1.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
2.
Kumamoto Prefecture
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Kumamoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kumamoto, historically, the area was called Higo Province, and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system, the current Japanese orthography for Kumamoto literally means bear root/origin, or origin of the bear. Kumamoto Prefecture is in the center of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four major Japanese islands, mount Aso, an extensive active volcano, is in the east of Kumamoto Prefecture. This volcano is located at the centre of the Aso caldera, fourteen cities are located in Kumamoto Prefecture, These are the towns and villages in each district, The population is 1,812,255. The prefecture ranks 23rd in Japan, the population density is 244.76 people per square kilometer. There is a Honda automobile plant, mount Aso is one of the worlds largest active volcanoes. Kumamoto has a city located in Texas named San Antonio. In 2015 the mascot, Kumamon visited as an ambassador during the festival located at the Japanese Tea Gardens. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128 Official website National Archives of Japan
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Miyazaki, Miyazaki
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Miyazaki is the capital city of Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Located on the coast and crossed by rivers, Miyazaki City enjoys scenic views of both ocean and nearby, verdant mountains. A popular resort destination for Japanese tourists, the city offers many attractions, including the SeaGaia event center, the Phoenix Zoo, the city is the primary shopping destination for eastern Kyushu residents in smaller towns around the prefecture. The city was founded on April 1,1924, as of this merger, the city has an estimated population of 365,311 and a population density of 612 persons per km². The total area is 596.68 km², as of December 2010, the current population is 399,834. Miyazaki Airport and Miyazaki seaport serve the city, in 1940, the imperialist Shōwa regime constructed the 37 meter Hakkō Ichiu pillar upon the legendary site of Emperor Jimmus palace. Located near Miyazaki, it was intended to symbolize the divine right of the Empire of Japan to unify the eight corners of the world. The tower survived the war and is now the piece of the Heiwadai-koen peace park. On January 1,2006, the towns of Sadowara and Tano, on March 23,2010, the town of Kiyotake was merged into Miyazaki. Miyazaki District was dissolved as a result of this merger, skynet Asia Airways has its headquarters in Miyazaki. Asiana Airlines operates an office on the sixth floor of the Miyazaki Daiichi Seimei Building in Miyazaki. Dell Inc has their two centers in Japan then had opened the one on the 5th floor of Carino Miyazaki Building in Miyazaki. Miyazaki Prefectural Office became famous as a tourist spot when Hideo Higashikokubaru, miyazaki-jingū, a shrine in the citys center, is one of Miyazakis sacred dedications to Japans first emperor, Jinmu. Heiwadai Tower or Peace Tower, in the expansive Heiwadai park, is a must-see for tourists, originally the Tower of the Emperor, symbolizing Japanese imperial expansion, it was renamed for peace after the events of World War II. The fascinating Aoshima Subtropical Botanical Garden is also located nearby, the Tom Watson Golf Course was produced by Tom Watson, an American professional golfer. Miyazaki-city Phoenix Zoo The Citizens Forest, a Large park near Phoenix Zoo. L Located on its grounds is the Misogi-ike, Pound of Purification, the Ikimen Burial Mounds are located in Miyzaki and include the Ikime-no-mori Yukokan, Activity Centre, where visitors learn the history of the burial mounds and learn about ancient activities. Miyazaki City is known for its excellent surfing conditions year-round, and Kisakihama Beach, Aoshima Beach, the JR Kyushu Nichinan Line serves the area
4.
Mount Aso
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Mount Aso is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu and its peak is 1,592 metres above sea level. Mt. Aso has a large caldera with a circumference of around 120 km. The central cone group of Aso consists of five peaks, Mt. Neko, Mt. Taka, Mt. Naka, Mt. Eboshi, the highest point is the summit of Mt. Taka, at 1592 m above sea level. The crater of Mt. Naka, the west side of which is accessible by road, only the northernmost crater has been active for the last 70 years—1974,1979, 1984–1985, 1989–1991,2009,2011,2015 and 2016. The present Aso caldera formed as a result of four huge caldera eruptions occurring over a range of 90, the caldera, one of the largest in the world, contains the city of Aso as well as Aso Takamori-cho and South Aso-mura. The somma enclosing the caldera extends about 18 km east to west, viewpoints from the somma overlooking the caldera are perched upon lava formed before the volcanic activity which created the present caldera. Ejecta from the caldera eruption 90,800 years ago covers more than 600 km3 and roughly equals the volume of Mount Fuji. The eruption which formed the present somma occurred approximately 300,000 years ago, four large-scale eruptions occurred during a period extending from 300,000 to 90,000 years ago. As large amounts of flow and volcanic ash were emitted from the volcanic chamber. The fourth eruption was the largest, with volcanic ash covering the entire Kyushu region, Mt. Taka, Mt. Naka, Mt. Eboshi, and Mt. Kishima are cones formed following the fourth above-mentioned huge caldera eruption. It is presumed that Mt. Neko is older than the huge caldera eruption. Asos pyroclastic flow deposits were utilized for bridge construction in the region, there are approximately 320 arched stone bridges in Kumamoto Prefecture, including the Tsujun-kyo and Reitai-kyo bridges on the Midorikawa River, which are important national cultural properties. Mount Asos climate data was taken at an elevation of 1,143 metres, at this elevation there is a transition between a humid subtropical climate and a humid continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. Precipitation is high throughout the year, and is heavy in June. Recently, the number of visiting the area from Asian countries has been increasing. Previously, visitors could not drive their own vehicles up to the crater, the Mount Aso Ropeway also provides access. At the foot of the mountain there are various campsites
5.
Takamori, Kumamoto
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Takamori is a town located in Aso District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1,2007 the town has an population of 7,018. The total area is 174.90 km², located at the easternmost point of Kumamoto Prefecture, it is located in the caldera of Mount Aso. It touches Ōita prefecture to the northeast and Miyazaki prefecture to the east, the town is divided into four areas, called Takamori, Shikimi, Kusakabe, and Nojiri. The city hall is situated in the Takamori area, where half of the town population resides
Takachiho travel guide from Wikivoyage
