Tokyo

Tokyo [[ 東京 ]]  is the capital of Japan, centre of the Greater Tokyo Area and  the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is one of the 47 prefectures but is called a metropolis. In 2009 it was named as the most expensive city in the world and one of the busiest. The population of the special wards is over 8 million people, with the total population of the prefecture exceeding 13 million. Many different events occur in Tokyo and they are very popular. As the largest population center in Japan and the location of the country's largest broadcasters and studios, Tokyo is frequently the setting for many Japanese movies, television shows, animated series and many others.

Japan

Japan

   The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the past thousand years, from which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America. After several waves of immigration from the continent and nearby Pacific islands, the inhabitants of Japan experienced a long period of relative isolation from the outside world during the Tokugawa shogunate until the arrival of "The Black Ships" and the Meiji period.

Language

The Japanese language is very important and had played a significant role in the Japanese culture. It’s spoken by over 130 million people in Japan. It is known as agglutinative language and is a member of Japonic language family. It is distinguished by a complex system of honorific reflecting the nature of Japanese society.

It’s written in a combination of three scripts: the Chinese characters that are called ‘’kanji’’ (漢字) and two syllabic scripts made up of modified Chinese characters. Although the Latin alphabet is used in the modern Japanese. Before and during World War II, when Japan occupied Korea, Taiwan, parts of China, the Philippines, and various Pacific islands, locals in those countries were forced to learn Japanese in empire-building programs. As a result, many elderly people in these countries can speak Japanese in addition to the local language.

Gardens

Gardens and the garden architecture is very important in Japan. It has been influenced alot by historical and religious backgrounds. in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks. It is also a very popular tourist attraction, each year over thousandths of people from different countries come to visit.

You can find more information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Japan