Pacific Ocean or on the Sea of Japan. Northern Japan has warm summers but long, cold winters with heavy snow. Central Japan has hot, humid summers and short wi
8、nters, and southwestern Japan has long, hot, humid summers and mild winters.,Population,As of March 2009, Japans population is 127,076,183,1 making it the worlds tenth most populated country. Its size can be attributed to fast growth rates experienced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A
9、fter having experienced net population loss over a number of years due to falling birth rates and almost no net immigration, and despite having one of the highest life expectancies in the world at 81.25 years of age as of 2006,2 Japans population rose for a second year in a row in 2009,3 mainly beca
10、use more Japanese returned to Japan than left.citation needed The population of Japan in 2000, at New Year, was 127 million. Its population density was 336 people per square kilometer. The population ranking of Japan dropped from 7th to 8th in 1990 and from 8th to 9th in 1998 and 10th since,Clothes-
11、Kimono (和服）,The kimono is a Japanese traditional garment worn by women, men and children. The word “kimono“, which literally means a “thing to wear“ (ki “wear“ and mono “thing“), has come to denote these full-length robes. The standard plural of the word kimono in English is kimonos,but the unmarked
12、 Japanese plural kimono is also sometimes used. Kimono are T-shaped, straight-lined robes worn so that the hem falls to the ankle, with attached collars and long, wide sleeves. Kimono are wrapped around the body, always with the left side over the right (except when dressing the dead for burial),and
13、 secured by a sash called an obi, which is tied at the back. Kimono are generally worn with traditional footwear and split-toe socksToday, kimono are most often worn by women, and on special occasions. Traditionally, unmarried women wore a style of kimono called furisodewith almost floor-length slee
14、ves, on special occasions. A few older women and even fewer men still wear the kimono on a daily basis. Men wear the kimono most often at weddings, tea ceremonies, and other very special or very formal occasions. Professional sumo wrestlers are often seen in the kimono because they are required to w
15、ear traditional Japanese dress whenever appearing in public,A womans kimono may easily exceed US$10,000;a complete kimono outfit, with kimono, undergarments, obi, ties, socks, sandals, and accessories, can exceed US$20,000. A single obi may cost several thousand dollars. However, most kimonos owned
16、by kimono hobbyists or by practitioners of traditional arts are far less expensive. Enterprising people make their own kimono and undergarments by following a standard pattern, or by recycling older kimonos. Cheaper and machine-made fabrics can substitute for the traditional hand-dyed silk. There is also a thriving business in Japan for second-hand kimonos, which can cost as little as 500 (about $5). Womens obis, however, m
