Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for 97% of Japan's land area. Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic; for example, Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji, is a volcano. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with about 128 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

Archaeological research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan begins with brief appearances in Chinese history texts from the first century A.D. Influence from the outside world followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. Since adopting its constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament, the Diet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan

People of Japan

The uniqueness and peculiarity of ‘the Japanese’ is a favourite topic of both Western observers and the Japanese themselves. It’s worth starting any discussion of ‘the Japanese’ by noting that there is no such thing as ‘the Japanese’. Rather, there are 127 million individuals in Japan with their own unique characters, interests and habits. And despite popular stereotypes to the contrary, the Japanese are as varied as any people on earth. Just as importantly, Japanese people have more in common with the rest of humanity than they have differences.

Why then the pervasive images of the Japanese as inscrutable or even bizarre? These stereotypes are largely rooted in language: few Japanese are able to speak English as well as, say, your average Singaporean, Hong Kong Chinese or well- educated Indian, not to mention most Europeans. This difficulty with English is largely rooted in the country’s appalling English education system, and is compounded by a natural shyness, a perfectionist streak and the nature of the Japanese language itself, which contains fewer sounds than any other major world language (making pronunciation of other languages difficult). Thus, what appears to the casual observer to be a maddening inscrutability is more likely just an inability to communicate effectively. Outsiders who become fluent in Japanese discover a people whose thoughts and feelings are surprisingly – almost boringly – similar to those of folks in other developed nations.

Of course, myths of Japanese uniqueness are quite useful to certain elements of Japanese society, to whom Japanese uniqueness is evidence of Japanese racial superiority. Among this small minority are writers of a class of books known as Nihonjiron (studies of the Japanese people), which contain absurd claims about the Japanese (including the claim that Japanese brains work differently to other people’s, and even that Japanese have longer intestines than other races). Some of these beliefs have made headway in general Japanese society, but most well-educated Japanese pay little mind to these essentially racist and unscientific views.

All this said, the Japanese do have certain characteristics that reflect their unique history and interaction with their environment. The best way to understand how most modern Japanese people think is to look at these influences. First, Japan is an island nation. Second, until WWII, Japan was never conquered by an outside power, nor was it heavily influenced by Christian missionaries. Third, until the beginning of last century, the majority of Japanese lived in close-knit rural farming communities. Fourth, most of Japan is covered in steep mountains, so the few flat areas of the country are quite crowded – people literally live on top of each other. Finally, for almost all of its history, Japan has been a strictly hierarchical place, with something approximating a caste system during the Edo period.

All of this has produced a people who highly value group identity and smooth social harmony – in a tightly packed city or small farming village, there simply isn’t room for colourful individualism. One of the ways harmony is preserved is by forming consensus, and concealing personal opinions and true feelings. Thus, the free-flowing exchange of ideas, debates and even heated arguments that one expects in the West are far less common in Japan. This reticence about sharing innermost thoughts perhaps contributes to the Western image of the Japanese as mysterious.

The Japanese tendency to put social harmony above individual expression is only strengthened by the country’s Confucian and Buddhist heritage. The former, inherited from China, stresses duty to parents, teachers, society and ancestors before individual happiness. The latter, inherited from India by way of China, stresses the illusory nature of the self and preaches austerity in all things.

Of course, there is a lot more to the typical Japanese character than just a tendency to prize social harmony. Any visitor to the country will soon discover a people who are remarkably conscientious, meticulous, industrious, honest and technically skilled. A touching shyness and sometimes almost painful self-consciousness are also undoubted features of many Japanese as well. These characteristics result in a society that is a joy for the traveller to experience.

And let us say that any visit to Japan is a good chance to explode the myths about Japan and the Japanese. While you may imagine a nation of suit-clad conformists or inscrutable automatons, a few rounds in a local izakaya (pub-eatery) will quickly put all of these notions to rest. More than likely, the salaryman (white-collar worker) next to you will offer to buy you a round and then treat you to a remarkably frank discussion of Japanese politics. Or maybe he’ll just bring you up to speed on how the Hanshin Tigers are going this year.

Free import of:
1. Tobacco products (for passengers 20 years of age or older):
a. residents:
- 200 cigarettes;
- 50 cigars;
- 250 grammes of tobacco;
- 250 grammes of a combination thereof;
- An additional equal quantity of Japanese made tobacco articles which were acquired duty free outside Japan, may be imported.
b. non-residents: twice the amounts in 1.a. above;
2. Alcohol (passengers 20 years or older): 3 bottles of alcoholic beverages (of about 0.750 litre  each).
3. Perfume: 2 ounces.
4. Gifts and souvenirs: up to JPY 200,000.-.

Ref:
http://www.customs.go.jp/english/summary/passenger.htm
http://www.iatatravelcentre.com/JP-Japan-customs-currency-airport-tax-regulations-details.htm

Weather Information for Tokyo

Ref: http://www.worldweather.org
Remark: Climatological information is based on monthly averages for the 30-year period 1961-1990.