Japan is an archipelago of more than 6,000 islands that inhabit more than 127 million people. It may seem strange but Japan is divided into 47 states and 8 regions. Regions are associated with the climate, geographic features, culture, food, and dialects of Japanese. Below we will see a little about each region of Japan.
Table of Content
Hokkaido 北海道
Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island, located in the north. It is a vast area of farms, mountains, small towns and famous cities like Sapporo and Asahikawa that have surprisingly large areas of leisure and tourism. The island's population is around 5.5 million people.
Tohoku 東北
Tohoku (Touhoku) literally means northeast, located in the north of Japan's main island, and includes six prefectures: Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata.
Tohoku has a reputation as an icy desert, but the region has hot summers and a population of over 9 million people, including several major cities such as Sendai and Morioka. The region has a dialect of Japanese known as Tohoku-ben which is strong enough to make communication a little difficult for the people of Tokyo.
Many people are ashamed to use the dialect outside their hometown, because it has a stigma of being rural. Tohoku is known for its winter sports, festivals, hospitality and excellent food.
Kanto - 関東
Kanto is a populous region of 43 million people centered around Tokyo. Also includes Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma.
Much of the region is a giant block of urban area known as Greater Tokyo. Unlike other regions of Japan, few people strongly identify as being from the Kanto region. Instead, they tend to identify with their city like Tokyo, Yokohama or Saitama. If you ask people where they are from, nobody says Kanto.
Kanto is a gigantic place, an endless journey with all kinds of adventures.
Kanto Can also be divided into North and South
Kansai - 関西
Kansai is a region of 22 million people centered around the cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, which form a large urban area. The region has a dialect of the Japanese language known as Kansai-ben.
Kansai and Kanto have an intense rivalry that lasts for centuries. The region includes Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama, Mie, Shiga and Fukui. Kansai also has the best tourist attractions in Japan.
Note: Formerly Kansai was called Kinki 近畿.
Chugoku - Chugoku
The Chugoku region is at the bottom of Japan's main island and includes Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi.
The Kanji for Chugoku is 中国 which is also the Japanese word for China which means "middle country". This is a strange name for a region of Japan, so an alternate name is Sanin-Sanyo, used occasionally. Chugoku has several distinct dialects of Japanese. Some parts of the region are heavily industrialized and others are rural areas.
Chugoku has a population of 7.5 million and Hiroshima is its largest city. The Hiroshima area is also home to many tourist attractions. Like Itsukushima Shrine and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Kyushu e Okinawa 九州
Kyushu is an island populated with 13 million people, it is the 37th largest island in the world. The island is lush and green and has several of Japan's most active volcanoes. It is divided into seven prefectures: Fukuoka, Saga, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Oita, Kagoshima and Miyazaki.
Kyushu has been populated since prehistoric times and has a rich history which is represented by the many castles and temples in the area. Kyushu also has several of Japan's largest cities and best-known hot springs.
Okinawa is a chain of islands in southern Japan with a humid subtropical climate and a unique culture. Its population is relatively low, just over 2 million people. Okinawa has eight main islands and each has a unique local culture.
Shikoku 四国
Shikoku is the smallest of Japan's four main islands and is the 50th largest island in the world.
There is located Ehime, Kagawa, Kochi, and Tokushima which have relatively low populations. The population of the entire island is 4 million. Shikoku has nice nature, temples, hot springs and great festivals.
Chubu 中部
Chubu is a collection of prefectures in the middle of Japan between Kyoto and Tokyo. Its prefectures are Aichi, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama and Yamanashi. The region contains the most mountainous areas in Japan, including Mount Fuji. Chubu also includes Nagoya, the fourth largest city in the country. The population of the region is close to 22 million.
Chubu can also be divided into 3:
- Hokuriku (northwest of Chubu)
- Koshinetsu (northeast of Chubu)
- Tokai (southern Chubu, includes Nagoya)
Those were the 8 Regions of Japan. Hope you like it, and don't forget to share. Below we will leave another map so you can understand more about the geography of Japan.
Website photos: https://www.japan-ryokan.net/