History
Language
Geography
Pop Culture/Culture
Holidays/Celebrations
100
What is the currency in Japan?
Yen
100
What do you say before and after eating a meal?
Itadakimasu (Before)
Gochisousama (After)
100
What is Japan’s tallest mountain called?
Mount Fuji
100
What mannerism may be considered rude in other countries but is actually welcomed in Japan?
Slurping noodles
100
What is the traditional wear commonly worn during summer festivals?
Yukata
200
What used to be the capital of Japan before Tokyo?
Kyoto
200
How many writing systems does Japan have and what are they?
Three:
Hiragana: Used for sentence particles, suffixes, copulas, etc.
Katakana: Used for transliterations of loan words, sounds, western names, etc.
Kanji: Used for nouns and names
200
How many main islands does Japan have?
(25 bonus points for each one you name)
Four (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu)
200
Who is this character and what animal are they technically?
Doraemon, the robotic cat
200
During the Tanabata Festival, people write wishes onto slips of paper (tanzaku) and hang them on what type of tree?
Bamboo trees
300
The Yayoi people that arrived in Japan 300 B.C were the first people to cultivate what in Japan?
Rice in flooded paddy fields
300
Japanese is ranked what on the most spoken languages of the world?
9th
300
What are four common natural disasters in Japan?
Earthquakes
Tsunamis
Typhoons
Volcanic Eruptions
300
What can be found everywhere in Japan and has many varieties such as for cakes, ramen, cooked meals or hot or cold drinks?
Vending Machines
(1 vending machine for every ~24 people)
300
What is White Day and when is it?
Like Valentine's Day, but on March 14th, males give the females gifts as opposed to females giving gifts on Japanese Valentine's Day
(Called white because the colour symbolizes purity)
400
Who are the indigenous people of Japan called?
Ainu
400
Japanese is one of the most fast-paced spoken languages in the world with a spoken rate of how many syllables per second?
8
(Though it also has the lowest amount of information density per second which means that while a lot of stuff is being said, not a lot of information is being given)
400
What is the population ranking of Japan compared to other countries in the world?
11th at over 125,000,000 people
Tokyo being the most populous city within Japan at ~8,000,000 people
400
What are these little snow monkeys doing?
They're chilling in an onsen (hot springs bath)
Onsens have heated water from volcanic activity and are located all throughout Japan, both indoors and outdoors.
400
What are they doing?
Making mochi (rice cakes)
People enjoy making it the traditional way during special occasions.
500
For how many years was Japan closed off to the world?
217 years from 1635 to 1852
500
Give an example of a Japanese onomatopoeia.
Some examples:
peko peko (for hunger), doki doki (for fast heartbeat), fuwa fuwa (fluffy), kera kera (for cackling), ira ira (irritated)
500
What animal is designated as a natural treasure in Nara Park?
Deer
500
What are the photo booth machines called?
Purikura (Derived from "Print Club")
500
What do they throw out the door or at an oni (demon) on Setsunbun?
It's called mamemaki and people throw roasted soybeans.
