Japan is an archipelago consisting of more than 6800 islands, which was created by the volcanic activity that gives the country its earthquakes and wonderful hot springs. There are four main islands: large Honshu (“main province”), slightly bigger than Great Britain; southernmost Kyushu (“nine provinces,” since there used to be nine kingdoms there), closest to the Korean peninsula and always a doorway to new cultural influences such as Buddhism, kanji and Christianity; small Shikoku (“four provinces”), which still has four prefectures; and Hokkaido (“sea road to the north”), known for its dairy products and potatoes. In case you’re curious about what the fifth largest island is, I’ll tell you: it’s a tiny island in the Sea of Japan called Sado, off the coast of Niigata Prefecture. It’s mostly known to history as a place of banishment, and over the course of 1,000 years many disgraced Japanese historical figures were sent there to live out the rest of their days. It was also the scene of a gold rush in the Edo
