As you may already know, Japan is a country consisting of 4 main island (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu) There are many ways to divide Japan. Here are some most
By Prefecture
- Japan has 47 Prefectures. It is like states/provinces. Under prefectures, there are municipalities such as county (gun), city (shi). In case of Tokyo, they have special wards (ku) and cities under Tokyo prefecture.
- Prefectures are generally called Ken. Except for: Tokyo (To), Hokkaido (Do), Osaka and Kyoto (Fu)
- Some big cities such as Yokohama City, Nagoya City, Kyoto City, Kobe City, Hiroshima City and others (20 cities total as of 2024) have wards (ku) under City.
- 47 Prefectures are (from North to South) : Hokkaido, Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Yamagata, Miyagi, Fukushima, Niigata, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Nagano, Saitama, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Aichi, Kyoto, Shiga, Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Osaka, Hyogo, Shimane, Tottori, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, Kochi, Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Okinawa
By Regions
- Hokkaido (1 prefecture) -Hokkaido
- Tohoku (6 prefectures)-Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Yamagata, Miyagi, Fukushima,
- Kanto (5 prefectures)-Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Kanagawa
- Koshinetsu (3 prefectures)- Niigata, Gunma, Nagano
- Chubu (6 prefectures)- Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Aichi
- Kinki (7 prefectures)-Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Shiga, Mie, Wakayama
- Chugoku (5 prefectures)- Shimane, Tottori, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi
- Shikoku (4 Prefectures)-Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, Kochi
- Kyushu (7 prefectures)-Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima,
- Okinawa (1 prefecture) -Okinawa
By Islands
- Hokkaido-Hokkaido region
- Honshu-Tohoku, Kanto, Koshinetsu, Chubu, Kinki, Chugoku regions
- Shikoku-Shikoku region
- Kyushu-Kyushu region
East/West
- When we divide Japan into 2, by different electric Hz. East side has 50 Hz. and West side has 60 Hz.
In case of JR, they are divided into 7-JR Hokkaido, JR Tohoku, JR East, JR Central, JR West, JR Shikoku and JR Kyushu. JR East includes (Koshinetsu, Kanto, and part of Chubu) JR Central includes JR West (Osaka, Hyogo and Chugoku.)
Sometimes, Chugoku region is further divided into Sanyo(pronounced Sun-yo) and Sanin (pronounced Sun-in). Sanyo includes:Okayama, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi. Sanin includes Shimane and Tottori.
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