1. Japan by Mrs. Striggow’s Class 2013-2014

2. What is the land of Japan like? The land of Japan has about 4,000 islands. Japan has a lot of animals on the land including Snow monkeys and Mandarin ducks. Mount Fuji has not erupted since 1706.

3. What are Japanese homes like? Japan’s homes are different from U.S. homes. Japanese people have to take off their shoes before they go into a house. They have a guest room. They sit on floor cushions instead of chairs. They have a heated table in winter made of wood. They sleep on futon mats on the floor.

4. What is the language of Japan like? The language spoken in Japan is Japanese and has three writing systems. They are kanji, hiragana and katakana. Here are some Japanese words and U.S.A words. Ah- kahn- boh means baby, and shoh-joh means girl, and shoh- nen means boy. Also oh-kah-sahn means mother, and oh-toh- sahn means father.

5. What do Japanese do for sports and entertainment? Japan’s sports and entertainments are like ours in some ways but different in other ways. Some sumo wrestlers can weigh more then 300 pounds. They also try to push each other out of a circle. Kendama is a type of toy that has a string, and there is a wooden cup. You try to get a ball on the cup. Origami uses one square of paper, and you fold it to make some cute things.

6. What is Japanese food like? Japan’s food is like ours in some ways but different in other ways. They eat with chopsticks every meal. They eat rice with almost every meal. Japanese people drink tea. Itadakamisu” means thank you to the cook.

7. What is Japanese clothing like? Japan’s clothing is like ours in some ways but different in other ways. They wear different kimonos in different seasons. Kimonos are worn with sashes called obis. Traditional clothes are for special occasions. Kimonos are like dresses.

8. Bibliography Michael Dahl, Japan, 1997 Judith Elkin, A Family in Japan, 1987 Helen Frost, A Look at Japan, 2002 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Kids Web Japan”, 2014 Snow monkeys live in cold northern Japan and get warm in hot springs. The yen is the Japanese unit of money.