Exploring Japan: The Geography

Kotaku-in is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kamakura. The temple is known for its grand statue of Amida Buddha one of the most famous icons in Japan . The hall was destroyed in 1334 by a storm and then rebuilt and damaged by another storm in 1369, and was rebuilt again. The last building housing the statue was washed away in the tsunami of 20th September 1498, since then the Buddha has stood open air.  Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower located as the name suggests in Tokyo. Built in 1958, the tower’s main use is for tourism and antenna leasing, intended for television broadcasting but as it’s surrounded by museums, cafes and wonderful shops, it is more of a tourist attraction. The Hiroshima Peace memorial (also known as the Atomic Bomb Dome or the A-bomb dome) is the memorial from when the Americans dropped an Atomic bomb over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over 70,000 people were killed instantly and another 70,000 suffered fatal ...

In 2011 on the 11th March, the aftermath of a powerful earthquake produced a magnitude of 9 tsunami. On 10th March 2015 it was confirmed that there were 15, 894 deaths, 6,152 injured, 2,562 missing and 228,863 people living far away from their homes. The Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said "In the 65 years after the end of World War II, this is the most toughest and most difficult crisis for Japan." Around 4.4 million households in Northern Japan were left without electricity and 1.5 million without water.

Mount Ontake On September 14, 1984, the Otaki earthquake (magnitude 6.8) in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, caused a major mudslide on the south face of Mount Ontake, which reached speeds of 80~100 km/h.  Heavy rain over several days prior to the quake contributed to causing the mudslide, known as “Ontake Kuzure,” which took the lives of 29 people. After the disaster, barriers against mudslide were erected in nine locations at the foot of Mt. Ontake Wakayama, Nara In September 2011, typhoon No. 12, which formed and was named on August 25, made landfall over Japan, bringing heavy rain to the mountainous Kii Peninsula, and causing a mudslide, called “Shinsohokai,” in Wakayama and Nara. "Shinsohokai" means that not only soil collapses, but also bedrock. In this case, houses were covered with earth and sand from the mudslide and there were many injured and killed. Hiroshima In June 2010, Hiroshima experienced heavy rains which ca...