Japan is a long archipelago stretching from the northeast to southwest separated from mainland China and Korea by the Sea of Japan.
Japan itself spans a vast arc of approximately 2,900 km, however is only some 403 km wide at its broadest point.
Four main islands make up Japan, these are Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu, also there are approximately 6,000 smaller uninhabited islands surrounding the coastlines.
Vast climatic variations occur between the main four islands, with Hokkaido in the north being subarctic, while Kyushu is subtropical.