What do you notice about Japan from this Google Earth image?
What do you notice most about Japan from this map?
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The Impact of Physical Geography on Culture
Japan is much smaller than the United States.
Japan is slightly smaller than California, but it has almost 4 x as many people.
Forested mountains cover over 65% of the land.
What do you notice when you compare these two maps?
What unique challenges do you think Japan faces in dealing with such a high population density?
How might high population density and limited land affect Japan’s: transportation agriculture architecture
Mass transportation moves large numbers of people. They have many subways...
...and busses.
Even then, they have lots of cars on the roads.
And they have creative ways to provide parking spaces.
J.Hall, Tokyo, 12 July 2010
J.Hall, Kyoto, 16 July 2010
Bicycles are very popular, since they are easy to maneuver on crowded streets. They even have bicycle parking lots. This one is at a subway station.
J.Hall, Kyoto, 17 July 2010
They are also very cautious about spreading germs. If you’re sick, you’re expected to wear a mask. J.Hall, Tokyo, 10 July 2011
J.Hall, Tokyo, 12 July 2010
J.Hall, Kyoto, 17 July 2010 Convenience Store
Agriculture is important in Japan. (Remember the term “intensive cultivation” from your worksheet?) But often fields are on mountainsides.
Stair-steps were cut into the mountainsides years ago to allow terraced fields.
architecture Limited land means land is very expensive. So most people don’t have yards.
Which is Oklahoma City? Which is Osaka, Japan?
How are these sliding doors a space-saver? What room of the house is this?
Why do you suppose so many Japanese homes have limited amounts of furniture? This is a main room. It may be used as a living room, dining room, and bedroom.
J.Hall, Nara, 15 July 2010 Traditional style hotel in Nara, Japan
J.Hall, Nara, 15 July 2010
Why is a “futon” bed a good choice for a small home?
What space- savers do you notice in these kitchens? most floor space is used refrigerator is small stovetop is on top of cabinets tables are small
Traditional Japanese bathrooms in homes have the bathtub and sink in a separate room from the toilet. That is related to custom more than to space issues.
J.Hall, Nara, 15 July 2010 Traditional style hotel in Nara, Japan
Japan: 170 square feet Geography Alive! (Palo Alto, California: Teachers’ Curriculum Institute), 2006, p.447 U.S: 721 square feet of living space per person (U.S.Department of Energy, in-America ) in-America
As in big cities around the world, the Japanese build to get more use out of limited land. UP
J.Hall, Tokyo, 12 July 2010
J.Hall, Kyoto, 16 July 2010
J.Hall, Tokyo, 12 July 2010
store under an overpass J.Hall, Tokyo, 12 July 2010
What is this place?
A “capsule hotel”! Each capsule is a 1-person room.
They even have TVs! Sweet dreams...
In 1994, Japan opened Kansai International Airport in Osaka Bay. It is built on an artificial island.
The first built a “sea wall” and then filled it in using dirt from 3 nearby mountains.
It is sinking 2-3 centimeters per year.
Your assignment: Using graph paper, design a floor plan for an apartment that will be practical for a small living space.
REQUIREMENTS: --It must be 800 square feet. -- It must accommodate 4 people. -- You must label the following: tiled entry-way (with shoe rack or shoe shelves), bathroom (bathtub and sink), toilet room, kitchen (refrigerator, oven [size of microwave is fine], sink, cabinets/shelves), futon space, closets (including futon storage), tv, and any other furniture you want in your apartment --Write a paragraph telling how you used specific Japanese space-saving techniques in the interior design of your apartment. (Make sure your explanations match your floor plan design.)