country

Japan reading map

Find English readings connected to Japan, including Nara Park instructions, an informational text about Tokyo, and fiction set in Harajuku and other places.

21 readings

Explore places in Japan

These places include every published city, landmark, and natural feature nested anywhere inside Japan.

Japan reading map

Explore Japan through Nara Park instructions, an informational article about Tokyo, and a fictional diary set in Harajuku. Compare the practical purpose of directions with the information in the Tokyo reading and the imagined perspective of a diary narrator.

How to Feed the Deer at Nara ParkLower Elementary · How-To / Procedural • Functional TextsJapanOld Temples and Tall TowersLower Elementary · Short Story • FictionTokyoThe Song of the SanshinLower Elementary · Short Story • FictionJapanThe Wise Monkeys of NikkoLower Elementary · InformationalJapanTora's Tasty SecretLower Elementary · FictionJapanCranes of Hope: A Tribute at the Children's Peace MonumentUpper Elementary · Reader's TheaterJapanDancing with the Giants of AomoriUpper Elementary · Diary Entry • FictionJapanFrom Fishing Village to Megacity: The Story of TokyoUpper Elementary · Explanatory Article • InformationalTokyoPrincess Senhime and the White Heron CastleUpper Elementary · BiographyJapanRolling Into Fun: How to Make Banana SushiUpper Elementary · How-To / Procedural • Functional TextsJapanThe Kind Gardener and the Magic AshUpper Elementary · FictionJapanThe Rain-Soaked Giants of YakushimaUpper Elementary · Explanatory Article • InformationalJapanWhere the Past Meets the Future: Exploring Tokyo's LandmarksUpper Elementary · Explanatory Article • InformationalTokyoA Tale of Two Harajukus: Noise, Neon, and Sacred SilenceMiddle School · Diary Entry • FictionJapanGuardian on the Horizon: Tokyo's Geography and Mount FujiMiddle School · InformationalTokyoMaster of the Digital Symphony: The Life and Music of Nobuo UematsuMiddle School · BiographyTokyoShiretoko: Where the Ice Meets the WildMiddle School · Report • InformationalJapanThe Ancient Wilderness of Shirakami-SanchiMiddle School · Explanatory Article • InformationalJapanThe Sacred Peak: Why We Must Leave No Trace on Mount FujiMiddle School · Opinion Piece • Opinion / ArgumentativeJapanThe Track to Tomorrow: Why High-Speed Rail Must Replace Short-Haul FlightsMiddle School · Opinion Piece • Opinion / ArgumentativeJapanTiger's Sushi SurpriseMiddle School · FictionJapan

Japan printables & worksheets

Compare what the Nara instructions ask a reader to do with details in the Tokyo informational article; use a story map for the fiction.

Build a Japan workbook
Pro

One PDF with the reading passages, puzzles and worksheets you pick — start from a grade level and adjust from there, with the answer keys at the back.

Japan fact file

Research Japan: where it is, what it is known for, three interesting facts, and a drawing.

Browse all fact file

Japan KWL chart

Write what you already know about Japan, what you want to find out, and what you learned.

Browse all kwl chart

Japan story map

Plan a story set in Japan: characters, setting, problem, what happens first, next, and last, and how it ends.

Browse all story map

Japan word web

Put Japan in the middle and collect words and ideas connected to it.

Browse all word web

Japan word game worksheets

Printable word puzzles built from Japan words — download as PDF, answer key included.

Easy word search

8×8 grid · 6 words across and down · answer key included

Medium word search

10×10 grid · 8 words with diagonals · answer key included

Tricky word search

12×12 grid · 10 words with backwards words · answer key included

Browse all word search worksheets

No printer at hand? Play the Japan word search right here on screen — free.

About Japan

Japan is an island nation, or archipelago, consisting of over 6,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Mount Fuji, an active stratovolcano, is the highest mountain in Japan and a famous cultural symbol.

Tokyo, the capital city of Japan, is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world.

Japan readings by purpose and place

The Japan collection ranges from functional instructions to informational writing and fiction. Two readings focus on Tokyo and Harajuku. Have students connect details to each named setting and compare what an informational article and fictional diary reveal about place.

Follow directions and learn about Tokyo

How to Feed the Deer at Nara Park is a Lower Elementary procedural text. Invite readers to sequence the instructions and identify the details that guide an action. The Upper Elementary explanatory article From Fishing Village to Megacity: The Story of Tokyo is informational. Readers can collect what it says about Tokyo and explain how an explanatory article differs from directions for a specific activity.

Read the diary’s perspective

The Middle School diary A Tale of Two Harajukus: Noise, Neon, and Sacred Silence is fiction. Old Temples and Tall Towers is a Lower Elementary fictional short story connected to Tokyo. Compare its narrative with the diary’s form, using details from each. A story map can organize fictional events; a fact file can hold information from the Tokyo article. Compare how the city and neighborhood settings shape the two texts. Invite students to cite one detail from each text and explain how the place shaped that detail. Explore Asia for more place-based readings. For broader geography topics, browse the geography reading collection.

Japan reading map FAQ

Which Japan reading gives instructions?

“How to Feed the Deer at Nara Park” gives functional instructions.

How is the Tokyo reading presented?

It is an explanatory informational article about Tokyo’s development.

What reading task fits the Harajuku diary?

Identify its narrator’s perspective, then compare the diary with informational details in the Tokyo article.

How can readers connect the readings to place?

Name the setting in each title, then sort details by the named places and the text types that present them.