Akiya by region

北海道

Hokkaido

Japan's northern island, and a single prefecture that covers a fifth of the country's land area with under 5% of its people.

1 prefectures · Sapporo, Niseko, Hakodate

東北

Tohoku

The six prefectures of northern Honshu — mountainous, heavily forested, and the fastest-depopulating part of the country.

6 prefectures · Sendai, Aomori, Morioka

関東

Kanto

The Tokyo plain and the prefectures around it — a third of Japan's population on a flat, densely built expanse.

7 prefectures · Tokyo, Yokohama, Chiba

中部

Chubu

Central Honshu, from the Sea of Japan coast over the Northern Alps to the Pacific.

9 prefectures · Nagoya, Kanazawa, Nagano

関西

Kansai

The old capital region — Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe — and the country's second economic centre.

7 prefectures · Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe

中国

Chugoku

Western Honshu, split by mountains into a mild, industrial Seto Inland Sea coast and a quieter, snowier northern one.

5 prefectures · Hiroshima, Okayama, Matsue

四国

Shikoku

The smallest of the four main islands, and the most rural.

4 prefectures · Matsuyama, Takamatsu, Tokushima

九州

Kyushu

The southern island — volcanic, warm, and the closest part of Japan to the Asian mainland.

7 prefectures · Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Beppu

沖縄

Okinawa

The subtropical island chain south of the mainland, with its own building traditions and a housing market shaped by tourism and the US bases.

1 prefectures · Naha, Ishigaki, Nago