The longer i live in Japan the more i want to see of it and the more i find myself looking for a map of Japan so i can see what’s out there. I’ve been to a few of the prefectures and will mark up one of these maps sometime soon so i can keep track of my travels. There’s a heap of prefectures i know nothing about so having a good map of Japan handy will inspire me to do some more research and plan some more trips internally.
Japan consists of the following, 47 prefectures, which can be broken up in too 1 metropolis – Tokyo, 1 circuit – Hokkaido, 2 urban prefectures – Osaka and Kyoto, and 43 other prefectures. This current system of prefectures was established by the Meiji government in 1871 after the abolition of the han system.
The hunting around i did turned up quite a few good maps of Japan that you may find useful too. The above Map Of Japan and a few others can be downloaded full size from the links below.
If you’re looking for a more detailed Map Of Japan then try these ones. Note, there’s only 2 pages so you might need to go back to the start of the gallery.
The good guys down at The Tokyo University of Agriculture have come up with a way of combining your daily intake of calcium and also getting a beer in while you’re at it.
Bilk is a low-malt beer made by the TUA in their industrial faculty using fresh milk from Nakashibetsu Cho that is an eminent dairy farming zone from Abashiri City, Hokkaido. Bilk is said to have the flavour of the milk faintly drift into the beer giving it a mellow taste and a sweet smell.
I’m yet to grace Hokkaido with my presence but i’m sure a trip up north won’t be far away and when i do i’ll be sure to get hold of a few of these in person and report first hand on what Bilk really does taste like.
Hokkaidō (北海道, literally “North Sea Circuit”, Ainu: Ainu Mosir) or Hokkaido, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan’s second largest island and the largest, northernmost of its 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshū, although the two islands are connected by the underwater Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaidō is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only ordinance-designated city.
Among the other lines they stock up that way, you can find Ryuhyo Draft a new Happoshu made using water from melted ice floes and pigment from local seaweed which gives it the blue colouring. If that’s not enough you can try a Hotate Draft which is made from scallop. I think i’ll just stick with my usual Sapporo Draft.
There’s not a lot of light at the end of the tunnel when you have to travel more than 3 hrs to get back to work and back each day. The one solice we do have is the food down here is pretty damn good, especially the Ramen. We’re back on the “Ramen Tour” a few days a week, where a few of us will go to some select Ramen shops in and around Hon-Atsugi. Probably the all time favourite and current flavour of the month is “Akanko”. The shop is named after a place north of Tokyo named Akanko.
“Spreading through the eastern end of Hokkaido, Akan National Park features volcanic mountains, dense forests of subarctic primeval trees, and three caldera lakes, including Lake Akan.”
The downside of a decent feed of Ramen for lunch is the motivation to put your head down and get the afternoons work done is at an all time low. I guess that’s why a walk through the office anytime after lunch will see quite a few heads on desks while people try and catch a bit of shut eye.
Ramen (ラーメン or 拉麺) is a Japanese dish of noodles served in broth that originated in China. It tends to be served in a meat-based broth, and uses toppings such as sliced pork (チャーシュー , chāshū?), seaweed, kamaboko, green onions, and even corn. Almost every locality or prefecture in Japan has its own variation of ramen, from the tonkotsu ramen of Kyūshū to the miso ramen of Hokkaidō.
