Japan is a country of islands 'girt by sea'. Three quarters of Japan is mountainous, and the country is dotted with hot springs. Little wonder then that when Japanese travel in their own country, the choice is between 海 and 山!

You can choose 海(うみ) for マリーンスポーツ (marine sports) such as スキューバダイビング (scuba diving), ヨット (sailing), サーフィン (surfing), or you can just 泳ぐ (swim), or 日(ひ)に焼(や)く (literally, bake in the sun)!

If you choose 山 you can participate in winter sports like スキー (skiing) and スノーボーディング (snowboarding), and other things you can do include 山登(やまのぼ)り(mountain climbing), 魚釣(さかなつ)り(fishing), and staying at an 温泉(おんせん) (hot springs).
　 　
　
　

As you know, 日(に)本(ほん)means 'the source of the sun' as viewed from China, and the names of the four main islands also reflect their history. 本州(ほんしゅう) is literally the 'main state' where the Japanese nation emerged, 九州(きゅうしゅう)was made up of nine provinces in olden times, 四(し)国(こく) had four. 北海道(ほっかいどう), which had been the northern 'wild frontier' of Japan, was only named and made part of Japan after the Meiji Restoration in 1868.

As well as 温泉(おんせん), Japan has many 火(か)山(ざん)(volcanoes, literally fire mountains). There are three kinds, active, dormant and extinct, and 富士(ふじ)山(さん), Mt Fuji is actually an active volcano, as became apparent recently! Can you guess which of the fol-lowing type of volcano is which in Japanese?

●休(きゅう)火(か)山(ざん)　
●活(かつ)火(か)山(ざん)
●死(し)火(か)山(ざん)

It is best to avoid travelling around Japan in June because of 梅雨(つゆ) (the rainy season, literally 'plum rain' because this is when plum trees bear fruit), and September is not a good month because of 台風(たいふう)(typhoon). However, it is impossible to predict when a 地(じ)震(しん)(earthquake) will strike!
　
　
　 Here are some expressions you may need when travelling!
You may need help in getting somewhere:
●「どこどこ　に行(い)きたいんですが……」(どこどこ= somewhere or other)

You may want to ask if a seat is free:
●「この席(せき)、空(あ)いてい ますか。」　literally. 'Is this seat empty?'

You may want to ask someone to take a photo of you :
●「すみません、写(しゃ)真(しん)、お願(ねが)いできますか。」to which an obliging person will reply with 「いいですよ。」and take the photo with 「はい、チーズ！」

Finally, if you've completely lost your way you can say:
●「道(みち)に迷(まよ)ったんですが……..」
　 　
　
　 ●「海千(うみせん)山千(やません)の人(ひと)」
a person experienced in the ways of the world, cunning

●「あの子(こ)の将来(しょうらい)は海(うみ)のものとも山(やま)のものともつかない」
It's impossible to tell what that child will become (when she grows up).

●「山(やま)を越(こ)える」
literally to go over a mountain, ie. to get over a difficulty

●「チリも積(つ)もれば山(やま)となる」
If dust piles up it becomes a mountain, ie. Little things add up.
　 　
　
　 You all know that 山 comes from the picture of a mountain, but 海 is a more complex kanji. The connection with water is expressed in the left hand radical called さんずい (3 waters) which comes from the kanji 水. The right hand part comes from a picture of a mother with hairpins in her hair, but it is there for its On reading sound, カイ, which was the Chinese word for 'sea'.
It might help to remember the kanji if you think of it this way; in French the sea is in the mother - la mer →la mere. In Japanese, the mother is in the sea!
　 藤堂編　小学生版　「漢字なりたち辞典」参照、公文「公文の漢字辞典」参照
　  
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