10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN – PART 2

Continue to follow interesting facts about Japan part 2 with T-connect.

1. The “kanji” of Japan’s national name means “Origin of the Sun”, which is why people often call Japan “The Land of the Rising Sun”.  

2. In Japan, baseball is the most popular and widely held sport, however Sumo is actually the country's national sport.

3. A watermelon in Japan costs up to 400 USD, this is a black-skinned watermelon called Densuke. This type of watermelon can only be grown in Hokkaido, easily identified by its black skin, the inside is still the red color of traditional watermelons. Densuke watermelon has a sweet taste, is very delicious, quite rare, is grown and preserved very elaborately so it is very expensive.

4. In Japan, there are robot performance restaurants where waiters play drums and bass while robots perform many interesting acts such as fighting dinosaurs, dancing, etc. to entertain diners.

5. Japanese mothers traditionally keep their children's umbilical cord. It is usually wrapped in a cloth doll and placed inside a special box called Kotobuki Bako.

6. Using the most poisonous food in the world, puffer fish is used to prepare dishes in Japan. Chefs must study for 11 years or more to know how to prepare and extract the deadly poison. In particular, they must be the first to taste their dishes before serving them to diners.

7. You need to learn how to drink sake in Japan, it has many special rules. At the banquet table, the younger person must pour sake for the oldest person first. When someone pours sake for you, you must hold the cup with one hand and place the other hand under the cup to show politeness.

8. Buddhism is a popular religion in Japan and meditation is one of the activities that is emphasized.

9. In Japan, when eating noodles, you have to make noise, it is a way to show your enjoyment and indirectly compliment the chef.

10. The average life expectancy of Japanese people is 83 years, 4 years higher than that of Americans. This is probably due to their proper diet and exercise.