DECEMBER 1999 QUESTIONS

  • (Mrs. Frame, U.S.A.)
    How can my school group send paper cranes to the Hiroshima Peace Park?
    Millions of paper cranes arrive at the Peace Park in Hiroshima each year from across the world in a showing of the folders' prayer for peace. You can make your contribution, too, by stringing 1,000 cranes in garlands of 100 cranes each and sending them to:
    Office of the Mayor
    City of Hiroshima
    1-6-34 Kokutaiji-machi
    Naka-ku, Hiroshima 730-0042 JAPAN

    You can also search the Web for organizations that can help you send cranes.

  • (Nikki, Britain)
    How far away is Japan from mainland Asia?
    Located on the western tip of Kyushu island, Nagasaki is the closest prefecture to mainland Asia. The island of Tsushima, part of Nagasaki Prefecture, is only 53 kilometers (33 miles) from the South Korean seaport Pusan.

  • (Patricia, U.S.A.)
    Why do Japanese people mostly only eat rice?
    Although rice is the Japanese people's staple food, this does't mean they eat little of anything else. Rice is an important part of a traditional Japanese meal, but other foods are also eaten at the same time. You can learn more by reading An Introduction to Japanese Food in our own A Japanese Cookbook for Kids section.

  • (Aaron, Anth, Donette, and others)
    How do the Japanese celebrate Christmas?
    While many Japanese celebrate Christmas, for most of them the day doesn't have religious significance. It's largely a time for eating Christmas cake and other special dishes and for exchanging presents with loved ones, and like many others around the world, a lot of Japanese kids anxiously await gifts from Santa Claus. It's also popular for young couples to spend Christmas Eve together.

  • (Cindy, U.S.A.)
    In Japan, do they have fast-food shops like Subway, Pizza Hut, Hardee's, and Burger King?
    Japan has many fast-food shops, especially in Tokyo and other big cities, both foreign--like the ones listed above, though Hardee's hasn't made it to Japan yet--and domestic, like Freshness Burger, Mos Burger, and Lotteria. McDonald's, for example, has over 3,000 shops across Japan.


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