Chūbu region 中部地方
—  Region  —
The Chūbu region in Japan
Area
• Total	72,572.34 km2 (28,020.34 sq mi)
Population (1 October, 2010)[1]
• Total	21,715,822
• Density	300/km2 (780/sq mi)
Time zone	JST (UTC+9)

Mount Fuji is the Chūbu region's most famous landmark.

Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama in Chūbu

Central Nagoya

The Chūbu region (中部地方, Chūbu-chihō^?) is the central region of Honshū, Japan's main island. Chūbu has a population of 21,715,822 as of 2010.^[1]

Chūbu, which means "central region", encompasses nine prefectures (ken): Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, Yamanashi,^[2] and often Mie.^[3]

It is located directly between the Kantō region and the Kansai region and includes the major city of Nagoya as well as long Pacific and Sea of Japan coastlines, extensive mountain resorts, and Mount Fuji.

The region is the widest part of Honshū and the central part is characterized by high, rugged mountains. The Japanese Alps divide the country into the Pacific side, known as the front of Japan, or Omote-Nihon (表日本^?) sunny in winter, and the Sea of Japan side, or Ura-Nihon (裏日本^?), the back of Japan, snowy in winter.

Subregions[link]

The Chūbu region covers a large and geographically diverse area of Honshū which leads to it generally being divided into three distinct subregions: Tōkai, Kōshin'etsu, and Hokuriku.

Tōkai[link]

The Tōkai region, mostly bordering the Pacific Ocean, is a narrow corridor interrupted in places by mountains that descend into the sea.

Since the Tokugawa period (1600-1867), this corridor has been critical in linking Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. One of old Japan's most important ancient roadways, the Tōkaidō, ran through it connecting Tokyo (at that time called Edo) and Kyoto, the old imperial capital. In the twentieth century, it became the route for new super-express highways and high-speed railroad lines (shinkansen). The area consists of Aichi, Mie, Shizuoka,and southern Gifu prefectures.

A number of small alluvial plains are found in the corridor section. A mild climate, favorable location relatively close to the great metropolitan complexes, and availability of fast transportation have made this area a center for truck-gardening and out-of-season vegetables. Upland areas of rolling hills are extensively given over to the growing of mandarin oranges and tea. Nagoya, which faces Ise Bay, is a center for heavy industry, including iron and steel and machinery manufacturing. The corridor also has a number of small but important industrial centers. The western part of Tōkai includes the Nōbi Plain, where rice was being grown by the seventh century.

Chūkyō[link]

The three Tōkai prefectures centered around Nagoya (Aichi, Gifu, and Mie) have particularly strong economic ties, and the parts of these prefectures that are closest to the city comprise the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area. This area boasts the third strongest economy in Japan and this influence can sometimes extend into the more remote parts of these prefectures that are farther away from Nagoya. Thus, these three prefectures are sometimes called the "Chūkyō region" in a business sense. This name does not see widespread usage throughout Japan; however, as the economy in the area strengthens, this name may become more well-known country-wide.

Central Highlands[link]

The Central Highlands is an area of complex and high rugged mountains—often called the "roof of Japan"--that include the Japanese Alps. The population is chiefly concentrated in six elevated basins connected by narrow valleys. Tosan was long a main silk-producing area, although output declined after World War II. Much of the labor formerly required in silk production was absorbed by the district's diversified manufacturing industry, which included precision instruments, machinery, textiles, food processing, and other light manufacturing. The area includes Yamanashi, Nagano, and northern Gifu prefectures; sometimes Niigata Prefecture is included as well.

Hokuriku[link]

The Hokuriku region lies on the Sea of Japan coastline, northwest of the massive mountains that comprise the Central Highlands. Hokuriku includes the four prefectures of Ishikawa, Fukui, Niigata and Toyama,^[4]

The district has very heavy snowfall (sometimes enough to block major roads) and strong winds in winter, and its turbulent rivers are the source of abundant hydroelectric power. Niigata Prefecture is the site of domestic gas and oil production as well. Industrial development is extensive, especially in the cities in Niigata and Toyama; Fukui and Ishikawa prefectures also have large manufacturing industries.

Historically, Hokuriku's development is owed to markets in the Kansai region, however recently the urban areas at the heat of the Kantō region and Tōkai region are having a heavy an influence as well. Hokuriku has port facilities which are mainly to facilitate trade with Russia, Korea and China. Transportation between Niigata and Toyama used to be geographically limited and so Niigata has seen especially strong influence from the Kantō region, because of this Niigata Prefecture is often classified as being part of the Kōshin'etsu region with Nagano and Yamanashi Prefectures from the Central Highlands.

See also[link]

• Geography of Japan
• List of regions in Japan

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 10-ISBN 0-674-01753-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies document "Japan".

v t e Regions and administrative divisions of  Japan Regions Hokkaido Tōhoku Kantō Nanpō Islands Chūbu Hokuriku Kōshin'etsu Shin'etsu Tōkai Kansai Chūgoku San'in San'yō Shikoku Kyushu Northern Kyushu Ryukyu Islands Prefectures Hokkaido Hokkaido Tōhoku Aomori Iwate Miyagi Akita Yamagata Fukushima Kantō Ibaraki Tochigi Gunma Saitama Chiba Tokyo Kanagawa Chūbu Niigata Toyama Ishikawa Fukui Yamanashi Nagano Gifu Shizuoka Aichi Kansai Mie Shiga Kyoto Osaka Hyōgo Nara Wakayama Chūgoku Tottori Shimane Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Shikoku Tokushima Kagawa Ehime Kōchi Kyushu Fukuoka Saga Nagasaki Kumamoto Ōita Miyazaki Kagoshima Okinawa

Coordinates: 35°53′N 137°57′E / 35.883°N 137.95°E / 35.883; 137.95

Yukari Nakano
Nakano at the 2008 Skate America.
Personal information
Full name	Yukari Nakano
Country represented	Japan
Born	(1985-08-25) August 25, 1985 (age 26) Kōnan, Aichi
Home town	Yokohama
Height	1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)
Former coach	Nobuo Sato Machiko Yamada Mihoko Higuchi Naoko Ozuka
Former choreographer	Marina Zoueva Kumiko Sato Kenji Miyamoto David Wilson　 Lea Ann Miller Mihoko Higuchi
Skating club	Shinyokohama Skate Center
Retired	March 2010
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	177.40 2008 Worlds
Short program	62.08 2008-2009 GPF
Free skate	116.30 2008 Worlds
Medal record Competitor for  Japan Ladies' Figure skating Four Continents Championships Silver 2006 Colorado Springs Ladies' singles Bronze 2003 Beijing Ladies' singles Grand Prix Final Bronze 2005–06 Tokyo Ladies' singles Asian Winter Games Gold 2007 Changchun Ladies' singles Bronze 2003 Aomori Ladies' singles World Junior Championships Silver 2002 Hamar Ladies' singles Junior Grand Prix Final Bronze 2000–2001 Ayr Ladies' singles

Yukari Nakano (中野 友加里, Nakano Yukari^?, born August 25, 1985 in Kōnan, Aichi, Japan) is a former competitive figure skater for Japan.

She is the 2007 Asian Winter Games champion, the 2006 Four Continents silver medalist, 2003 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2005-2006 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, and a three-time (2007, 2008, 2010) Japanese bronze medalist.

She is one of the five ladies skaters to perform a triple axel in international competition.

Personal life[link]

Nakano was born on August 25, 1985 in Konan City.

In 2004, Nakano entered Waseda University in Tokyo, where she attended the Graduate School of Human Sciences. Shortly after her retirement from figure skating in March 2010, she received her Master's Degree and is currently working for Fuji Television Network, Incorporated.

Career[link]

She started skating in 1991 at the Grand Prix Tokai Figure Skating Club, where Machiko Yamada was coaching. Nakano met Midori Ito there, who inspired her to take her skating seriously.

Nakano showed promise on the junior scene. She won two Junior Grand Prix events and earned the silver medal at the 2002 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

At her first senior international event, the 2002 Skate America, she became the third female skater in the history of the sport to land a triple axel in an ISU sanctioned competition, and the first to have done so in ten years.^[1][2][3] She went on to land a triple axel–double toe loop combinations at the 2002 Japanese Nationals, the West Japan Championships 2002, and the Kanto Gakusei Freeskating Championships 2004.

Nakano performs a donut spin at the 2007 Cup of Russia Ladies Free Skate competition.

After two disappointing seasons of 2003-2004 and 2004–2005, Nakano made a strong comeback in the 2005-2006 season. She won the NHK Trophy and took the bronze medal at the Grand Prix Final. She landed triple Axels in five consecutive competitions in 2005 (Yamanashi Kokutai 2005,^[4] Kanto Gakusei Freeskating Championships,^[5] Tokyo Figure Skating Championships,^[6] Skate Canada International, and Asian Figure Skating Championships).^[7] At the 2005 Skate Canada, she became the first woman to land an triple axel under the ISU Judging System in ISU Senior level competition.^[8] She placed 5th at the 2005-2006 Nationals, missing a berth on the Olympic team. After that, she demonstrated consistency and composure, winning medals at every Grand Prix event she entered. At the World Championships she finished 5th in 2006, 5th in 2007 and 4th in 2008; some commentators have been critical of her unexpectedly low fourth-place finish at the 2008 Worlds in Goteborg, Sweden, where the appreciative audience gave her a standing ovation.^[9]

In the 2008-2009 season, Nakano won the silver medal at the 2008 Skate America and the bronze at the 2008 NHK Trophy. She qualified for the 2008–2009 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, where she placed fifth. At the 2008–2009 Japan Figure Skating Championships, Nakano led after the short program but faltered during her long program. Three of her jumps were downgraded. As a result, she placed 6th in the long program and finished 5th overall. She did not qualify for the 2009 World Team.

Nakano was assigned to the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard and to the 2009 NHK Trophy for the 2009-2010 Grand Prix Series. She won the bronze medal at the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard and finished fourth at the 2009 NHK Trophy. Although she won the bronze medal at the 2009-2010 Japan Figure Skating Championships, she was not assigned to the 2010 Olympic team; fourth place finisher Miki Ando was awarded the first Olympic spot due to her highest placement as a Japanese female skater in the 2009-2010 Grand Prix Final along with Gold and Silver Japanese medalists Mao Asada and Akiko Suzuki.

Nakano retired from competitive skating in March 2010 due to an injury to her left shoulder.

Triple axel and signature moves[link]

In her regional competition at the beginning of the 2007-2008 season, Nakano landed her first clean triple axel in two years. She consistently attempted the triple axel that season, being credited with it at the 2007 Skate Canada International,^[10] 2007 Cup of Russia,^[11] and the 2007-2008 Grand Prix Final.^[12]

Nakano's signature move is the donut spin. She is also known for her leg wrap when she jumps.

Programs[link]

Nakano performs her free skate to Capriccio Espagnol at the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships.

Nakano performs her exhibition to Aria at the 2007 Cup of Russia.