The
regionRegion is most commonly a geographical term that is used in various ways among the different branches of geography. In general, a region is a medium-scale area of land or water, smaller than the whole areas of interest , and larger than a specific site...
s of Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
are not official administrative units, but have been traditionally used as the regional division of Japan in a number of contexts. For instance, maps and geography textbooks divide Japan into the eight regions, weather reports usually give the weather by region, and many businesses and institutions use their home region as part of their name (Kinki Nippon Railway,
Chūgoku Bank,
Tohoku University, abbreviated to , located in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region, Japan, is a Japanese public university. It is the third oldest Imperial University in Japan....
, etc.).
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Regions of Japan' Start a new discussion about 'Regions of Japan' Answer questions from other users |
The
regionRegion is most commonly a geographical term that is used in various ways among the different branches of geography. In general, a region is a medium-scale area of land or water, smaller than the whole areas of interest , and larger than a specific site...
s of Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
are not official administrative units, but have been traditionally used as the regional division of Japan in a number of contexts. For instance, maps and geography textbooks divide Japan into the eight regions, weather reports usually give the weather by region, and many businesses and institutions use their home region as part of their name (Kinki Nippon Railway,
Chūgoku Bank,
Tohoku University, abbreviated to , located in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region, Japan, is a Japanese public university. It is the third oldest Imperial University in Japan....
, etc.). While Japan has eight High Courts, their jurisdictions do not correspond to the eight regions below.
From north to south, the traditional regions are:
- Hokkaidō (the island of Hokkaidō and nearby islands, largest city: Sapporo)
- Tōhoku region
The is a geographical area of Japan. Tōhoku is Japanese for "northeast", and the Tōhoku region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. The area is also known as...
(northern Honshūor Honshu is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Strait...
, largest city: Sendai)
- Kantō region
The is a geographical area of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. The region encompasses seven prefectures which overlaps the Greater Tokyo Area: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain...
(eastern Honshū, largest city: Tokyo, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the city of Tokyo in the eastern part of the prefecture, totaling over 8 million people....
)
- Chūbu region
The is the central region of Honshū, Japan's main island. Chūbu has a population estimate of 21,886,324 as of 2008.Chūbu, which means "central region", encompasses nine prefectures: Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, Yamanashi, and often Mie.It is located directly...
(central Honshū, including Mt. Fuji), sometimes divided into:
- Hokuriku region
is a region in the northwestern part of Honshū, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region.The Hokuriku region includes the prefectures of Toyama, Ishikawa and Fukui...
(northwestern Chūbu, largest city: Kanazawa)
- Kōshin'etsu region (northeastern Chūbu, largest city: Niigata
is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It lies on the northwest coast of Honshū, the largest island of Japan, and faces the Sea of Japan and Sado Island....
)
- Tōkai region
The is a sub-region of the Chūbu region in Japan that runs along the Pacific Ocean. The name means "East sea" and comes from the Tōkaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes...
(southern Chūbu, largest city: Nagoya)
- Kansai or Kinki region (west-central Honshū, largest city: Osaka
is a city in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshū.Osaka is a City in Japan and also is designated city under the Local Autonomy Law and the capital city of Osaka Prefecture...
)
- Chūgoku region
The or is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shimane, Tottori, and Okayama.- History :...
(western Honshū, largest city: Hiroshimais the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It became the first city in history assaulted by nuclear armament when the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on it on August 6, 1945, near the culmination...
)
- Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
(island, largest city: Matsuyamais the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the Shikoku island of Japan. It is located on the northeastern portion of the Dōgo Plain. Its name means "pine tree mountain." The city was founded on December 15, 1889....
)
- Kyūshū
or Kyushu is the 3rd-largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include Kyūkoku , Chinzei , and Tsukushi-no-shima...
(island, largest city: Fukuokais the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyūshū in Japan, across the Korea Strait from South Korea's Busan....
) which includes:
- Ryukyu Islands
The Ryukyu Islands, also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyūshū in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the...
, including Okinawais one of Japan's southern prefectures, and consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1,000 km long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan...
Each contains several
prefecturesThe prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 sub-national jurisdictions: one "metropolis" , Tokyo; one "circuit" , Hokkaidō; two urban prefectures , Osaka and Kyoto; and 43 other prefectures . In Japanese, they are commonly referred to as...
, except the Hokkaidō region, which covers only
Hokkaidō, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island and the largest, northernmost of its 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshū, although the two islands are connected by the underwater Seikan Tunnel...
.
See also
- Ecoregions of Japan
Japan is home to a nine forest ecoregions, which reflect its climate and geography. The islands that constitute Japan generally have a humid climate, which ranges from warm subtropical in the southern islands to cool temperate on the northern island of Hokkaidō....
- Prefectures of Japan
The prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 sub-national jurisdictions: one "metropolis" , Tokyo; one "circuit" , Hokkaidō; two urban prefectures , Osaka and Kyoto; and 43 other prefectures . In Japanese, they are commonly referred to as...
- Geography of Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia comprising a large stratovolcanic archipelago extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. Measured from the geographic coordinate system, Japan is 36° north of the equator and 138° east of the Prime Meridian. The country is north-northeast of China and Taiwan ...