Japan
Japan 日本 knows as Nippon or Nihon is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian continent and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea in the south. It is often called the “Land of the Rising Sun”.
日本 (kanji letter that can be read as Nippon atau Nihon). 日, Ni, is the kanji letter for sun. 本, Hon, is the kanji letter for source/origin/root. When combined it become sunrise.
The four largest regions are Shikoku, Kyushu, Honshu, and Hokkaido. The nation is split up into eight regions, or 47 prefectures, with Okinawa being the southernmost and Hokkaido being the northernmost. With 127 million people, it is the tenth largest population in the world, with 98.5% being of Japanese ethnicity. 9.3% of people live in rural areas, compared to 90.7% who live in cities. About 13.8 million people live in Tokyo,[the capital of Japan. With more than 38 million residents, the Greater Tokyo Area is the world’s most populated metropolitan area.
The four largest areas are Shikoku, Kyushu, Honshu, and Hokkaido.
Eight Regions: Chugoku, Kyushu, Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, and Shikoku
47 Prefectures are listed below.
47 Prefectures
Japan Was Divided To The 4 Largest Areas
(Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku)
(Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku)
Honshu
Honshu is the main island of Japan. The largest and most populous island of Japan, located south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Straits. The island separates the Sea of Japan, which lies to its north and west, from the North Pacific Ocean to its south and east. It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian island of Java. Honshu had a population of 104 million as of 2017, mostly concentrated in the coastal lowlands, notably in the Kantō plain where 25% of the total population resides in the Greater Tokyo Area.
Hokkaido
Hokkaido is the second largest island of Japan, and the largest and northernmost prefecture. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu. The two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaido is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only ordinance-designated city. About 43 km north of Hokkaido lies Sakhalin Island, Russia.
Kyushu
Kyushu (九州 Kyūshū, is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. The island is mountainous, and Japan’s most active volcano, Mt Aso located here. The island is separated from Honshu by the Kanmon Straits.
Shikoku
Shikoku (四国, literally “four provinces”) is the smallest (225 km or 139.8 mi long and between 50 and 150 km or 31.1 and 93.2 mi wide) and least populous (3.8 million as of 2015) of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshu and east of the island of Kyushu. Shikoku comprises 3.1 percent of the entire population of Japan.
8 Regions in Japan
Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu,
Hokkaido
Hokkaido, the largest and northernmost prefecture in Japan, was formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso. It is the country’s second-largest island. Hokkaido and Honshu are separated by the Tsugaru Strait. The Seikan Tunnel, an underwater railway, connects the two islands. Sapporo, the capital and only ordinance-designated city of Hokkaido, is also the largest city there. Sakhalin Island, Russia, is located about 43 km north of Hokkaido.
Capital City : Sapporo
Tohoku
The northeastern part of Honshu makes up the Tohoku region, which is located in northeastern Japan. Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata are the six prefectures (ken) that make up this traditional region. Tohoku still has the reputation of being a beautiful, isolated area with a harsh climate. In the 20th century, Tohoku region’s tourism industry grew significantly.
Capital city: Sendai
Kanto
The Kanto area is in Honshu. Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa are the seven prefectures that make up the region, which also includes the Greater Tokyo Area. Approximately 45% of the Kanto Plain’s total land area falls within its bounds. The hills and mountains that make up the land borders make up the remaining area. There were 42,607,376 people living there, or roughly one-third of Japan’s total population.
Capital City: Tokyo
Chubu
Located in the center of Honshu, the main island of Japan, is the Chubu Central region, also known as Central Japan. It includes the following nine prefectures (ken): Toyama, Yamanashi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, and Aichi. It is situated exactly between the Kanto and Kansai regions, which are home to Mount Fuji, vast mountain resorts, the Pacific and Sea of Japan coastlines, and the important city of Nagoya. The region is the broadest portion of Honshu, with tall, untamed mountains dominating the central portion. The nation is divided by the Japanese Alps into two sections: the Sea of Japan side, which is snowy in the winter, and the Pacific side, which is sunny.
Capital City : Nagoya
Kansai
The southern-central part of Japan’s main island, Honshu, is home to the Kansai region. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo and Shiga sometimes Fukui,Tokushima and Tottori. Although the terms Kansai and Kinki have been used differently throughout history, they are still interchangeable in most modern contexts. After the Greater Tokyo Area, the urbon region of Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto (Keihanshin region) is home to the second-highest population in Japan.
Capital City: Osaka
Shikoku
The westernmost region of Honshu is known as the Chugoku region. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi. The Chugoku region is also known as in order to distinguish it from China, mainly in the tourism sector.
The “San’in‐San’yō region” is the area in the north that faces the Sea of Japan. The southern portion, which faces the Seto Inland Sea, is known as San’yō (“yáng of the mountains”).
Capital city: Hiroshima
Japan's season
Japan experiences four distinct seasons, each offering a unique atmosphere and outlook:
1. Winter – December to February
2. Spring – March to May
3. Summer – June to August
4. Autumn – September to November
In addition to these four seasons, Japan also experiences a rainy season and a hurricane season during the summer.