Regions of Japan - These 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, 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 (northern Honshū, largest city
Sendai)
-
Kantō region (eastern Honshū, largest cities
Tokyo and Yokohama)
-
Chūbu region (central Honshū, including Mt.
Fuji), sometimes divided into:
- Hokuriku region (northwestern Chūbu)
- Kōshin'etsu region (northeastern Chūbu, largest
city Nagano)
- Tōkai region (southern Chūbu, largest city
Nagoya, Hamamatsu, and Shizuoka)
- Chūkyō region (southwestern Chūbu, largest city
Nagoya, Gifu,and Yokkaichi)
-
Kansai or Kinki region (west-central Honshū,
largest cities Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto)
-
Chūgoku region (western Honshū, largest city
Hiroshima, and Okayama)
-
Shikoku (island, largest city Matsuyama, and
Takamatsu)
-
Kyūshū (island, largest city Fukuoka) which
includes:
Each contains several prefectures, except the Hokkaidō
region, which covers only Hokkaidō. The Okinawa region is
actually considered part of the Kyūshū region but was
separated in this section.
Information source: “Regions of Japan.” wikipedia.org.
Article date: 10 Nov. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 2 Mar.
2008 <Regions of Japan>. |
