"Good try Jay, but that's the worst map of Japan I've ever seen in my life!"... yeah, well shut up... I go out of my way to draw you a map and all you do is complain! Actually, I understand if you want a more detailed map, but I'm not going to draw one for you. Sorry! If you are really dying to see Japan's geography (or topography or any of that fabulous stuff) right now, then go to one of these sites: Japan Window or Official Japan National Tourist Organization.

Ok, now for that info I promised you earlier:

• Size: (total) 377,835 sq. kilometers, (land area) 374,744 sq. kilometers.
• Population: ca. 125 million - 80% urban, (pop. density) 329.5 people/sq. kilometer for total land, 1,523 people/sq. kilometer for inhabitable land. Over 50% of population lives on only 2% of the land!
• Prefectures: 47 prefectures total - 1 "dou" (Hokkaido), 1 "to" (Tokyo), 2 "fu" (Osaka, Kyoto), and 43 "ken" (you can figure these out yourself buddy!).
• Climate: (Hokkaido) cold, (Northern Honshu) cold, (Kanto) mild, (Kansai) warm, (Western Honshu) very warm, (Kyushu) hot!, (Okinawa) way too freakin' hot!!! (man, these are some pretty informative facts, huh!); generally, Japan is pretty humid and it rains a lot - there is even a rainy season that starts in early summer and lasts over a month (and as you probably guessed, it rains a LOT during this period). The inland side of Honshu faces some pretty brutal winters, getting hammered by a bunch of cold winds out of Siberia (darn Russians) and actually gets the most snowfall in Japan; Hokkaido obviously has long winters, but it has some wonderful summers and also doesn't have a rainy season (believe me, that's a big plus unless you are the type that likes being stuck indoors for months at a time); Kanto, the region around Tokyo, has pretty well rounded seasons, ranging from pretty cold winters to pretty hot summers (fall and spring are pretty nice); Kansai, the area around Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto, also has pretty well rounded seasons, with fall and spring probably being the best times to visit; Kyushu (yipee!) is a long island, so it varies a bit from north to south, but it generally has mild winters and really hot and humid summers (I personally found fall the nicest season here).
• Topography: mountains and trees... in very large quantities... Japan is actually 67% forests (second in the world to one of those Scandinavian countries where it's too freakin' cold for anything but trees to live anyway) and mountainous in almost every part of the country, rendering only about 1/5 of the total land usable for cultivation. And you wondered why Japanese cities were so crowded?!! Numerous active and dormant volcanoes; highest point - Mt. Fuji (3,776 meters); most areas highly prone to earthquakes (Tokyo is already overdue for its next big one); lots of rivers, but most unnavigable (primarily used for irrigation and hydropower).
• Language: They speak Japanese in Japan, silly! Ok, well that part is obvious at least, but English is also pushed upon school children from middle school on, requiring a large portion of their study time. There have been politicians and renowned teachers who have pushed to make English the second official language of the country, but most people are sensible enough to realize that the majority of Japanese are horrible English speakers, despite the vast amount of time they invest in studying it. It's really not their fault, considering the Japanese language has a very simple phonetic syllabary, making it very hard for Japanese to speak almost any other language because of the lack of various sounds in their own language. Another aspect of the Japanese language worth noting is the variation in dialect between different regions of Japan. The 'Tokyo Dialect', known in Japanese as hyoujungo, is considered the standard dialect that should be spoken in all formal situations. This is also the language taught in textbooks to Japanese and foreigners alike. However, at home and amongst friends, people throughout the different parts of Japan who didn't grow up in Tokyo or its surrounding areas speak their own dialect. Unlike Chinese, these different dialects are for the most part comprehensible to Japanese of other regions, save a few dialects such as Touhoku-ben and Okinawa-ben which are rather hard for most Japanese to follow. The primary variation in these regional dialects is actually not the accent, as is the case in many countries, but in the vocabulary, the conjugation of verbs and adjectives, and words used at the end of sentences for emphasis. The most widely spoken dialect outside Tokyo is the Kansai dialect, which in itself varies throughout the different cities and prefectures comprising the Kansai area.
• Religion: The official religions of Japan are Shinto and Buddhism, and although most Japanese would claim to adhere to both, they are actually much worse about establishing and maintaining their spiritual beliefs than 'Lazy Christians' in America. Also, many people wonder how somebody can believe in two religions, but with Shinto this is possible because it is an ancient Japanese belief system in gods of the many elements. At one point I knew a good bit about Shinto, as I visited many a shrine and spoke with several different Shinto priests, but I've forgotten most of it already. Buddhism is a different story, and all I know is that there are many different sects of Buddhism in Japan. For the most part, basically, the Japanese are not very religiously focused people, and even Shinto only comes into play when observing ancient rituals. Even much of this reverence to ritual and custom has been forgotten and abandoned by the younger generation.
• Education: Japan's education system is quite remarkable, earning Japanese students some of the highest marks in the world on standard tests. However, this comes at a very high cost. Japanese children are forced at an early age to prepare for the fierce competition required to get into good high schools and colleges. From elementary school on, many kids are forced by there parents to attend juku, which are basically cram schools, every night and even on weekends to stay ahead in school and to prepare for tests that will be taken five to ten years down the road. Since everybody does it, students who do not attend these cram schools are actually at a disadvantage in the exams. These cram schools can be found everywhere, even in small towns. You can walk down streets in Japan and find multiple cram schools in one block. Getting into college is the hardest task facing aspiring students, as every school has its own admission test. Only the top scorers are accepted into the best schools, and even the lower schools can be quite difficult for some students to gain admission. This puts an incredible amount of stress on these young students, and this competitive environment has come under heavy fire in recent years from within the country and abroad. Once students gain admission to a university, however, things get much easier. Since most companies don't look at students GPAs, only what school they graduated from, most students don't spend too much time worrying about their classes, instead getting involved in clubs and extracurricular activities. In this area alone I am very jealous of Japanese students and almost feel they are better off for having a more relaxed college environment. Not only do they have more opportunities to network this way, but they have more time to invest in their own pursuits, not a bunch of classes they are just taking to get their degrees. Besides the competitive nature inherent in Japan's education system, children are deprived of creative opportunities at a very young age. Everyone has heard how the nail that stands out in Japan is nailed back in. Well, to some extent this is very true. Japanese culture is strongly based on conformity, as it is a shame culture and not a guilt culture. Very little creativity is encouraged in school, and many students grow up never having the opportunity to express their ideas and opinions, or even feeling as if they shouldn't have them in some cases. I think despite their high marks, Japanese students are missing something in their education.

I can't think of anything else to add at this moment, but if I think of something later I'll be sure to add it to this page. I hope this was somewhat helpful in giving you a better understanding of Japan. If I made any mistakes or you don't agree with me on something, feel free to e-mail me at frijol@rice.edu.