LITMIR.BIZ

      On first visiting Japan, Westerners are often surprised because apocryphal tales and even accurate statistics belie the reality, variety, and beauty of this long, narrow archipelago. The entire land mass of Japan could fit into the state of Montana with enough room left over for three and a half Rhode Islands. Within this area, however, are packed almost 124 million people (Montana has around 787,000) and an amazing diversity of climatic conditions.

      From the bitterness of Japan’s northernmost point, Bentenjima, at almost the same latitude as the Siberian city of Khabarovsk, to the tropical atmosphere of Yonagunijima, a metaphorical stone’s throw from Taiwan, Nippon encompasses every possible gradation of climate and topography.

      The Japanese people, their traditions, beliefs, and ways of life are equally diverse. Almost every Westerner knows of Sony, Nissan, Toshiba, and Nintendo; many have even heard about Shinto, cherry-blossom viewing, shoguns, and Kabuki; but few connect Japan with sun-bronzed islanders lounging beneath palm trees, hunters tracking and trapping wild boars and bears through untouched wildernesses, or the lone farmer driving his harvester through vast fields of ripe, golden wheat.