How many islands does Japan have? As of November 2026, a 2023 count says about 14,125. The old count was 6,852. The new one is more than double. Four main islands hold most of the land. They are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu.

About three-quarters of Japan is hills or mountains. Most people live on the flat land left. Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan. It is a cone-shaped volcano. It is 3,776 meters tall. It last erupted in 1707, as of November 2026. Over a thousand earthquakes shake Japan each year.

From summer to autumn, typhoons hit Japan. They form over the Pacific Ocean to the south. In winter, cold air comes from Siberia. It blows over the warm Sea of Japan. Then heavy snow falls on one side of Honshu.

Tokyo is the capital of Japan. A bullet train began to run in 1964. It is the Tokaido Shinkansen. Its top speed is 285 kilometers per hour, as of November 2026. People ride it to travel fast.

A haiku is a short poem of three lines. The lines count 5, 7 and 5 sounds. Most kids in Japan learn calligraphy at school. That is the art of fine writing. They use a brush and ink.

Sumo is a sport with matches called bouts. A wrestler loses a bout if he is pushed out of the ring. He also loses if he touches the ground. Only the soles of his feet may touch it. Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan.

Instant ramen was made in Japan. Add hot water. Then a bowl is ready. Karaoke began in Japan too. You sing along to recorded music. Japan's probe Hayabusa2 brought back pieces of an asteroid. The asteroid is called Ryugu.

In Japan, a room can be sized by its mats. A room might be called an 8-mat room. That means eight tatami mats would fit in it. One mat is about 91 by 182 centimeters. It is twice as long as it is wide.

Words to know

• typhoons: big storms
• calligraphy: fancy writing
• haiku: short poem
• asteroid: space rock
• probe: space explorer