Finally, Japanese society has a lot of norms to keep everything flowing smoothly. It is important to speak softly to avoid disturbing others, it is important to always follow traffic signals, and it is important to always be on time. These norms are very important to prevent chaos from breaking out as a result of so many people living so close together.
In addition to the ways mentioned above, Japanese culture has also found ways to adapt to the mountains. For example, in some towns that are especially close to mountains, cuisine is heavily based on sansai, or edible wild plants. Wild mustard leaves, wild mushrooms and wild carrots are all used in cooking, and there is an art to knowing which plants are edible and how to cook them. Further, the difficulty of growing edible plants has made Japan turn heavily towards seafood. Fish, octopi, squid, oysters and seaweed all play a prominent role in Japanese cuisine. In fact, before the 1600s, most people in Japan only ate seafood because they believed that if you eat land animals, you turn into them! In addition, the difficulties of growing food in Japan has led to a dependence on imports from other countries. Although the U.S. is a net exporter of agricultural products (meaning we grow and sell more food than we buy from others), Japan is a net importer (they buy more food than they grow). That is one of the reasons fruits and vegetables are so expensive in Japan... they have to be flown or shipped in from all over the world!
Another way in which the Japanese have adapted to their environment is by innovatively using the space they have.
