Far Away and Long Ago: Japan-Past to Present Diane Godfrey

Konnichi wa (that means hello). I am Lucky Cat. I am very famous in Japan. I am going to take you on a trip to my country. Before we begin I will tell you more about Japan.

Japan is a a group of islands. Do you know what an island is? It is land with water all around it. Here is a map of Japan. Japan has almost 4000 islands. Wow! That’s a lot.

Japan has many mountains with a lot of forest. Can you draw a picture of a mountain with a forest? The only flat land is along the coast, or the edge of the island. Courtesy of Sheila Nice

Mt. Fuji is the tallest and most famous mountain in Japan. I climbed to the top. It was a long way up.

Long ago people lived in wooden houses like this. Now days most people live in houses or apartments like this in cities.

Most Japanese have customs( a very old way of doing something) that started long ago. The floors of their homes have a special covering called a tatami mat. They sleep on futons on the floor.

There are other old customs that people have in Japan. They take off their shoes before they enter the house or school. Do you take off your shoes before you go into your house? Inside School Shoes

Another custom is the way people greet each other. When they say hello and goodbye, they bow to each other. This is my friend Keiko. She will demonstrate how to bow. Courtesy of Japan-guide.com

Did you know that karate, judo, and aikido came from Japan? Sumo wrestling has been a popular sport for hundreds of years. Courtesy of Danni Higgins

Japanese women in the past wore a dress called a kimono. The dress is made of fine silk. Today most women and girls only wear kimonos for special occasions. Courtesy of Library of Congress

The capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. The capital of Japan is a city called Tokyo. Many people live in the city. It is very crowded. Do you know who lives there? I do. The president.

Tokyo has changed from the past. You can see what it looked like about 100 years ago. Now it looks like this picture I took last year. Courtesy of Library of Congress-Tokyo 1905

Long ago the people traveled like this Now in Japan, people travel on very fast trains. Courtesy of Library of Congress

I live in one of the oldest city in Japan. The city is called Kyoto. It is more then 1000 years old. My favorite place is very old. It is called the Golden Pavilion temple. Courtesy of Sheila Nice

Now days Kyoto looks very modern. As you can see from this picture I took.

Tea is also important to the people in Japan. They even have a special way of serving tea called a Tea Ceremony. This is a very old ceremony that is still done today.

Maybe you like to eat with a fork. In Japan we have been using chopsticks for a long time. Would you like to use chopsticks? Some very old chopsticks

When you think of Japanese food, do you think of sushi? In Japan we eat many different types of foods. Courtesy of Sheila Nice We eat a lot of fish and seafood.

Paper and writing came to Japan many, many years ago. Paper is very important to the people of Japan. So is writing. It is even an art. Here is some Japanese writing and art.

Another way that paper has been used for many, many years is the art of origami. The word origami comes from from "ori" meaning "to fold", and "kami", meaning paper. It is a special way to fold paper to make shapes. Courtesy of Sheila Nice

Sometimes it is very hot in Japan. Long ago they used fans like these beautiful fans. Now days, people might use a fan that looks like this one.

We better hurry and catch our plane. It will be a very long flight. It will take 18 hours to get to Japan.

I hope you enjoy your visit to Japan.