Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Japan, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Japan and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Japan
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Japan:
- 40.992584, -75.910199
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Japan
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Luzerne County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Luzerne County
- Since Japan is near Carbon County and also Schuylkill County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Carbon County
- eBird sighting report for Schuylkill County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Japan ...
We found one communities that share the name Japan.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Japan is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, there is another community also named Japan in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Japan ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Beaver Meadows
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Meadows
- Beaver Meadows is located in Carbon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beaver Meadows <3>
- Cranberry
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Drums
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drums have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drums
- Drums is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Drums <3>
- Foundryville ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foundryville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foundryville
- Foundryville is located in Luzerne County
- Freeland
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland
- Freeland is located in Luzerne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,413 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeland <3>
- Green Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Ridge
- Green Ridge is located in Luzerne County
- Hickory Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
- Hickory Hills is located in Luzerne County
- Hollars Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollars Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollars Hill
- Hollars Hill is located in Luzerne County
- Honey Hole
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honey Hole have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Hole
- Honey Hole is located in Luzerne County
- Jeansville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jeansville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeansville
- Jeansville is located in Luzerne County
- Junedale
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Pardeesville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pardeesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardeesville
- Pardeesville is located in Luzerne County
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Pond Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pond Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Creek
- Pond Creek is located in Luzerne County
- Sand Spring
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Spring
- Sand Spring is located in Luzerne County
- Sandy Run
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Weather
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Woodside
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Pond Creek
How Far From Japan to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Japan to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Japan and extending to:
- Wilkes-Barre, which is the Seat of Luzerne County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Japan to Wilkes-Barre, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 70 miles [112.7 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 156 miles [251.1 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,762 miles [9,273 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,473 miles [10,417.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,349 miles [6,999 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Japan. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Luzerne County: www.luzernecounty.org/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Japan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Japan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.9926, Longitude: -75.9102 In this case, the coordinates for Japan have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <5> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Japan to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.055 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.82 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.378 degrees. |