Almost three-fourths of Japan's topography is composed of mountains, and only about 11 percent of the land in Japan is arable. In fact, each of Japan's main islands has a mountain range running through it, many parts of which were formed by volcanic eruptions.
More about Japan's topography and geography:
- If you include all of the outlying islands, Japan is only slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Montana.
- Mount Fuji, Mount Haku and Mount Tate make up the three "holy mountains," or sanreizen, in Japan. Mount Fuji alone attracts more than 300,000 climbers annually.
- The highest point in Japan is Mount Fuji, which is almost 2.5 miles (almost 4,000 m) above sea level. The lowest point in Japan is Lake Hachiro, which is about 15 feet (about 4 m) below sea level.