EY Y02 L39 Japanese Islands

  1. Which Japanese island do you live on? Were you born on this island? If not, where were you born?
  2. What is the most remote part of Japan that you have visited? Did you like it there? Why?
  3. Which of Japan’s islands do you wish you could visit one day? Why?
  4. Different regions in Japan are famous for different foods. Tell me about a food that comes from a specific island or region in Japan.
  5. It is often said Japanese people have an ‘island mentality’. What is meant by that? Do you agree? Do you have any examples?
  6. Many former fishing areas in Japan suffer from underpopulation. Do you think future generations of Japanese people who are living in the main cities will return to the islands and the countryside?

Question 1

I live on Honshu and I was born on the island of Great Britain. When I was a child my family moved to another island, the South Island of New Zealand.

Question 2

I have never really been to a very remote part of Japan. I think the most remote place that I have been to in Japan is either Gifu or Sendai.

Question 3

I would love to visit the tropical island of Okinawa. It is a very famous places that promises fun and great food.

Question 4

Hokkaido is famous for seafood and mutton/lamb dishes.

Question 5

For me, an island mentality is when the people who live on the island have a shared national identity as the border is the coast around the island.

Question 6

I think it is most likely that these people will return to the countryside to retire after making money and raising their family in urban environments.

Tough Vocabulary

- English - - Japanese -
tropical island 南国の島
mutton 羊肉
national identity 国民性
urban environment 都市環境