Japan is a country that is located on islands off the east coast of China, and it’s home to 127 million people. Japan has had an extremely long history from early civilizations in the Japanese islands until today. The Japanese culture has many very different faces, and there are many things that are unique about Japan.
What is Japan known for? Japan is a place that’s best known for its traditional culture and the people who live there. The country has been influenced by many different religions, but it has managed to keep some of its own traditions too – like temples, sumo wrestling and samurai warriors.
Japan may be well-known all over the world for these things (and more), but they’re also famous in their homeland because they take such pride in their history and heritage.
If you want to learn more about this incredible country, we recommend reading through our blog post and give comments below!
Anime
Anime which is a style of Japanese animation, or Japanese cartooning: it’s full of cool characters, great stories, plot lines and very cool and unique characters.
Anime is perfectly suited to Japanese culture as it has a very special way of viewing the world, and anime is best known for its great storylines and awesome characters!
Sushi
This is raw fish that’s been cut into small pieces and then placed on top of rice or sometimes in soup too.
This food can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner! But it’s not that easy to make. Sushi has become very famous all over the world due to its popularity in Japan and is now one of Japan’s best known exports.
Karaoke
In other countries, people go out on a Saturday night to drink too much alcohol (and sometimes even too much other stuff!) in order to dance, sing and have a LOT of fun.
But in Japan, they go out to take part in karaoke which is a form of entertainment where you can stand up and sing your favourite songs on stage but with the added benefit that everyone else sings along too!
Bullet trains
The bullet train is now used all over the world. It’s an extremely fast train that can travel long distances at very high speeds: it can reach up to 320 kilometres per hour (200 mph) which makes them super-fast! As a result, trains have become essential for getting around in Japan.
Ramen Noodles
These are flash-fried noodles that are placed in soups and are very popular because they’re full of flavour and taste, plus they’re really cheap too. You can find ramen noodle restaurants all over Japan as everyone loves them!
Bonsai trees
These are miniature versions of regular sized trees that have been cut and trimmed so that they stay small and compact.
Bonsai trees are now very popular all over the world, but they were originally from Japan where they’ve been kept alive for thousands of years!
Robots
Japanese people love robots (well, maybe not this type of robot!) and there are many different types to be found in Japan.
There’s a lot of research into robots, and this has been going on here over the past few years. Japan is now an expert in robotics and is well known all over the world for its unique contributions to robot technology.
Sake
This is a type of Japanese alcoholic drink that’s made from fermented rice instead of barley, hops or grapes.
During the process of fermentation, enzymes are used to change starch and sugar into alcohol. Sake is then drawn off after several months and yeast and matured for another few months before it’s ready to drink!
Sento
This is a public bathhouse that people go to relax, clean themselves down and unwind. Sometimes there will also be private rooms where a customer can go and take part in something called a ‘soapland’, but this is definitely not for everyone.
In any case, sentos are very special and are now famous all over Japan, and even around the world too!
Maneki Neko
This is a Japanese cat sculpture that’s made out of ceramic or wood and the hand gesture it’s making with its paw is called ‘waving cat’.
This statue has a very special legend attached to it, and in this story – the waving cat brings wealth and good luck. Maneki Neko is now something that you can see all over Japan because people consider that the more you see of them then the more luck they will bring you too!
Japanese Cuisine
This is a type of food that’s eaten all over Japan and it usually includes rice, meat or vegetables with a special sauce to make it taste better.
There are many different types of Japanese cuisine available and, because of its popularity in Japan, it has become famous outside of Japan too.
Geisha
This is a female entertainer that can be hired for special events and parties. They usually perform traditional dances, songs and some of them also play musical instruments too!
Not only does it cost quite a lot to hire a geisha, but they’re very hard to find which is why they’re so expensive and highly-respected.
Ninja
These are people that were originally spies and soldiers during Japan’s Warring States period from 1467 to 1603.
They carried out all kinds of tasks – from being fortune tellers and street performers, to assassination! Because it was such a mystery about what they did, ninja became very famous and many people tried to copy them.
Tokyo Tower
This is a landmark that was built in the 1950’s to commemorate Japan’s new found independence after World War II. It has a great view of the area around it and it’s become famous all over Japan, plus – it also appears in many movies too!
Cherry blossom
These are beautiful pink-white flowers that can be seen all over Japan during springtime.
The blooming of the cherry blossom trees is a very important and special time in Japanese culture – so much so that it’s celebrated with the Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival).
Tokyo City
This is the capital city of Japan and it’s known for being one of the biggest cities in the world. It has a population of over 13 million people, so it’s very busy with noise, traffic and a lot to do too!
Sumo Wrestling
This sport is another example of traditional Japanese culture that dates back hundreds of years.
It’s now something that people all over the world are starting to take more notice of and even countries like America want to set up their own sumo wrestling federations too!
Temples
Japan is full of temples from a wide range of different religions, including Buddhism and Shintoism.
The most famous temples in the country include places like the Fushimi Inari Tashiro, Toshogu Shrine and Sensoji – which is also in Tokyo.
Fuji Mountain
This is a mountain known for being an active volcano. It’s been said that Fuji Mountain has not erupted for over 300 years, but there are still some small tremors recorded from time to time.
This is one of the many examples where Japan shows its love of nature and how they respect the natural beauty around them too.
Samurai
These are fierce warriors that went to battle armed with their traditional Japanese swords. They were very skilled in what they did and only the best of them became samurai.
Because of how dangerous this job was, they have become famous all over Japan and many films have been made about their lives too!
Bowing Culture
This is the general way that Japanese people greet each other and say goodbye. Although it can be seen in many countries around the world, this part of Japanese culture has remained unchanged over the years which makes it very special.
Vending Machines
This is one of the stranger things on this list, but there are many venders all over Japan that sell drinks and snacks from inside vending machines. If you’re on a train or busy street – you come across them all the time!
The good thing about these machines is they can be found in places like hospitals too; instead of getting tea from a vending machine you can get home-made rice balls instead.
Tokyo Skytree
This is one of the newest landmarks in Japan and it towers over the city at a height of 634 meters tall. Opened in May 2012, this tower has become one of the biggest attractions for sightseers all around the world and – like Tokyo Tower – even appears in movies!
Kyoto city
This is the old capital of Japan and it’s packed with a lot of traditional architecture. It also has one of the most popular temples in all of Japan, which is the Kinkakuji or Golden Pavilion.
Japanese cars
This is one of the more modern things on this list, but Japan has some very famous car brands that are known all over the world. Brands like Honda & Toyota have a huge impact in places like America and Europe because they release their cars there too.
There are so many things that Japan is known for, but here are the top 25 things! I hope that you enjoyed reading this article and I also hope that it’s just given you a few pieces of information about Japan too.
Read more: What is South Korea Known For?