JAPAN

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Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower located in the Shiba-koen district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan. A t 333 metres (1,093 ft), it is the second-tallest structure in Japan. The structure is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower that is painted white and international orange to comply with air safety regulations.

its opening. FootTown, a four-story building located directly under the tower, houses museums, restaurants and shops. Departing from there, guests can visit two observation decks. The two-story Main Observatory is located at 150 metres (490 ft), while the smaller Special Observatory reaches a height of 250 metres (820 ft).

Built in 1958, the tower’s main sources of revenue are tourism and antenna leasing. Over 150 million people have visited the tower since

The tower acts as a support structure for an antenna. Originally intended for television broadcasting, radio antennas were installed in

1 TOP 5 Places To Visit in JAPAN

1961, but the tower is now used to broadcast signals for Japanese media outlets such as NHK, TBS and Fuji TV. Japan’s planned digital television transition by July 2011 was problematic, however; Tokyo Tower’s height (333 meters) was not high enough to adequately support complete terrestrial digital broadcasting to the area. A taller digital broadcasting tower, known as Tokyo Skytree, was completed on February 29, 2012.

TOKYO TOWER


2 AKIHABARA Akihabara is a district in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, Japan. The

name Akihabara is a shortening of Akibagahara (“autumn leaf field”), which ultimately comes from Akiba, named after a fire-controlling deity for a firefighting shrine built after the area was destroyed by a fire in 1869. Akihabara gained the nickname Akihabara Electric Town (Akihabara Denki Gai?) shortly after World War II for being a major shopping center for household electronic goods and the post-war black market. Nowadays, Akihaba-

ra is considered by many to be an otaku cultural center and a shopping district for video games, anime, manga, and computer goods. Icons from popular anime and manga are displayed prominently on the shops in the area, and numerous maid cafés are found throughout the district.

Otaku Culture The influence of otaku culture has shaped Akihabara’s businesses and buildings to reflect the interests of otaku and gained the district worldwide fame for its distinctive imagery. Akihabara tries to create an atmosphere as much like

the game and anime worlds the customers are used to as is possible. The streets of Akihabara are covered with anime and manga icons, and cosplayers line the sidewalks handing out advertisements, especially for maid cafés. The idol group AKB48, one of Japan’s highest selling contemporary musical acts, runs its own theater in Akihabara, from which the group’s name is derived. Release events, special events, and conventions in Akihabara give anime and manga fans frequent opportunities to meet the creators

of the works they follow so closely and strengthen the connection between the region and otaku culture. The design of many of the buildings serves to create the sort of atmosphere that draws in otaku. Architects design the stores of Akihabara to be more opaque and closed to reflect the general desire of many otaku to live in their anime worlds rather than display their interests to the world at large. Since otaku are primarily male, and because of the nature of the medium, Akihabara contains some depictions of

sexualized female characters. The abundance of cosplay and maid cafés also puts young women in a position of taking requests from the male customers they serve, though they fully consent to do so. Akihabara’s role as a free market has also allowed a large amount of amateur work to find a passionate audience in the otaku who frequent the area. Doujinshi (amateur manga) has been growing in Akihabara since the 1970s when publishers began to drop manga that were not ready for large markets.


Mount Fuji (Fujisan, located on Honshu Island, is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft). An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about 100 kilometres (60 mi) south-west

of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji’s exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is snow-capped several months a year, is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in

art and p hotographs, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers. It is one of Japan’s “Three Holy Mountains” (Sanreizan) along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku; it is a Special Place of Scenic Beauty, a Historic Site, and

was added to the World Heritage List as a Cultural Site on June 22, 2013. The mountain has been selected as a “cultural” rather than a “natural” heritage site. As per UNESCO, Mount Fuji

has “inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries”. The 25 locations include the mountain itself, Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha and six other Sengen shrines, two lodging houses, Lake Yamana-

ka, Lake Kawaguchi, the eight Oshino Hakkai hot springs, two lava tree molds, the remains of the Fuji-ko cult in the Hitoana cave, Shiraito Falls, and Miho no Matsubara pine tree grove.

GEOGRAPHY

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MOUNT FUJI

Mount Fuji is a distinctive feature of the geography of Japan. It stands 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft) high and is located near the Pacific coast of central Honshu, just west of Tokyo. It straddles the boundary of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures. Three small cities surround it: Gotemba to the east, Fujiyoshida to the north, and Fujinomiya to the southwest. It is also surrounded by five lakes: Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Sai, Lake Motosu and Lake Shoji.[32] They, and nearby Lake Ashi, provide excellent views of the mountain. The mountain is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. It can be seen more distantly from Yokohama, Tokyo, and sometimes as far as Chiba, Saitama, Tochigi and Lake Hamana when the sky is clear. Particularly in the winter it can be seen from the Shinkansen until it reaches Utsunomiya station. It has also been photographed from space during a space shuttle mission (see image, below).


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ISHIGAKI ISLAND

Ishigaki Island, like the rest of Okinawa, is culturally influenced by both Japan and Taiwan due to its location, about 300 km off the north eastern coast of Taiwan (Republic Of China).

Ishigaki (Ishigaki-jima, Yaeyama and Okinawan: Ishigachi) is a Japanese island west of Okinawa Hont and the second-largest island of the Yaeyama Island group. It is within the City of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture. The city functions as the business and transport center of the archipelago. The island is served by New Ishigaki Airport, the largest airport in the Yaeyamas. Much of the island and surrounding waters including Mount Omoto and Kabira Bay are protected as part of Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park.


Fuji-Q Highland is an amusement park in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan.

theme and attractions themed to Gundam and Evangelion.

The theme park is near the base of Mount Fuji. It has a number of roller coasters, as well as two haunted attractions: The Haunted Hospital, the world’s second largest haunted attraction,[citation needed] and the newly built Hopeless Fortress.[1] Other attractions include Thomas Land, a children’s area with a Thomas the Tank Engine

In 2006, on the 9th Season of The Amazing Race, the final 3 teams came here and rode Tondemina, Dodonpa and Fujiyama looking for a clue to their next destination. Fuji-Q’s most famous roller coasters are the following: - Fujiyama - Dodonpa - Eejanaika - Takabisha

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FUJI-Q HIGHLAND

jAPAN

BY: MOHD FITRI IBRAHIM


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