Eastern Asia · Asia

Japan

Discover Japan - a 6,800-island archipelago where bullet trains pass ancient temples, cherry blossoms mark the seasons, and precision is a way of life.

Where Is Japan?

Japan is a country in Eastern Asia. Its capital is Tokyo.

Where Japan isEastern Asia · Capital Tokyo

Plan a trip · 3 guides

Capital Tokyo
Population 123M
Area 377,930 km²

Japan is a country that somehow makes bullet trains and thousand-year-old temples feel like they belong in the same sentence. This archipelago of 6,800 islands has spent centuries refining everything it touches - from sushi and ramen to robotics and video games - with a level of precision and care that borders on obsession. Trains run so punctually that a delay of more than a minute requires a formal apology. Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city.

The contrasts are what make Japan addictive. Tokyo is the world's largest metropolitan area at 37 million people, a neon-lit sensory overload of technology and pop culture. A couple of hours away by bullet train, Kyoto has 2,000 temples and a pace of life that hasn't changed much in centuries. Cherry blossom season in spring is tracked by official forecasts and treated as a national event. And beneath the famous politeness runs a culture of extraordinary depth - martial arts, tea ceremonies, haiku poetry, and an aesthetic tradition that finds beauty in imperfection and impermanence.

At a glance

Language

Japanese

Currency

Japanese Yen (JPY)

Calling Code

+81

Drives On

Left

Internet

.jp

Timezone

JST (UTC+9)

Script

Kanji, Hiragana & Katakana

Government

Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy

Independence

660 BCE (traditional founding)

Travel guides

Plan a trip to Japan

Tokyo Tower lit orange at night among the towers and expressways of the city, with Tokyo Bay on the horizon

Japan · 5 days

5 Days in Tokyo

The biggest city on earth that somehow runs on time. Five days, one day trip, and the practical rules that changed in 2026.

Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →

The Dotonbori canal in Osaka at night with the lit signs and the Glico runner on the riverbank

Japan · 5 days

5 Days in Osaka

Japan's kitchen, loud and proud. Five days of street food, castles, a day trip to Himeji and Kobe, and one for Nintendo.

Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →

The wooden stage of Kiyomizu-dera lit at night in autumn, with red maples below and Kyoto's lights beyond

Japan · 5 days

5 Days in Kyoto

A city of gates, gardens and queues. Five days planned by area and by the clock, so you reach each gate before the tour buses do.

Updated Oct 2026Read the plan →

By population

Largest cities in Japan

Tokyo

Capital and the world's largest metropolitan area, a dizzying mix of neon-lit modernity, ancient shrines, and everything in between

37,400,000

Osaka

Japan's kitchen and comedy capital, known for street food, a blunt sense of humor, and a fierce rivalry with Tokyo

19,100,000

Nagoya

Industrial heartland and home of Toyota, with a castle rebuilt to perfection and a booming manufacturing economy

9,500,000

Sapporo

Capital of Hokkaido in the north, famous for its snow festival, beer, miso ramen, and the 1972 Winter Olympics

2,700,000

Fukuoka

Gateway to southern Japan and one of the country's most livable cities, famous for its yatai outdoor ramen stalls

2,600,000

Kyoto

Ancient imperial capital with 2,000 temples and shrines, the spiritual heart of traditional Japanese culture

1,500,000

People

Famous people from Japan

Akira Kurosawa
Film
Director of Seven Samurai and Rashomon, one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema history
Murasaki Shikibu
Literature
Wrote The Tale of Genji around 1000 CE, widely considered the world's first novel
Hokusai
Art
Created The Great Wave off Kanagawa, one of the most reproduced and recognized images in the history of art
Haruki Murakami
Literature
One of the world's most-read contemporary novelists, translated into 50 languages
Akio Morita
Business
Co-founded Sony and helped transform Japan into a global technology powerhouse in the post-war era
Ichiro Suzuki
Sport
MLB Hall of Famer with over 4,000 professional hits across Japan and America, a baseball icon on two continents
Yayoi Kusama
Art
World's most popular living artist, known for her mesmerizing infinity rooms and obsessive polka dot installations
Hayao Miyazaki
Film
Creator of Studio Ghibli, Spirited Away won the Academy Award and he is widely considered the greatest animator alive

Food

Traditional cuisine of Japan

Sushi: Vinegared rice topped with fresh raw fish, from humble conveyor belt joints to temples of omakase that take years to master
Ramen: Noodle soup elevated to an art form, with fiercely regional styles - tonkotsu in Fukuoka, miso in Sapporo, shoyu in Tokyo
Tempura: Seafood and vegetables in a light, crispy batter, introduced by Portuguese missionaries and perfected over four centuries
Wagyu Beef: Intensely marbled beef raised with extraordinary care, the most prized and expensive beef in the world
Matcha: Powdered green tea central to the Japanese tea ceremony, now a global flavor found in everything from lattes to ice cream
Sashimi: Pristine slices of raw fish served without rice, where the quality of the fish and the skill of the cut are everything
Miso Soup: Fermented soybean paste dissolved in dashi broth with tofu and seaweed, served at nearly every Japanese meal
Takoyaki: Crispy-outside, gooey-inside octopus balls from Osaka, cooked in special molded pans and topped with sauce and bonito flakes

Nature

Nature and landmarks in Japan

Mount FujiMountain: Japan's highest peak at 3,776 meters and its most iconic symbol, a near-perfect volcanic cone visible from Tokyo on clear days
Japanese AlpsMountain: Three mountain ranges in central Honshu with peaks over 3,000 meters, traditional villages, and world-class skiing
OkinawaIsland: Subtropical island chain far to the south with coral reefs, its own distinct culture, and one of the highest life expectancies on Earth
YakushimaIsland: UNESCO-listed island of ancient cedar forests, some trees over 7,000 years old, said to have inspired Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke
Lake BiwaLake: Japan's largest lake near Kyoto, over 4 million years old and home to species found nowhere else on Earth
Aso CalderaMountain: One of the world's largest volcanic calderas in Kumamoto, with an active crater and vast grasslands inside the rim
Bamboo Groves of ArashiyamaForest: Towering bamboo forest on the outskirts of Kyoto, where sunlight filters through thousands of swaying stalks
Jigokudani Monkey ParkNational Park: The only place in the world where wild monkeys bathe in natural hot springs, surrounded by snow in the mountains of Nagano

Sport

Sports in Japan

Baseball: Japan's most popular sport with a fanatical following, Nippon Professional Baseball is the highest level outside MLB
Sumo: Japan's ancient national sport with traditions dating back over 1,500 years, six grand tournaments held annually
Martial Arts: Birthplace of judo, karate, kendo, and aikido, which together have hundreds of millions of practitioners worldwide
Football: Co-hosted the 2002 World Cup, the J-League has grown rapidly, and Japanese players now star in top European leagues
Gymnastics: Perennial Olympic powerhouse with a tradition of technical excellence, particularly in men's artistic gymnastics

Facts

Did you know?

Japan has over 6,800 islands, but about 97% of the land area is on the four main islands
Japanese trains are so punctual that the average delay on the Shinkansen bullet train is under one minute per year
Tokyo holds more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city in the world
The Japanese writing system uses three different scripts simultaneously - kanji, hiragana, and katakana
There is roughly one vending machine for every 23 people in Japan, selling everything from hot coffee to umbrellas
Japan's oldest company, Kongo Gumi, was a construction firm founded in 578 CE that operated for over 1,400 years
Cherry blossom season is tracked by official forecasts and celebrated with hanami picnics under the blooming trees
Japan is the world's fourth largest economy despite being smaller than the US state of California