An Island Nation

Kombanwa Students,

This is the Japanese word for "Good Evening".
In class today we talked about how Japan is an island nation which stretches in the ocean for 1,200 miles. Just like we, as people, have varying physical features, so do countries. There are many little islands which comprise Japan.However, there are four main islands. They are: Hokkaido, the northern most, below Hokkaido is Honshu, where Tokyo, the capital is located, Kyushu, and Shikoku, to the south and west, are separated from each other by the Inland Sea--(I suggest you find this on the map of Japan; I did not realize what an important resource it is until I started researching for my trip to Japan).
The remaining islands to the south form an archipelago called the Ryukyu Islands. Okinawa lies close to these, but is much larger. Some islands are so small they are uninhabitable. There are many mountains and hills in Japan, because the islands are actually the tops of a great mountain range that rises from the Northern Pacfic Ocean. Look at the physical map included here and you will see what I mean. Click on the picture of the map to study its details.