The regions of Japan are not official administrative units, but have been traditionally used as the regional division of Japan in a number of contexts: for example, 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, Chugoku 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:
- Hokkaido (the island of Hokkaido and nearby islands, largest city Sapporo)
- Tohoku region (northern Honshu, largest city Sendai)
- Kanto region (eastern Honshu, largest cities Tokyo and Yokohama)
- Chubu region (central Honshu, including Mt. Fuji), sometimes divided into:
- Kansai or Kinki region (west-central Honshu, largest cities Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto)
- Chugoku region (western Honshu, largest city Hiroshima)
- Shikoku (island, largest city Matsuyama)
- Kyushu (island, largest city Fukuoka) and Okinawa
Each contains several prefectures, except the Hokkaido region, which covers only Hokkaido Prefecture.
See also
