Regions

 

Japan is conventionally divided into nine regions, listed here from north to south:

Hokkaido Northernmost island and snowy frontier. Famous for its wide open spaces and cold winters.

Tohoku Largely rural north-east part of the main island Honshu, best known for seafood, skiing and hot springs.

Kanto Coastal plain of Honshu, includes the cities of Tokyo and Yokohama.

Chubu Mountainous middle region of Honshu, dominated by the Japan Alps and Japan's fourth-largest city Nagoya.

Kansai Western region of Honshu, ancient capital of culture and commerce, including the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe.

Chugoku South-westernmost Honshu, a rural region best known for the cities of Hiroshima and Okayama.

Shikoku Smallest of the four main islands, a destination for Buddhist pilgrims, and Japan's best white-water rafting.

Kyushu Southernmost of the four main islands, birthplace of Japanese civilization; largest cities Fukuoka and Kitakyushu.

Okinawa Semi-tropical southern island chain reaching out toward Taiwan, its traditional customs and architecture are significantly different from the rest of Japan.

Japan is divided 47 Prefectures.

Hokkaido: 1. Hokkaido

Tohoku: 2. Aomori 3. Iwate 4. Miyagi 5. Akita 6. Yamagata 7. Fukushima

Kanto: 8. Ibaraki 9. Tochigi 10. Gunma 11. Saitama 12. Chiba 13. Tokyo 14. Kanagawa

Chubu: 15. Niigata 16. Toyama 17. Ishikawa 18. Fukui 19. Yamanashi 20. Nagano 21. Gifu 22. Shizuoka 23. Aichi

Kansai: 24. Mie 25. Shiga 26. Kyoto 27. Osaka 28. Hyōgo 29. Nara 30. Wakayama

Chugoku: 31. Tottori 32. Shimane 33. Okayama 34. Hiroshima 35. Yamaguchi

Shikoku: 36. Tokushima 37. Kagawa 38. Ehime 39. Kōchi

Kyushu and Okinawa: 40. Fukuoka 41. Saga 42. Nagasaki 43. Kumamoto 44. Ōita Prefecture 45. Miyazaki 46. Kagoshima 47. Okinawa