Toyama Prefecture

Thursday, 31 January 2013

Toyama ken Road trip, with kuya boki and family!!!

Snowboarding at Taira in Toyama Prefecture

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Aichi Prefecture
Aichi Prefecture (愛知県, Aichi-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.
Originally, the region was divided into the two provinces of Owari and Mikawa. After the Meiji Restoration, Owari and Mikawa were united into a single entity. In 1871, after the abolition of the han system, Owari, with the exception of the Chita Peninsula, was established as Nagoya Prefecture, while Mikawa combined with the Chita Peninsula and formed Nukata Prefecture. Nagoya Prefecture was renamed to Aichi Prefecture in April 1872, and was united with Nukata Prefecture on November 27 of the same year.
The government of Aichi Prefecture is located in the Aichi Prefectural Government Office in Nagoya, which is the old capital of Owari.
The Expo 2005 World Exposition was held in Seto and Nagakute.
In the third volume of the Man'yōshū there is a poem by Takechi Kurohito 'The cry of the crane, calling to Sakurada; it sounds like the tide, draining from Ayuchi flats, hearing the crane cry'. Ayuchi is the original form of the name Aichi, and the Fujimae tidal flat is all that remains of the earlier Ayuchi-gata. It is now a protected area.

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Akita Prefecture
Akita Prefecture (秋田県, Akita-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.
The area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu.
Separated from the principal Japanese centres of commerce, politics, and population by several hundred kilometres and the Ōu and Dewa mountain ranges to the east, Akita remained largely isolated from Japanese society until after the year 600. Akita was a region of hunter-gatherers and principally nomadic tribes.^{[citation needed]}
The first historical record of what is now Akita Prefecture dates to 658, when the Abe no Hirafu conquered the native Ezo tribes at what are now the cities of Akita and Noshiro. Hirafu, then governor of Koshi Province (the northwest part of Honshū bordering the Sea of Japan), established a fort on the Mogami River, and thus began the Japanese settlement of the region.
In 733, a new military settlement—later renamed Akita Castle—was built in modern-day Akita city at Takashimizu, and more permanent roads and structures were developed. The region was used as a base of operations for the Japanese empire as it drove the native Ezo people from northern Honshū.

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Aomori Prefecture
Aomori Prefecture (青森県, Aomori-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.
Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province.
The prefecture came into existence in 1871. Aomori Town was established in 1889. The town was incorporated as a city in 1898 with a population of 28,000. On May 3, 1910 a fire broke out in the Yasukata district. Fanned by strong winds, the fire quickly devastated the whole city. The conflagration claimed 26 lives and injured a further 160 residents. It destroyed 5,246 houses and burnt 19 storage sheds and 157 warehouses. At 10:30 p.m. on July 28, 1945 a squadron of American B29 bombers bombed over 90% of the city.
Radio Aomori (RAB) made its first broadcast in 1951. Four years later, the first fish auctions were held. 1958 saw the completion of the Municipal Fish Market as well as the opening of the Citizen's Hospital. In the same year, the Tsugaru Line established a rail connection with Minmaya Village at the tip of the peninsula.

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Brazil
Brazil ⁱ/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.

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Chiba Prefecture
Chiba Prefecture (千葉県, Chiba-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.
The name of Chiba Prefecture in Japanese is formed from two kanji characters. The first, 千, means "thousand" and the second, 葉 means "leaves". The name first appears as an ancient kuni no miyatsuko, or regional command office, as the Chiba Kuni no Miyatsuko (千葉国造^?). The name was adopted by a branch of the Taira clan, which moved to the area in present-day Chiba City in the late Heian period. The branch of the Taira adopted the name and became the Chiba clan, and held strong influence over the area of the prefecture until the Azuchi-Momoyama period. The name "Chiba" was chosen for the prefecture at the time its creation in 1873 by the Assembly of Prefectural Governors (地方官会議, Chihō Kankai Kaigi^?), an early Meiji-period body of prefectural governors that met to decide the structure of local and regional administration in Japan.
The compound word ’’Keiyō’’ (京葉^?), which refers to the Tokyo-Chiba region, is formed from the second character in Tokyo (京), and the second character in Chiba (葉), which can also be pronounced “kei” and “yō” respectively. This compound is used in terms such as the Keiyō Line, Keiyō Road, Keiyō Rinkai Railway Rinkai Main Line, and the Keiyō Industrial Zone.

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China
China (ⁱ/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.

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

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Chūgoku region
The Chūgoku region (中国地方, Chūgoku-chihō^?), also known as the San'in-San'yō region (山陰山陽地方, San'in san'yō-chihō^?), is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi. As of 2010 it has a population of 7,563,428.
“Chūgoku” literally means “middle country”, but the origin of the name is unclear. Historically, Japan was divided into a number of provinces called koku, which were in turn classified according to both their power and their distances from the administrative center in Kansai. Under the latter classification, most provinces are divided into “near countries” (近国 kingoku), “middle countries” (中国 chūgoku), and “far countries” (遠国 ongoku). Therefore, one explanation is that Chūgoku was originally used to refer to the collection of “middle countries” to the west of the capital. However, only five (less than half) of the provinces normally considered part of Chūgoku region were in fact classified as middle countries, and the term never applied to the many middle countries to the west of Kansai. Therefore, an alternative explanation is that Chūgoku referred to provinces between Kansai and Kyūshū, which was historically important as the link between Japan and mainland Asia.

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Dalian
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Ehime Prefecture
Ehime Prefecture (愛媛県, Ehime-ken^?) is a prefecture in northwestern Shikoku, Japan. The capital is Matsuyama.
Until the Meiji Restoration, Ehime prefecture was known as Iyo Province. Since before the Heian period, the area was dominated by fishermen and sailors who played an important role in defending Japan against pirates and Mongol invasions.
After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Tokugawa shogun gave the area to his allies, including Kato Yoshiaki who built Matsuyama Castle, forming the basis for the modern city of Matsuyama.
The name Ehime comes from the Kojiki and means "beautiful maiden."
In 2012, a research group from the University of Tokyo and Ehime University said they had discovered rare earth deposits in the City of Matsuyama in Ehime-ken Prefecture,Japan.
Located in the northwestern part of Shikoku, Ehime faces the Seto Inland Sea to the north and is bordered by Kagawa and Tokushima in the east and Kōchi in the south.
The prefecture includes both high mountains in the inland region and a long coastline, with many islands in the Seto Inland Sea. The westernmost arm of Ehime, the Sadamisaki Peninsula, is the narrowest peninsula in Japan.

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Fukui Prefecture
Fukui Prefecture (福井県, Fukui-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.
The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed dromaeosaurid and a new sauropod. It also shows the coexistence of pterosaurs and birds, in the forms of comingled tracks.^{[citation needed]}
Fukui originally consisted of the old provinces of Wakasa and Echizen, before the prefecture was formed in 1871.
During the Edo period, the daimyō of the region was surnamed Matsudaira, and was a descendant of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The province faces the Sea of Japan, and has a western part (formerly Wakasa) which is a narrow plain between the mountains and the sea, and a larger eastern part (formerly Echizen) with wider plains including the capital and most of the population. The mountain side of the eastern part has much snow in winter.
As of 31 March 2008, 15% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Hakusan National Park; Echizen-Kaga Kaigan and Wakasa Wan Quasi-National Parks; and Okuetsu Kōgen Prefectural Natural Park.

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Fukuoka
Fukuoka (福岡市, Fukuoka-shi^?) is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.
Ranked as the 14th of the world's most livable cities in the magazine Monocle in 2010, Fukuoka was praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by Kitakyushu. It is the largest city and metropolitan area west of Keihanshin. The city was designated on April 1, 1972 by government ordinance. Greater Fukuoka (福岡都市圏), with 2.5 million people (2005 census), is part of the heavily industrialized Fukuoka-Kitakyushu zone, as well as Northern Kyushu.
As of June 2011, Fukuoka is Japan's 7th largest city, having passed the population of Kyoto, and the first time a city west of the Kinki region has a larger population since Kyoto was established in the 7th century. However, in ancient times, the area near Fukuoka was thought to be perhaps even more influential than the Yamato region.
Fukuoka (the area of Kashii, Hakata, Sawara and Imazu) is said to be the oldest city in Japan, because it is the nearest city to China and Korea^{[citation needed]}. The area around Fukuoka is among the oldest non-Jōmon settlements in Japan^{[citation needed]}. Dazaifu was an administrative capital in 663 A.D., but a historian proposed that a prehistoric capital was in the area. Ancient texts, such as the Kojiki, and archaeology confirm this was a very critical place in the founding of Japan. Some scholars even go as far as to claim it was the first place outsiders and the Imperial Family set foot, but like many early Japan origin theories, it remains contested. See History of Japan. Fukuoka is sometimes still referred to as Hakata, the central ward of the city.

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Fukuoka Prefecture
Fukuoka Prefecture (福岡県, Fukuoka-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.
Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen.
Fukuoka Prefecture has signed Friendship Agreements with Bangkok (Thailand), Delhi (India), and Hanoi (Vietnam).
Fukuoka Prefecture faces the sea on three sides, bordering on Saga, Ōita, and Kumamoto prefectures and facing Yamaguchi Prefecture across the Kanmon Straits.
Fukuoka includes the two largest cities on Kyūshū, Fukuoka and Kitakyushu, and much of Kyūshū's industry. It also includes a number of small islands near the north coast of Kyūshū.
Twenty-eight cities are located in Fukuoka Prefecture:
These are the towns and villages in each district.
Fukuoka prefecture's main cities form one of Japan's main industrial centers, accounting for nearly 40% of the economy of Kyūshū. Major industries include automobiles, semiconductors, and steel. Fukuoka prefecture is noteworthy as the place where tire manufacturer Bridgestone [1] and consumer electronics chain Best Denki were founded.

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Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture (福島県, Fukushima-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.
Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province.
The Shirakawa Barrier and the Nakoso Barrier were built around the 5th century to protect 'civilized Japan' from the 'barbarians' to the north. Fukushima became a Province of Mutsu after the Taika Reforms were established in 646.
In 718, the provinces of Iwase and Iwaki were created, but these areas reverted to Mutsu some time between 722 and 724.
The province of Fukushima was conquered by Prince Subaru in 1293. This region of Japan is also known as Michinoku and Ōshū.
The Fukushima Incident took place in the prefecture after Mishima Michitsune was appointed governor in 1882.
The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the tsunami that followed, and the resulting Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant disaster caused significant damage to the prefecture, primarily but not limited to the eastern Hama-dōri region.

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Gifu Prefecture
Gifu Prefecture (岐阜県, Gifu-ken^?) is a prefecture in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.
Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō. During the Sengoku period, many people referred to Gifu by saying, "control Gifu and you control Japan."
The land area that makes up modern-day Gifu became part of the Yamato Court around the middle of the fourth century. Because it is in the middle of the island of Honshū, it has been the site of many decisive battles throughout Japan's history, the oldest major one being the Jinshin War in 672, which led to the establishment of Emperor Temmu as the 40th emperor of Japan.
The area of Gifu Prefecture consists of the old provinces of Hida and Mino, as well as smaller parts of Echizen and Shinano. The name of the prefecture derives from its capital city, Gifu, which was named by Oda Nobunaga during his campaign to unify all of Japan in 1567. The first character used comes from Qishan (岐山), a legendary mountain from which most of China was unified, whereas the second character comes from Qufu (曲阜), the birthplace of Confucius. Nobunaga chose those characters because he wanted to unify all of Japan and he wanted to be viewed as a great mind.

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Gunma Prefecture
Gunma Prefecture (群馬県, Gunma-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantō region on Honshu island. Its capital is Maebashi.
The remains of a Paleolithic man^{[citation needed]} were found at Iwajuku, Gunma Prefecture, in the early 20th century and there is a public museum there.
Japan was without horses until around the fifth century CE. The ancient province of Gunma was a center of the horsebreeding and trading activities for the newly immigrated continental peoples. The arrival of horses and the remains of horse-tackle coincides with the arrival of a large migration from the mainland. From this point forward, the horse became a vital part of Japanese military maneuvers, quickly displacing the older Yayoi tradition of fighting on foot.
When Mount Haruna erupted in the late 6th century, Japan was still in the pre-historical phase (prior to the importation of the Chinese writing system during the Nara period). The Gunma Prefectural archaeology unit in 1994 was able to date the eruption through zoological anthropology at the corral sites that were buried in ash.

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Hiroshima Prefecture
Hiroshima Prefecture (広島県, Hiroshima-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.
The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded history. Hiroshima is a traditional center of the Chūgoku region and was the seat of the Mōri clan until the Battle of Sekigahara.
Hiroshima is home to two UNESCO World Heritage sites:
Hiroshima prefecture lies in the middle of Chūgoku. Most of the prefecture consists of mountains leading towards Shimane Prefecture; and rivers produce rich plains near the coast.
The province facing Shikoku across the Seto Inland Sea. Hiroshima Bay opens on the Inland Sea. The prefecture also includes many small islands.
The sheltered nature of the Inland Sea makes Hiroshima's climate very mild.
Fourteen cities are located in Hiroshima Prefecture:
These are the towns and villages in each district:

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Hokkaido
Hokkaido (help·info) (北海道, Hokkaidō^?, literally "Northern Sea Circuit"), formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectures. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaido is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only ordinance-designated city.
Hokkaido was settled by Ainu, Nivkh, and Orok 20,000 years ago. The Nihon Shoki, finished in 720, is often said to be the first mention of Hokkaido in recorded history. According to the text, Abe no Hirafu led a large navy and army to northern areas from 658 to 660 and came into contact with the Mishihase and Emishi. One of the places Hirafu went to was called Watarishima (渡島), which is often believed to be present-day Hokkaido. However, many theories exist in relation to the details of this event, including the location of Watarishima and the common belief that the Emishi in Watarishima were the ancestors of the present-day Ainu people.

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Hokuriku region
The Hokuriku region (北陸地方, Hokuriku chihō^?) is located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern Japan.
The Hokuriku region includes the four prefectures of Ishikawa, Fukui, Niigata and Toyama, although Niigata is sometimes included in one of the following regions:
The major population centers of Hokuriku are:
Of these, Niigata is the largest with a population of over 800,000.
The main industries in the Hokuriku area include chemicals, medicine, tourism, textiles and textile machinery, heavy machinery, farming, and fishing. Koshihikari, a popular variety of rice is a special product of Hokuriku region.
The Hokuriku region has the highest volume of snowfall of any inhabited and arable region in the world.^{[citation needed]} This is because dry Siberian air masses, which develop high humidity over the Sea of Japan, are forced upwards when they encounter the mountains of Honshū, causing the humidity to condense as snow.

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Honshu
Honshu (本州, Honshū^?, literally "Main Province") ([hoɴɕuː] ( listen)) is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait. It is the seventh largest island in the world, and the second most populous after Java in Indonesia.
It has a population of 103 million in 2005, (98,352,000 as of 1990; in 1975 it was 89,101,702), mostly concentrated in the available lowlands, notably in the Kantō plain where 25% of the total population reside in the Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo and Yokohama, Kawasaki, Saitama and Chiba cities. Most of the nation's industry is located along the belt running from Tokyo along Honshu's southern coastal cities, including Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, and Hiroshima, part of the Taiheiyo Belt.
The economy along the northwestern coast by the Sea of Japan is largely fishing and agriculture;Niigata is noted as an important producer of rice. The Kantō and Nōbi plains produce rice and vegetables. Yamanashi is a major fruit-growing area, and Aomori is famous for its apples.

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Hyōgo Prefecture
Hyōgo Prefecture (兵庫県, Hyōgo-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.
The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.
Present-day Hyōgo Prefecture includes the former provinces of Harima, Tajima, Awaji, and parts of Tamba and Settsu.
In 1180, near the end of the Heian Period, Emperor Antoku, Taira no Kiyomori, and the Imperial court moved briefly to Fukuhara, in what is now the city of Kobe. There the capital remained for five months.
Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in the city of Himeji.
Southern Hyōgo Prefecture was severely devastated by the magnitude 7.2 Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995, which destroyed major parts of Kobe and Awaji, as well as Takarazuka and neighboring Osaka prefecture, killing nearly 6,500 people.
Hyōgo has coastlines on two seas: to the north, the Sea of Japan, to the south, the Inland Sea. The northern portion is sparsely populated, except for the city of Toyooka, and the central highlands are only populated by tiny villages. Most of Hyōgo's population lives on the southern coast, which is part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area. Awaji Island is an island in the Inland Sea, lying between Honshū and Shikoku.

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Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture (茨城県, Ibaraki-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.
Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province. In 1871, the name of the province became Ibaraki.
Ibaraki Prefecture is the northeastern part of the Kantō region, stretching between Tochigi Prefecture and the Pacific Ocean and bounded on the north and south by Fukushima Prefecture and Chiba Prefecture. It also has a border on the southwest with Saitama Prefecture. The northernmost part of the prefecture is mountainous, but most of the prefecture is a flat plain with many lakes.
Thirty-two cities are located in Ibaraki Prefecture:
Towns and villages in each district:
Ibaraki's industries include energy, particularly nuclear energy, production, as well as chemical and precision machining industries. The Hitachi company was founded in the Ibaraki city of the same name.
As of March 2011, the prefecture produced 25% of Japan's bell peppers and Chinese cabbage.

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Ishikawa Prefecture
Ishikawa Prefecture (石川県, Ishikawa-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is Kanazawa.
Ishikawa was formed from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province.
Ishikawa is on the Sea of Japan coast. The northern part of the prefecture consists of the narrow Noto Peninsula, while the southern part is wider and consists mostly of mountains with the prefecture's chief city, Kanazawa, located in the coastal plain. The prefecture also has some islands, including Notojima, Mitsukejima, Hegurajima.
Eleven cities are located in Ishikawa Prefecture:
Towns and villages in each district:
Ishikawa's industry is dominated by the textile industry, particularly artificial fabrics, and the machine industry, particularly construction machinery.
Ishikawa Prefecture has an area of 4,185 km² and as of April 1, 2011 it has a population of 1,166,643 persons.
The area is noted for arts and crafts and other cultural traditions:
The most popular destination in Ishikawa is Kanazawa. Tourists can get to Ishikawa by plane via Komatsu.

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Iwate Prefecture
Iwate Prefecture (岩手県, Iwate-ken^?) is the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido. Famous attractions include the Buddhist temples of Hiraizumi, including Chūson-ji and Mōtsū-ji with their treasures, Fujiwara no Sato, a movie lot and theme park in Esashi Ward, Oshu City, Tenshochi, a park in Kitakami City known for its big, old cherry trees and Morioka Castle in Morioka City.
There are several theories about the origin of the name ‘Iwate’, but the most well known is the tale, 'Oni no tegata,' which is associated with the Mitsuishi or "Three Rocks" Shrine in Morioka. These rocks are said to have been thrown down into Morioka by an eruption of Mt. Iwate. According to the legend, there was once a devil who often tormented and harassed the local people. When the people prayed to the spirits of Mitsuishi for protection, the devil was immediately shackled to these rocks and forced to make a promise never to trouble the people again.^{[citation needed]} As a seal of his oath the devil made a handprint on one of the rocks, thus giving rise to the name Iwate, literally ‘rock hand’. Even now after a rainfall it is said that the devil’s hand print can still be seen there.

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Japan
Japan ⁱ/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.

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Kagawa Prefecture
Kagawa Prefecture (香川県, Kagawa-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on Shikoku island. The capital is Takamatsu.
Kagawa was formerly known as Sanuki Province.
For a brief period between August 1876 and December 1888, Kagawa was made a part of Ehime Prefecture.
Located in Kagawa's capital city, Takamatsu, the mountain of Yashima was the battlefield for one of the best-known struggles between the Heike and the Genji clans.
Kagawa comprises the northeast corner of Shikoku, bordering Ehime Prefecture on the west and Tokushima Prefecture on the south, with a coastline on the Seto Inland Sea facing Okayama Prefecture and the Kansai. The Sanuki Mountains run along the southern border.
Kagawa is currently the smallest prefecture, by area, in Japan. Osaka Prefecture held that title until Kansai International Airport was reclaimed from the ocean in the early 1990s, pushing its land area slightly above Kagawa's^{[citation needed]}. Kagawa is a relatively narrow prefecture located between the mountains of Shikoku and the sea.

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Kagoshima Prefecture
Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県, Kagoshima-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.
Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers. The most important group is the Amami Islands. Surrounded by the Yellow Sea to the west, at least since 1879 by Okinawa Prefecture in the south, Kumamoto Prefecture to the north, and Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, it has 2,632 km of coastline (including the 28 islands). It has a bay called Kagoshima Bay (Kinkowan), which is sandwiched by two peninsulas, Satsuma and Ōsumi. Its position made it a 'gateway' to Japan at various times in history. While Kyushu has about 13 million people there are less than 2 million in this prefecture.
The prefecture boasts a chain of active and dormant volcanoes, including the great Sakurajima, which towers out of the Kagoshima bay opposite Kagoshima city. A steady trickle of smoke and ash emerges from the caldera, punctuated by louder mini-eruptions on an almost daily basis. On active days in Kagoshima city an umbrella is advisable to ward off the ash. Sakurajima is one of Japan's most active volcanoes. Major eruptions occurred in 1914, when the island mountain spilled enough material to become permanently connected to the mainland, and a lesser eruption in 1960. Volcanic materials in the soil make Sakurajima a source for record daikon radishes, roughly the size of a basketball. Many beaches around the Kagoshima Bay are littered with well-worn pumice stones. A crater lake in the southwestern tip of the prefecture, near the spa town of Ibusuki, is home to a rare species of giant eel.

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Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県, Kanagawa-ken^?) is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.
The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period (around 400 BC). About 3,000 years ago, Mount Hakone produced a volcanic explosion which resulted in Lake Ashi on the western area of the prefecture.
It is believed^{[by whom?]} that the Yamato Dynasty ruled this area from 5th century onwards. In the ancient era, its plains were very sparsely inhabited.
Kamakura in central Sagami was the capital of Japan during the Kamakura period (1185–1333).
In medieval Japan, Kanagawa was part of the provinces of Sagami and Musashi.
During the Edo period, the western part of Sagami Province was governed by the daimyo of Odawara Castle, while the eastern part was directly governed by the Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo (Tokyo).
Commodore Matthew Perry landed in Kanagawa in 1853 and 1854 and signed the Convention of Kanagawa to force open Japanese ports to the United States. Yokohama, the largest deep-water port in Tokyo Bay, was opened to foreign traders in 1859 after several more years of foreign pressure, and eventually developed into the largest trading port in Japan. Nearby Yokosuka, closer to the mouth of Tokyo Bay, developed as a naval port and now serves as headquarters for the U.S. 7th Fleet and the fleet operations of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. After the Meiji Period, many foreigners lived in Yokohama City, and visited Hakone. The Meiji Government developed the first railways in Japan, from Shinbashi (in Tokyo) to Yokohama in 1872.

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Kansai region
The Kansai region (関西地方, Kansai-chihō^?) or the Kinki region (近畿地方, Kinki-chihō^?) lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included. While the use of the terms "Kansai" and "Kinki" have changed over history, in most modern contexts the two can be considered the same. The urban region of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto (Keihanshin region) is the second most populated in Japan after the Greater Tokyo Area.
The Kansai region is the cultural and historical heart of Japan with 11% of its land area and 22,757,897 residents as of 2010. The Kinki Plain with the cities of Osaka and Kyoto forms the core of the region, from there the Kansai area stretches west along the Seto Inland Sea towards Himeji and Kobe and east encompassing Lake Biwa, Japan's largest freshwater lake. In the north the region is bordered by the Sea of Japan, to the south by the Kii Peninsula and Pacific Ocean, and to the east by the Ibuki Mountains and Ise Bay. Four of Japan's national parks lie within its borders, in whole or in part. The area also contains six of the seven top prefectures in terms of national treasures. Other geographical features include Amanohashidate in Kyoto Prefecture and Awaji Island in Hyōgo.

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Kantō region
The Kantō region (関東地方, Kantō-chihō^?) is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain. The rest consists of the hills and mountains that form the land borders. In official census count on October 1, 2010 by the Japan Statistics Bureau, the population was 42,607,376 s amounting to approximately one third of the total population of Japan.
The heartland of feudal power during the Kamakura period and again in the Edo period, Kantō became the center of modern development. Within the Greater Tokyo Area and especially the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area, Kantō houses not only Japan's seat of government but also the nation's largest group of universities and cultural institutions, the greatest population, and a large industrial zone. Although most of the Kantō plain is used for residential, commercial, or industrial construction, it is still farmed. Rice is the principal crop, although the zone around Tokyo and Yokohama has been landscaped to grow garden produce for the metropolitan market.

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Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県, Kumamoto-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.
Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system. The current Japanese orthography for Kumamoto literally means "bear root/origin", or "origin of the bear".
Kumamoto Prefecture is located in the center of Kyūshū, the southernmost of the four major Japanese islands. It is bordered by the Ariake inland sea and the Amakusa archipelago to the west, Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture to the north, Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, and Kagoshima Prefecture to the south.
Mt. Aso (1592 m), an extensive active volcano, is in the east of Kumamoto Prefecture. This volcano is located at the center of the Aso caldera.
There are nine districts and 45 municipalities.
As of 31 March 2008, 21% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Aso Kujū and Unzen-Amakusa National Parks; Kyūshū Chūō Sanchi and Yaba-Hita-Hikosan Quasi-National Parks; and Ashikita Kaigan, Itsuki Gokanoshō, Kinpōzan, Misumi-Ōyano Umibe, Okukuma, Shōtaisan, and Yabe Shūhen Prefectural Natural Parks.

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Kyoto Prefecture
Kyoto Prefecture (京都府, Kyōto-fu^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Kyoto.
Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Kyoto prefecture was known as Yamashiro. For most of its history, the city of Kyoto was the Imperial capital of Japan. The history of the city itself can be traced back as far as the 6th century. In 544, the Aoi Matsuri was held in Kyoto to pray for good harvest and good weather.
Kyoto did not start out as the capital of Japan. A noteworthy earlier capital was Nara. In 741, Emperor Shōmu moved the capital briefly to a place called Kuni-kyo, between the cities of Nara and Kyoto, in present-day Kyoto Prefecture. In 784, the capital was moved to Nagaokakyō, also in present-day Kyoto Prefecture. In 794, Emperor Kammu moved the capital to Heian-kyo, and this was the beginning of the current-day city of Kyoto. Even today, almost all of the streets, houses, stores, temples and shrines in the city of Kyoto exist where they were placed in this year.

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Kyushu
Kyushu (九州, Kyūshū^?, lit. "Nine Provinces") is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include Kyūkoku (九国^?, "Nine States"), Chinzei (鎮西^?, "West of the Pacified Area"), and Tsukushi-no-shima (筑紫島^?, "Island of Tsukushi"). The historical regional name is Saikaidō (西海道^?, lit. West Sea Circuit) referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands.
In the 8th century Taihō Code reforms, Dazaifu was established as a special administrative term for the region.
As of 2006, Kyushu has a population of 13,231,995 and covers 35,640 square kilometres (13,760 sq mi).
The island is mountainous, and Japan's most active volcano, Mt Aso at 1,591 metres (5,220 ft), is on Kyushu. There are many other signs of tectonic activity, including numerous areas of hot springs. The most famous of these are in Beppu, on the east shore, and around Mt. Aso, in central Kyushu.
The name Kyūshū comes from the nine ancient provinces of Saikaidō situated on the island: Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyūga, Osumi, and Satsuma.

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Kōchi Prefecture
Kōchi Prefecture (高知県, Kōchi-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the south coast of Shikoku. The capital is the city of Kōchi.
Prior to the Meiji Restoration, Kōchi was known as Tosa Province and was controlled by the Chosokabe clan in the Sengoku period and the Yamauchi family during the Edo period.
Kōchi Prefecture comprises the southwestern part of the island of Shikoku, facing the Pacific Ocean. It is the largest but least populous of Shikoku's four prefectures. Most of the province is mountainous, and in only a few areas such as around Kōchi and Nakamura is there a coastal plain. Kōchi is famous for its many rivers. Inamura-yama in Tosa-cho is the highest peak in Kochi prefecture with an altitude of 1,506 meters above sea level.
Eleven cities are located in Kōchi Prefecture:
These are the towns and villages in each district.
The sports teams listed below are based in Kōchi.
Media related to Kochi prefecture at Wikimedia Commons

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Mie Prefecture
Mie Prefecture (三重県, Mie-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan which is part of the Kansai regions on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Tsu.
Until the Meiji Restoration, Mie prefecture was known as Ise Province, Shima Province, Iga Province and Kii Province.
Evidence of human habitation in Mie dates back more than 10,000 years. During the Jōmon and Yayoi periods, agricultural communities began to form along the river and coastal areas of the region. Ise Shrine is said to have been established during the Yayoi period, and in the 7th century the Saikū Imperial Residence was built in what is now Meiwa Town to serve as both a residence and administrative centre for the Saiō, an Imperial Princess who served as High Priestess of Ise Shrine.
During the Edo period, the area now known as Mie Prefecture consisted of several feudal domains, each ruled by an appointed lord. Transport networks, including the Tokaido and Ise Roads, were built. Port towns such as Ohminato, Kuwana and Anōtsu, posting stations and castle towns flourished. Pilgrimages to Ise Shrine also became very popular.

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Miyagi Prefecture
Miyagi Prefecture (宮城県, Miyagi-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.
Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the largest as it expanded northward. The ancient capital was in modern Miyagi Prefecture.
In the third month of second year of the Wadō era (709), there was an uprising against governmental authority in Mutsu Province and in nearby Echigo Province. Troops were promptly dispatched to subdue the revolt.
In Wadō 5 (712), the land of Mutsu Province was administratively separated from Dewa Province. Empress Gemmei's Daijō-kan continued to organize other cadastral changes in the provincial map of the Nara period, as in the following year when Mimasaka Province was divided from Bizen Province; Hyūga Province was sundered from Osumi Province; and Tamba Province was severed from Tango Province.

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Miyazaki Prefecture
Miyazaki Prefecture (宮崎県, Miyazaki-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Miyazaki.
Historically, after the Meiji Restoration, Hyūga Province was renamed Miyazaki Prefecture.
Miyazaki Prefecture is located on the eastern coast of the island of Kyushu. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the south and east, Ōita Prefecture to the north, and Kumamoto and Kagoshima Prefectures to the west. It is one of only two locations on Earth where the fungus Chorioactis geaster is found. Miyazaki is also the home of the hyuganatsu fruit.
As of 31 March 2008, 12% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Kirishima-Yaku National Park; Kyūshū Chūō Sanchi, Nichinan Kaigan, Nippō Kaigan, and Sobo-Katamuki Quasi-National Parks; and Mochio-Sekinoo, Osuzu, Saitobaru-Sugiyasukyō, Sobo Katamuki, Wanitsuka, and Yatake Kōgen Prefectural Natural Parks.
Nine cities, 14 towns, and three villages are located in Miyazaki Prefecture:

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Nagano Prefecture
Nagano Prefecture (長野県, Nagano-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.
Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano. This province was divided among many local daimyo during the Sengoku period.
Nagano was host to the 1998 Winter Olympics, which gained the prefecture international recognition and a Shinkansen line to Tokyo.
Nine of the twelve highest mountains in Japan can be found in this inland prefecture. Nagano is also the prefecture which is bordered by the highest number of other prefectures and it contains the location which is the furthest point from the sea within Japan. One of its lakes is Lake Kizaki, a beach resort popular for its water attractions and games.
The province's mountains have made it relatively isolated, and many visitors come for its mountain resorts and hot springs.
As of 1 April 2012, 21% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Chichibu Tama Kai, Chūbu-Sangaku, Jōshin'etsu Kōgen, and Minami Alps National Parks; Myōgi-Arafune-Saku Kōgen, Tenryū-Okumikawa, and Yatsugatake-Chūshin Kōgen Quasi-National Parks; and Chūō Alps, Enrei Ōjō, Hijiriyama Kōgen, Mibugawa Suikei, Ontake, and Tenryū Koshibu Suikei Prefectural Natural Parks.

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Nagasaki Prefecture
Nagasaki Prefecture (長崎県, Nagasaki-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.
Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki. Facing China and Korea, the region around Hirado was a traditional center for both traders and pirates.
During the 16th century, Catholic missionaries and traders from Portugal arrived and became active in Hirado and Nagasaki, which became a major center for foreign trade. After being given free rein in Oda Nobunaga's period, the missionaries were forced out little by little, until finally, in the Tokugawa era, Christianity was banned under the Sakoku national isolation policy, during which time, Japanese foreign trade was restricted to Chinese and Dutch traders based at Dejima in Nagasaki; however, Kirishitan (Japanese Christian) worship continued underground. These Kakure Kirishitan (hidden Christians) were tried at every step, forced to step on fumi-e ("trample pictures", images of the Virgin Mary and saints) to prove that they were non-Christian. With the banishment of all Catholic missionaries, traders from Catholic countries were also forced out of the country. Along with them, their children, half Japanese and half European, were also forced to leave the country. The majority was sent to Jagatara (Jakarta) and are still remembered by the locals as the people who wrote the poignant letters which were smuggled across the sea to their homeland. Today, Nagasaki has a prominent Chinatown and Catholic churches - and the Churches and Christian Sites in Nagasaki have been proposed for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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Nagoya
Nagoya (名古屋市, Nagoya-shi^?) is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area in Japan. (Tokyo is not a single incorporated city - see Tokyo for more information on the definition and makeup of Tokyo.)
Located on the Pacific coast on central Honshu, it is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba, and Kitakyushu. It is also the center of Japan's third largest metropolitan region, known as the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area. As of 2000, Chūkyō Metropolitan Area has 8.74 million people, of which 2.27 million live in the city of Nagoya.
The city's name was historically written as 那古野 or 名護屋 (both read as Nagoya). One possible etymology for the city's name is the adjective なごやか (nagoyaka), meaning 'peaceful'. [2]
The name Chūkyō (中京) is also used (chū (middle) + kyō (capital)), since it is the main city of the central Chūbu region. Various things are named after Chūkyō, for example the Chūkyō Industrial Area, Chūkyō Metropolitan Area, Chūkyō Television Broadcasting, Chukyo University and the Chukyo Racecourse.

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Nara Prefecture
Nara Prefecture (奈良県, Nara-ken^?) is a prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.
The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of Osaka Prefecture.
Historically, Nara Prefecture was also known as Yamato-no-kuni or Yamato Province.
It is certain that a political force established at the foot of Mount Miwa in the east of Nara Basin, seeking unification of most parts in Japan from the third century until the fourth century, though the process was not well documented. At the dawn of history, Yamato was clearly the political center of Japan.
Ancient capitals of Japan were built on the land of Nara, namely Asuka-kyō, Fujiwara-kyō (694–710) and Heijō-kyō (most of 710–784). The capital cities of Fujiwara and Heijō are believed to have been modeled after Chinese capitals at the time, incorporating grid layout patterns. The royal court also established relations with Sui and then Tang Dynasty China and sent students to the Middle Kingdom to learn high civilization. By 7th century, Nara accepted the many immigrants including refugees of Baekje who had escaped from war disturbances of the southern part of the Korean peninsula. The first high civilization with royal patronage of Buddhism flourished in today's Nara city (710–784 AD).

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Niigata Prefecture
Niigata Prefecture (新潟県, Niigata-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name "Niigata" literally means "new lagoon".
Until after the Meiji Restoration, the area that is now Niigata Prefecture was divided into Echigo Province and Sado Province. During the Sengoku period, the Nagao clan, who were at times vassals to the Uesugi, ruled a fief in the western part of modern Niigata from Kasugayama Castle. The most notable member of the Nagao clan was Nagao Kagetora, was later and better known as Uesugi Kenshin. He unified the leaders of Echigo Province and became its sole ruler. By taking the surname Uesugi, he also became the head of the Uesugi clan and effectively brought their realm under his control.
The city of Niigata is now the largest Japanese city facing the Sea of Japan. It was the first Japanese port on the Sea of Japan to be opened to foreign trade following the opening of Japan by Matthew Perry. It has since played an important role in trade with Russia and Korea. A freighter from North Korea visits Niigata once a month, in one of the few forms of direct contact between Japan and that country.

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Okayama Prefecture
Okayama Prefecture (岡山県, Okayama-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Okayama.
During the Meiji Restoration, the area of Okayama Prefecture was known as Bitchū Province, Bizen Province and Mimasaka Province.
Okayama Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture and Hiroshima Prefecture. It faces Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku across the Seto Inland Sea and includes 90 islands in the sea.
Okayama Prefecture is home to the historic town of Kurashiki. Most of the population is concentrated around Kurashiki and Okayama. The small villages in the northern mountain region are aging and declining in population - more than half of the prefectures municipalities are officially designated as depopulated.
Fifteen cities are located in Okayama Prefecture:
Towns and villages in each district:

The sports teams listed below are based in Okayama.
Some tourist attractions are:
Coordinates: 34°42′N 133°51′E / 34.7°N 133.85°E / 34.7; 133.85

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Okinawa Prefecture
Okinawa Prefecture (沖縄県, Japanese: Okinawa-ken^?, Okinawan: Uchinaa-ken) is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū (the southwesternmost of Japan's main four islands) to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island. The disputed Senkaku Islands (Mandarin: Diaoyu Islands) are administered as part of Okinawa Prefecture.
The oldest evidence of human existence in the Ryukyu islands was discovered in Naha and Yaese. Some human bone fragments from the Paleolithic era were unearthed, but there is no clear evidence of Paleolithic remains. Japanese Jōmon influences are dominant in the Okinawa Islands, although clay vessels in the Sakishima Islands have a commonality with those in Taiwan.
The first mention of the word Ryukyu was written in the Book of Sui. This Ryukyu might refer to Taiwan, not the Ryukyu islands.^{[citation needed]}Okinawa was the Japanese word depicting the islands, first seen in the biography of Jianzhen, written in 779. Agricultural societies begun in the 8th century slowly developed until the 12th century. Since the islands are located in the center of the East China Sea relatively close to Japan, China and South-East Asia, the Ryūkyū Kingdom became a prosperous trading nation. Also during this period, many Gusukus, similar to castles, were constructed. The Ryūkyū Kingdom had a tributary relationship with the Chinese Empire beginning in the 15th century.

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Oregon
Oregon (ⁱ/ˈɔrɨɡən/ ORR-ə-gən) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern boundaries, respectively. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers, and settlers who formed an autonomous government in Oregon Country in 1843. The Oregon Territory was created in 1848, and Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859.
Oregon is the 9th most extensive and the 27th most populous of the 50 United States. Salem is the state's capital and third-most-populous city; Portland is the most populous. Portland is the 29th-largest U.S. city, with a population of 583,776 (2010 US Census) and a metro population of 2,241,841 (2009 estimate), the 23rd-largest U.S. metro area. The valley of the Willamette River in western Oregon is the state's most densely populated area and is home to eight of the ten most populous cities.

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Osaka
Osaka (大阪, Ōsaka^?) listen (help·info) is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. Located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, Osaka is the third largest city by population after Tokyo (special wards) and Yokohama.
Keihanshin is the second largest area in Japan by population and one of the largest metropolitan areas highly ranked in the world, with nearly 18 million people, and by GDP the second largest area in Japan and the seventh largest area in the world.
Historically the commercial centre of Japan, Osaka functions as one of the command centers for the Japanese economy. The ratio between daytime and night time population is 141%, the highest in Japan, highlighting its status as an economic center. Its nighttime population is 2.6 million, the third in the country, but in daytime the population surges to 3.7 million, second only after Tokyo (combining the Special wards of Tokyo, which is not a single incorporated city, for statistical purposes. See the Tokyo article for more information on the definition and makeup of Tokyo.) Osaka used to be referred to as the "nation's kitchen" (天下の台所, tenka no daidokoro^?) in feudal Edo period because it was the centre of trading for rice, creating the first modern futures exchange market in the world.

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Osaka Prefecture
Osaka Prefecture (大阪府, Ōsaka-fu^?) is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.
Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Osaka prefecture was known as Kawachi, Izumi and Settsu provinces.
Osaka Prefecture was created in 1868, at the very beginning of the Meiji era.
On September 1, 1956, the city of Osaka was promoted to a city designated by government ordinance and thereby divided into 24 wards.
In 2000, Fusae Ota became Japan's first female governor when she replaced Knock Yokoyama, who resigned after prosecution for sexual harassment.
On April 1, 2006: the city of Sakai was promoted to a city designated by government ordinance and thereby divided into seven wards.
In 2008, Tōru Hashimoto, previously famous as a counselor on television, was elected at the age of 38 as the youngest governor in Japan.
In 2010, the Osaka Restoration Association was created with backing by Governor Tōru Hashimoto, attempting to reform Osaka Prefecture into Osaka Metropolis reducing affiliated organizations of Osaka Prefecture and the City of Osaka.

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Russia
Russia ⁱ/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.

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Saga Prefecture
Saga Prefecture (佐賀県, Saga-ken^?) is located in the northwest part of the island of Kyūshū, Japan. It touches both the Sea of Japan and the Ariake Sea. The western part of the prefecture is a region famous for producing ceramics and porcelain, particularly the towns of Karatsu, Imari, and Arita. The capital is the city of Saga.
In ancient times the area composed by Nagasaki Prefecture and Saga Prefecture was called Hizen Province. The current name dates from the Meiji Restoration. Rice farming culture has prospered here since ancient times, and vestiges can be seen at the ruins of Nabatake in Karatsu and the Yoshinogari site in Yoshinogari.
From the Kamakura period to the Muromachi period it is thought that over 100 feudal clans existed. Also exerting great influence during this time was a samurai clan operating along the Genkai Sea called the Matsuratō. Upon entering the Sengoku period, the Ryūzōji clan expanded their control to include all of Hizen and Chikugo Provinces, and part of Higo and Chikuzen Provinces. After the death of daimyo Takanobu Ryūzōji, Naoshige Nabeshima took control of the political situation, and by 1607 all of the Ryūzōji clan's domain was under the control of the Nabeshima clan.

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Saitama Prefecture
Saitama Prefecture (埼玉県, Saitama-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.
This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.^{[citation needed]}
Saitama Prefecture was formerly part of the old Musashi Province.
In the fifth year of the Keiun era (708), deposits of copper were reported to have been found in the Chichibu District of what is now Saitama Prefecture.
The Saitama area was historically known as a fertile agricultural region which produced much of the food for the Kantō region. During the Edo period, many fudai daimyo ruled small domains within the Saitama area.
After World War II, as Tokyo expanded rapidly and modern transportation allowed longer commutes, the lack of available land in Tokyo led to the rapid development of Saitama Prefecture, whose population has nearly tripled since 1960. Most of the cities in the prefecture are closely connected to downtown Tokyo by metropolitan rail, and operate largely as residential and commercial suburbs of Tokyo.

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Sea of Japan

The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean. This isolation also reflects in the fauna species and in the water salinity, which is lower than in the ocean. The sea has no large islands, bays or capes. Its water balance is mostly determined by the inflow and outflow through the straits connecting it to the neighboring seas and Pacific Ocean. Few rivers discharge into the sea and their total contribution to the water exchange is within 1%.
The seawater is characterized by the elevated concentration of dissolved oxygen that results in high biological productivity. Therefore, fishing is the dominant economic activity in the region. The intensity of shipments across the sea has been moderate owing to political issues, but it is steadily increasing as a result of the growth of East Asian economies. A controversy exists about the sea name, with South Korea promoting the appellation East Sea.

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Seoul
Seoul (Korean pronunciation: [sʌ.ul] ( listen), English /soʊl/), officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world. The Seoul National Capital Area is the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 25 million inhabitants, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province. Almost a quarter of South Koreans live in Seoul, half of South Koreans live in the metropolitan area, along with over 275,000 international residents.
Located in the Han River, Seoul has been a major settlement for over 2,000 years, with its foundation dating back to 18 B.C. when Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, established its capital in what is now south-east Seoul. It continued as the capital of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty and the Korean Empire. The Seoul National Capital Area is home to four UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Changdeokgung, Hwaseong Fortress, Jongmyo Shrine and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.

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Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010. It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial center and the busiest container port in the world.
Located in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces to the west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.
Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the first opium war and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, the city's international influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.

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Shiga Prefecture
Shiga Prefecture (滋賀県, Shiga-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Ōtsu.
Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established. Omi was a neighbor of Nara and Kyoto, and junction of western and eastern Japan, so Omi was developed as the hinterland of capitals, the traffic important point and sometimes political center. In the years 667 to 672, Emperor Tenji founded a palace in Otsu. In 742, Emperor Shōmu founded a palace in Shigaraki. In the early Heian Period, Saichō was born in north of Otsu and founded Enryaku-ji, the center of Tendai and one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Monuments of Ancient Kyoto now.
In the Medieval Period, Sasaki clan ruled Omi, and afterward Rokkaku clan, Kyōgoku clan and Azai clan ruled Omi. In 1570s, Oda Nobunaga subjugated Omi and built Azuchi Castle on the eastern shores of Lake Biwa in 1579. Tōdō Takatora, Gamō Ujisato, Oichi, Yodo-dono, Ohatsu and Oeyo were important persons from Omi in Sengoku Period. In this times, Ninja was active in Kōka (See also Kōga-ryū).

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Shikoku
Shikoku (四国^?, "four provinces") is the smallest (225 km or 139.8 mi long and between 50 and 150 km or 31.1 and 93.2 mi wide) and least populous (4,141,955 as of 2005) of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima (伊予之二名島), Iyo-shima (伊予島), and Futana-shima (二名島). The current name refers to the four former provinces which made up the island: Awa, Tosa, Sanuki, and Iyo.
The Shikoku region, comprising Shikoku and its surrounding islets, covers about 18,800 square kilometres (7,259 sq mi) and consists of four prefectures: Ehime, Kagawa, Kōchi, and Tokushima. Across the Inland Sea lie Wakayama, Osaka, Hyōgo, Okayama, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi Prefectures on Honshū. To the west lie Ōita and Miyazaki Prefectures on Kyūshū.
The 50th largest island by area in the world, Shikoku is smaller than Sardinia and Bananal, but larger than Halmahera and Seram. By population, it ranks 23rd, having fewer inhabitants than Sicily or Singapore, but more than Puerto Rico or Negros.

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Shimane Prefecture
Shimane Prefecture (島根県, Shimane-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is Matsue. It is the second least populous prefecture in Japan, after its eastern neighbor Tottori. The prefecture has an area elongated from east to west facing the Chūgoku Mountain Range on the south side and to the Sea of Japan on the north side. It is divided into the Izumo Region in the East, the Iwami Region in the West and the Oki Region, a small group of islands off the northern coast. Most of the cities are near the shoreline of the Sea of Japan. Izumo Taisha in Izumo City is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan.
The Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan are also part of Shimane Prefecture, which also claims to have jurisdiction over the South Korea-controlled island of Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima).
The history of Shimane starts with the Japanese mythology. Shinto god Ōkuninushi was believed to be living in Izumo, an old province in Shimane. Izumo Shrine, which is in the city of Izumo, honors the god.　At that time, the current Shimane prefecture was divided in to three parts: Iwami, Izumo, and Oki. That lasted until the abolition of the han system took place in 1871. During the Nara period, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro read a poem on Shimane's nature when he was sent as the Royal governor.

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Shizuoka Prefecture
Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県, Shizuoka-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.
Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.
The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun.^{[citation needed]}Tokugawa Ieyasu held the region until he conquered the lands of the Hōjō clan in the Kantō region and placed land under the stewardship of Oda Nobunaga. After becoming shogun, Tokugawa took the land back for his family and put the area around modern-day Shizuoka city under the direct supervision of the shogunate. With the creation of Shizuoka han in 1868, it once again became the residence of the Tokugawa family.
Shizuoka prefecture is an elongated region following the coast of the Pacific Ocean at the Suruga Bay. In the west, the prefecture extends deep into the Japan Alps. In the east, it becomes a narrower coast bounded in the north by Mount Fuji, until it comes to the Izu Peninsula, a popular resort area pointing south into the Pacific.

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São Paulo State
São Paulo (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w ˈpawlu] ( listen)) is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil. The capital, São Paulo, is also the largest city in South America (and the Southern Hemisphere).
Often dubbed the "locomotive of Brazil", the state alone is responsible for 33.9% of the Brazilian GDP, being the state with the highest GDP. In addition to increased GDP, São Paulo also has the third highest Human Development Index, the second highest GDP per capita, the second lowest infant mortality rate and the fourth lowest rate of illiteracy among the states of Brazil.
With over 40 million inhabitants, São Paulo is the most populous state in Brazil and the third most populous political unit of South America, only surpassed by that country and Colombia, ahead of all other South American countries. São Paulo's capital city is ranked seventh among the largest city on the planet and its metropolitan area, with 19,223,897 inhabitants, is also the 7th biggest in the world.

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Tochigi Prefecture
Tochigi Prefecture (栃木県, Tochigi-ken^?) is a prefecture located in the Kantō region on the island of Honshu, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya.
Nikkō, whose ancient Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples UNESCO has recognized by naming them a World Heritage Site, is in this prefecture. Nikkō is approximately one hour by train from Tokyo, and approximately 35 km west of the capital Utsunomiya.
Other famous parts of Tochigi include a region called Nasu known for onsen and local sake and ski resorts. The Imperial family has a villa in Nasu. Nasu-Shiobara is a major Shinkansen station.
Another onsen resort is at Kinugawa Onsen.
Situated among the inland prefectures of the northern part of the Kantō region, Tochigi is contiguous with Ibaraki, Gunma, Saitama, and Fukushima prefecture.
The climate of Tochigi may be classified as a humid temperate zone with broad variations in temperature. Winters are arid with dry winds, while summers are humid with frequent thunderstorms.
The population of Tochigi as of November 2010 was approximately 2,005,096. The population increased until 2005,^{[citation needed]} but started to decrease in 2006, as the population of Japan decreased, too. About 500,000 people live in the prefectural capital of Utsunomiya, with the remainder dispersed over 14 other cities and 17 towns.^{[citation needed]}

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Tokushima Prefecture
Tokushima Prefecture (徳島県, Tokushima-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on Shikoku island. The capital is the city of Tokushima.
Until the Meiji Restoration, Tokushima prefecture was known as Awa Province.
Long ago, Tokushima City belonged to a region known as Myōdō-gun. But in the first wave of government consolidation following the abolishment of the fiefdom system and construction of prefectures in 1871, it became known by the name of Myodo Prefecture. At the time, it included not only the Awa region to the south, but the Awaji Island regions as well. In 1873 it further incorporated the region currently occupied by Kagawa Prefecture in its borders.
But in the second wave of government consolidation, on September 5, 1875, the Sanuki Region separated to form modern day Kagawa Prefecture. Then, on August 21, 1876, Awaji Island separated to join Hyogo Prefecture and the Awa region separated to form Kochi Prefecture.
After this, on March 2, 1880 Myodo Prefecture fully separated from Kochi Prefecture and became inaugurated as Tokushima Prefecture.

wn.com/Tokushima_Prefecture
Tokyo
Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō^?, "Eastern Capital") [toːkʲoː], English /ˈtoʊki.oʊ/; officially Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to^?), is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of the world. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family. Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture (東京府, Tōkyō-fu^?) and the city of Tokyo (東京市, Tōkyō-shi^?).
The Tokyo Metropolitan government administers the 23 special wards of Tokyo (each governed as a city), which cover the area that was the city of Tokyo, as well as 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the special wards is over 8 million people, with the total population of the prefecture exceeding 13 million. The prefecture is part of the world's most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 35 million people and the world's largest urban agglomeration economy with a GDP of US$1.479 trillion at purchasing power parity in 2008, ahead of New York City metropolitan area, which ranks second on the list. The city hosts 47 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest amount of any city.

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Tottori Prefecture
Tottori Prefecture (鳥取県, Tottori-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region. The capital is the city of Tottori. It is the least populous prefecture in Japan.
The word "Tottori" in the Japanese is formed from two kanji characters. The first, 鳥, means "bird" and the second, 取 means "to get". Early residents in the area made their living catching the region's plentiful waterfowl. The name first appears in the Nihon shoki in the 23rd year of the Emperor Suiko when Yukuha Tana, an elder from the Izumo, visits the emperor. The imperial Prince Homatsu-wake was unable to speak, despite being 30 years of age.
"Yukuha Tana presented the swan to the emperor. Homatsu-wake no Mikoto played with this swan and at least learned to speak. Therefore, Yukaha Tana was liberally rewarded, and was granted the title of Tottori no Miyakko." (Aston, tran.)
Tottori Prefecture was settled very early in the prehistoric period of Japan, as evidenced by remains from the Jōmon period (14,000 – 300 BC). The prefecture has the remains of the largest known Yayoi period (300 BC – 250 AD) settlement in Japan, the Mukibanda Yayoi remains, located in the low foothills of Mount Daisen in in the cities of Daisen and Yonago. Numerous kofun tumuli from the Kofun period (250 – 538) are located across the prefecture. In 645, under the Taika reforms, the area in present-day Tottori Prefecture became two provinces, Hōki and Inaba.

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Toyama Airport
Toyama Airport (富山空港, Toyama Kūkō^?) (IATA: TOY, ICAO: RJNT) is an airport located 3 NM (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) south southwest of Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, about 20 minutes by car from the city center.

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Toyama Bay
Toyama Bay (富山湾, Toyama-wan^?) is a bay located on the northern shores of Honshu, Japan. The bay borders Toyama and Ishikawa prefectures. The bay is known for the mirages on the horizon during the winter months and for being a spawning ground for the firefly squid. It is also one of Japan's three largest bays.
Kurobe River, Jōganji River, Jinzū River, Shō River, etc.

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Toyama Prefecture
Toyama Prefecture (富山県, Toyama-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Toyama.
Toyama is the leading industrial prefecture on the Toyama Bay Japan Sea coast, and has the industrial advantage of cheap electricity due to abundant water resources from the Kurabo Dam. It also contains East Asia’s only glaciers outside Russia, which have been recognised as such only very recently.
Historically, Toyama Prefecture was Etchū Province. Following the abolition of the han system in 1871, Etchū Province was renamed Niikawa Prefecture, but Imizu District was given to Nanao Prefecture. In 1872 Imizu District was returned by the new Ishikawa Prefecture.
In 1876 Niikawa Prefecture merged into Ishikawa Prefecture but the merger was void in 1881 and the area was reestablished as Toyama Prefecture.
The Itai-itai disease occurred in Toyama around 1950.
Toyama Prefecture is bordered by Ishikawa Prefecture to the west, Niigata to the northeast, Nagano to the southeast, Gifu to the south and Sea of Japan to the north.

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Tōhoku region
The Tōhoku region (東北地方, Tōhoku-chihō^?) is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures (ken): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata.
Tōhoku retains a reputation as a remote region, offering breathtaking scenery but a harsh climate. In the 20th century, tourism became a major industry in the Tōhoku region.
The area was historically known as the Michinoku region or province. a term first recorded in Hitachi-no-kuni Fudoki (常陸国風土記^?) (654). There is some variation in modern usage of the term "Michinoku".
Tōhoku's initial historical settlement occurred between the seventh and ninth centuries, well after Japanese civilization and culture had become firmly established in central and southwestern Japan. The last stronghold of the indigenous Emishi on Honshu and the site of many battles.
The haiku poet Matsuo Bashō wrote Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North) during his travels through Tōhoku.

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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.

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Vladivostok
Vladivostok (Russian: Владивосток; IPA: [vlədʲɪvɐˈstok] ( listen); Chinese: 海參崴; pinyin: Hǎishēnwǎi) is a city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia, situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay, not far from Russia's borders with China and North Korea. The population of the city, according to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, is 592,069, down from 594,701 recorded in the 2002 Census.
The city is the home port of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the largest Russian port on the Pacific Ocean.
In 2012, Vladivostok will host the 24th Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. In preparation for the event, the infrastructure of the city is being renovated and improved. Two giant cable-stayed bridges are currently under construction in Vladivostok, namely the Zolotoy Rog bridge over the Golden Horn Bay in the center of the city, and the Russky Island Bridge from the mainland to Russky Island, where the summit will take place. The latter bridge will become the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world upon completion.

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Wakayama Prefecture
Wakayama Prefecture (和歌山県, Wakayama-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the Kii Peninsula in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Wakayama.
Present-day Wakayama is mostly the western part of the province of Kii.
On July 17 to 18, a torrential heavy rain occurred, followed by collapse of levees, river flooding and landslides in widely area, which destroyed many bridges and houses. According to Japanese Government official confirmed report, 1,015 people died, with 5,709 injured and 7,115 houses lost.^{[citation needed]}
Nine cities are located in Wakayama Prefecture:
These are the towns and villages in each district:
Wakayama supplies most of Japan with its high production of mikans (Mandarin Oranges) in October of every year.
Mount Kōya (高野山, Kōya-san^?) in the Ito District is the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. It is home to one of the first Japanese style Buddhist temples in Japan and remains a site of pilgrimage and an increasingly popular tourist destination as people flock to see its ancient temples set amidst the towering cedar trees at the top of the mountain. The Sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountain Range extend for miles throughout the prefecture and together have been recognized as Japan's 11th UNESCO World Heritage site.

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Yamagata Prefecture
Yamagata Prefecture (山形県, Yamagata-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on Honshu island. Its capital is Yamagata.
The aboriginal Ezo (蝦夷^?) people once inhabited the area now known as Yamagata. Yamagata and Akita Prefecture were known as Dewa Province until the Meiji Restoration.
During the Heian Period (794–1185), the Fujiwara (藤原^?) family ruled the area. Yamagata City flourished during the Edo Period (1603–1867) due to its status as a castle town and post station, famous for beni (red safflower dye used in the production of handspun silk). In 1689, the famous haiku poet, Matsuo Bashō visited Yamagata during his five-month trip to the northern regions of Japan.
Yamagata Prefecture is located in the southwest corner of Tōhoku, facing the Sea of Japan. It borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture on the south, Miyagi Prefecture on the east, and Akita Prefecture on the north. All of these boundaries are marked by mountains, with most of the population residing in a limited central plain.

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Yamaguchi Prefecture
Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県, Yamaguchi-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture. The largest city, however, is Shimonoseki.
Yamaguchi Prefecture was created by the merger of the provinces of Suō and Nagato. During the rise of the samurai class during the Heian and Kamakura Periods (794–1333), the Ouchi family of Suō Province and the Koto family of Nagato Province gained influence as powerful warrior clans. In the Muromachi Period (1336—1573), Ouchi Hiroyo, the 24th ruler of the Ouchi family conquered both areas of Yamaguchi Prefecture. The Ouchi clan imitated the city planning of Kyoto. They gained great wealth through cultural imports from the continent and trade with Korea and Ming Dynasty China. As a result, Yamaguchi came to be known as the "Kyoto of the West," and Ouchi culture flourished. Sue Harutaka defeated the 31st ruler of the Ouchi clan. The Sue clan was then defeated by Mōri Motonari, and the Mōri family gained control of the Chugoku region. Yamaguchi was ruled as part of the Mōri clan domain during the Sengoku period. Mōri Terumoto was then defeated by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. He was forced to give up all his land except for the Suō and Nagato areas (current-day Yamaguchi Prefecture), where he built his castle in Hagi. Mōri sought to strengthen the economic base of the region and increase local production with his Three Whites campaign (salt, rice, and paper).

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Yamanashi Prefecture
Yamanashi Prefecture (山梨県, Yamanashi-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Kōfu.
As in most other Japanese regions, prehistoric society in Yamanashi progressed though the hunting, fishing and gathering stage of the Jōmon period, then the rice-producing stage of the Yayoi period and subsequent village and regional formation. The Maruyama and Choshizuka Kofun (earthen burial mounds) located on Sone Hill of Nakamichi Town　(currently in southern Kōfu) are believed to have been built from the end of the 4th century. From these remains it can be assumed that the people of Sone Hill had great influence.
During the Heian period, Kai Province was created in this area.
Among the many Kaigenji generations, those of the Takeda, Ogasawara, and Nanbu families were particularly prosperous. During the Sengoku period of the 16th century, Takeda Shingen attained the status of daimyō and built Tsuzuji Mansion and the Yōgai Castle in Kōfu. From this base, he attempted to unify and control Japan.

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Ōita Prefecture
Ōita Prefecture (大分県, Ōita-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.
Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, Kumaso-no-kuni (熊襲国^?) and Toyo no kuni. Present day Oita was part of Toyo-no-kuni, which means "Abundant Land".
Toyo-no-kuni was later divided into two regions, upper and lower Toyo-no-kuni, called Bungo Province and Buzen Province.
After the Meiji Restoration, districts from Bungo and Buzen provinces were combined to form Ōita Prefecture. These provinces were divided among many local daimyo and thus a large castle town never formed in Ōita. From this time that whole area became known as "Toyo-no-kuni", which means "Land of Abundance".
The origins of the name Ōita are documented in a report from the early 8th century called the Chronicles of Bungo (豊後国風土記, bungonokuni-fudoki^?) . According to the document, when Empress Keikō visited the Kyushu region, stopping first in Toyo-no-kuni, she exclaimed that 'This is a vast land, indeed. It shall be known as Okita-Kuni!' Okita-Kuni, meaning "Land of the Great Fields", later came to be written as "Ōita". Present day interpretations based on Ōita's topography state that Oita's name comes from "Okita", meaning "many fields", rather than "vast" or "great" field, because of Ōita's complex terrain.

wn.com/Ōita_Prefecture

Takakazu Ishii
Takakazu Ishii (石井隆一, Ishii Takakazu^?, born December 15, 1945) is the governor of Toyama Prefecture in Japan, first elected in 2004. A native of Toyama, Toyama and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he had worked at the Ministry of Home Affairs since 1969 before elected governor.

wn.com/Takakazu_Ishii

Toyama-ken Japan 1973 (Color Slides)

A color slide show, pictures from 1973-07-07~09. This video shows the urban parts of Takao...

published: 12 Feb 2010

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Trip to Toyama Prefecture

For the "Golden Week" holidays we went to the Japanese Alps in Toyama. We took a sightseei...

published: 07 May 2010

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Toyama Prefecture

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published: 15 Apr 2010

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Toyama Prefectural Ship

This ship connects both sides of Toyama city, which was devided by Toyama New Port....

published: 07 Nov 2010

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Toyama ken Road trip, with kuya boki and family!!!

...

published: 03 Aug 2010

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Snowboarding at Taira in Toyama Prefecture

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published: 28 Nov 2006

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toyama-ken kaminari drift team

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toyama-ken kaminari drift team

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Toyama Ken Kaminari drift

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toyama-ken kaminari drift team

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Toyama Ken Kaminari drift

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Toyama-Ken Kaminari drift team

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photo: AP / Ariel Schalit

Israeli troops patrol along the border between Israel and Syria

Israeli jets targeted military research center: Syria

Zeenews

31 Jan 2013

Zeenews Bureau. Damascus. The Syrian Army has confirmed that Israeli Air Force fighter planes carried out strikes in its territory, but denied reports of a convoy carrying weapons to Lebanon was bombed. The Syrian Army statement says that the IAF jet fighters’ target was a military research centre near the border with Lebanon. Two people have been reported to be dead and five others injured in the attack ... First Published ... ....(size: 2.6Kb)

photo: AP / Aleppo Revolution Against Assad Regime

This citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Revolution Against Assad's Regime which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows dead bodies on a street in Aleppo, Syria Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013.

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Huffington Post

29 Jan 2013

By Alexander Dziadosz and Oliver Holmes. BEIRUT, Jan 29 (Reuters) - At least 65 people were found shot dead with their hands bound in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday in a "new massacre" in the near two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said. Opposition campaigners blamed the government but it was impossible to confirm who was responsible ... The U.N ... State media did not mention the incident ... STALEMATE ... ....(size: 9.0Kb)

photo: AP / Korea Aerospace Research Institute

In this photo released by Korea Aerospace Research Institute, South Korea's rocket lifts off from its launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013.

South Korea launches rocket carrying satellite in battle for space supremacy

The Guardian

30 Jan 2013

Launch of 140-tonne rocket likely to anger North Korea, which incurred tougher UN sanctions after December launch. The rocket takes off from its launchpad at Naro, south of Seoul. South Korea has twice before failed to put a satellite into space. Photograph. Kari/AFP/Getty Images ... Relief greeted the Naro rocket's flawless liftoff from a space centre on the south coast at 4pm local time ... ....(size: 3.1Kb)

photo: AP / David Guttenfelder

N. Korea revealed - on Google

Star Tribune

30 Jan 2013

SEOUL - Until Tuesday, North Korea appeared on Google Maps as a near-total white space -- no roads, no train lines, no parks and no restaurants. The only thing labeled was the capital city, Pyongyang. This all changed when Google, on Tuesday, rolled out a detailed map of one of the world's most secretive states ... Similar processes were used in other once-unmapped countries like Afghanistan and Myanmar ... ....(size: 2.4Kb)

photo: AP / Patrick Semansky

Obama calls for swift overhaul on immigration

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

30 Jan 2013

LAS VEGAS -- Seizing an opening to rewrite the nation's immigration laws, President Barack Obama challenged Congress on Tuesday to act swiftly to put 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States on a clear path to citizenship ... The response suggests that reaching consensus on immigration law changes remained difficult despite a new bipartisan push since the November elections ... Mr ... Sen ... He continued ... Although Mr ... Mr ... Mr ... ....(size: 5.5Kb)

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Evidence collection takes 2 years / Police questioned over time taken to confiscate material in murder case

Daily Yomiuri

11 Jan 2013

Judicial affairs experts are questioning why it took Toyama prefectural police more than two years to confiscate a CD from Shukan Bunshun magazine that contained a murder confession. The CD was the basis for the arrest of Takeshi Kano, a 54-year-old assistant prefectural police inspector, who was served a fresh arrest warrant on suspicion of killing an elderly Toyama couple in April 2010....(size: 5.2Kb)

Weekly publishes cop's confession to Toyama couple's 2010 slaying

Japan Times

10 Jan 2013

TOYAMA — A weekly magazine carried a statement Wednesday in which a police officer anonymously confessed to the murder-arson of an elderly couple in Toyama Prefecture in 2010 well before he was arrested over the slayings last month ... Kano, an assistant Toyama ......(size: 1.4Kb)

Prospective Japanese police recruits to undergo lie detector tests

The Daily Telegraph

09 Jan 2013

Photo. Alamy. By Julian Ryall in Tokyo. 6.28AM GMT 09 Jan 2013. Comments ... That figure is the highest since 2000 ... In January, an officer in Aichi Prefecture was dismissed for molesting a number of junior high school students ... In another case, an officer in Toyama Prefecture was arrested in December and charged with killing a couple and setting fire to their home to destroy the evidence ... Related Articles ... 26ft giant squid footage 07 Jan 2013 ... ....(size: 10.9Kb)

Only 16 prefs disclose political funds reports online

Daily Yomiuri

06 Jan 2013

Only 16 prefectures, including Tokyo, have disclosed original political funds reports data on the Internet, which are essential for understanding the relationship between politicians and the donors that support them, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned ... Toyama Prefecture's election administration committee began disclosing political funds reports online in 2012 ... But as things are, there are gaps [among prefectures]....(size: 4.6Kb)

Rescuers lose contact with nine climbers

Japan Times

05 Jan 2013

Police and rescue personnel were scrambling to locate missing mountain climbers Saturday after losing contact with at least nine of them in four central prefectures. In Toyama Prefecture, police were searching for four people who disappeared as their Tokyo-based group headed for Mount Tsurugi in the Northern Alps. In sprawling Nagano, the prefectural ......(size: 2.2Kb)

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Daily Yomiuri

04 Jan 2013

There are plans to set up offices in five cities in the prefecture to handle compensation payments and support decontamination work ... The Toyama prefectural police, where an assistant police inspector was arrested on suspicion of murder at the end of the year, canceled its ceremony to mark the first day of work in the year ... Together, we must make a concerted effort to move forward," Toyama prefectural police head Yasuo Niimi said....(size: 2.8Kb)

What's up with Toyama's police?

Japan Times

02 Jan 2013

The Toyama prefectural police on Dec ... Yet despite his bizarre behavior, and even though Toyama prefectural police investigators questioned him twice — in late April and in May in 2010 — as a witness because of his long association with the couple, it took two years and eight months for the police to arrest him ... Toyama prefectural police arrested Mr....(size: 2.6Kb)

Policeman suspected in murder had troubled past

Daily Yomiuri

25 Dec 2012

The police are trying to learn whether there were any troubles between the couple and Takeshi Kano, 54, a now-suspended assistant police inspector of the Toyama prefectural police ... On Monday, the police sent Kano to the Toyama District Public Prosecutors Office and continued their search of his home ... Kano was the head of the detention cell administration division at Takaoka Police Station in the prefecture at that time....(size: 1.9Kb)

Head of the line / Champ Tosaka expects crowd in 48-kg class

Daily Yomiuri

25 Dec 2012

With only four of the seven weight classes in women's wrestling included on the Olympic program when it was added in 2004, spots on Japan's team are at a premium. In fact, only one division has had a different entry in any of the three Olympics so far ... So I have my work cut out for me." ... Among those who she might have to deal with is fellow Toyama Prefecture native Yu Miyahara, who failed to defend her 51-kilogram national title ... (Dec ... ....(size: 3.5Kb)

Cop suspected of killing couple attempted suicide

Daily Yomiuri

24 Dec 2012

TOYAMA--A policeman suspected of killing an elderly couple and setting fire to their home attempted suicide five months after the crimes were committed, according to investigative sources. In mid-September of 2010, Takeshi Kano, 54, a now-suspended assistant police inspector of the Toyama prefectural police, took a large dose of sleep medication at his home and was later taken to a hospital by ambulance....(size: 2.2Kb)

Norovirus may be behind 6 Miyazaki Pref. deaths

Daily Yomiuri

24 Dec 2012

NICHINAN, Miyazaki--Six elderly people died at a hospital in Miyazaki Prefecture, likely from a virulent norovirus infection ... Another five patients aged between 76 and 90 are in serious condition, the prefectural government added ... It was followed by Kagoshima Prefecture with 34.02, Ehime Prefecture with 31.84, Fukui Prefecture with 29.50 and Toyama Prefecture with 28.07....(size: 2.5Kb)

Suspect cop 'heavily in debt'

Daily Yomiuri

23 Dec 2012

"It's a matter of great regret that an incumbent policeman is responsible for such an extremely cruel and grave crime," said Toyama prefectural police head Yasuo Niimi, reading out an apology at a press conference at police headquarters around 9 p.m ... According to the prefectural police and other sources, Kano became a police officer in 1977 after graduating from a high school in Toyama....(size: 4.3Kb)

Police officer nabbed over '10 Toyama murder

Japan Times

23 Dec 2012

TOYAMA — The police arrested one of their own on Saturday in connection with the 2010 slaying of an elderly couple in Toyama Prefecture. Takeshi Kano, 54, assistant police inspector at the Toyama Prefectural Police, was arrested on ......(size: 1.2Kb)

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Toyama Prefecture

Japanese transcription(s)

• Japanese

富山県

• Rōmaji

Toyama-ken

Symbol of Toyama Prefecture

Country

Government

• Governor

Takakazu Ishii

Area

• Total

4,247.22 km² (1,639.86 sq mi)

Area rank

33rd

Population (Estimated as of February 1, 2008)

• Total

1,104,239

• Rank

38th

• Density

260/km² (700/sq mi)

ISO 3166 code

JP-16

Districts

Municipalities

Flower

Tulip (Tulipa)^[1]

Tree

Tateyama Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica)^[1]

Bird

Ptarmigan^[1]

Fish

Japanese amberjack
Pasiphaea japonica
Firefly squid^[1]

Website

pref.toyama.jp

Map of Toyama Prefecture.

Toyama Prefecture (富山県, Toyama-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on Honshu island.^[2] The capital is the city of Toyama.^[3]

Toyama is the leading industrial prefecture on the Toyama Bay Japan Sea coast, and has the industrial advantage of cheap electricity due to abundant water resources from the Kurabo Dam. It also contains East Asia’s only glaciers outside Russia, which have been recognised as such only very recently^[4].

History [link]

Historically, Toyama Prefecture was Etchū Province.^[5] Following the abolition of the han system in 1871, Etchū Province was renamed Niikawa Prefecture, but Imizu District was given to Nanao Prefecture. In 1872 Imizu District was returned by the new Ishikawa Prefecture.

In 1876 Niikawa Prefecture merged into Ishikawa Prefecture but the merger was void in 1881 and the area was reestablished as Toyama Prefecture.

The Itai-itai disease occurred in Toyama around 1950.

Geography [link]

Toyama Prefecture is bordered by Ishikawa Prefecture to the west, Niigata to the northeast, Nagano to the southeast, Gifu to the south and Sea of Japan to the north.

Municipalities [link]

Due to the mergers in the 2000s, Toyama has the fewest municipalities of any prefecture in Japan with 10 cities, 2 districts, 4 towns, and 1 village (before the mergers took place, the prefecture had 9 cities, 18 towns, and 8 villages).

Cities [link]

Ten cities are located in Toyama Prefecture:

Towns and villages [link]

Towns and villages in each district:

Nakaniikawa District

Funahashi

Kamiichi

Tateyama

Shimoniikawa District

Asahi

Nyuzen

Mergers [link]

Main article: List of mergers in Toyama Prefecture

Economy [link]

Agriculture [link]

Toyama is a major producer of high quality rice making use of abundant water sources originating from Mount Tate.

Manufacturing [link]

Toyama is famous for its historical pharmaceutical industry which remains a top manufacturing industry in the prefecture in terms of manufacturing shipment value followed by electronic parts and devices (industrial robots, general machinery, etc.), and metal products (aluminum, copper etc.) manufacturing.^[6]

China, Liaoning Province - May 9, 1984
Brazil, São Paulo State - July 18, 1985
United States, Oregon State - October 19, 1991
Russia, Primorsky Region - August 26, 1992

Transportation [link]

Rail [link]

Tokyo: 3 hr 8 min via Joetsu Shinkansen, transfer to Hokuriku Main Line via the Hakutaka Limited Express at Echigo-Yuzawa Station

Osaka: 3 hr 5 min via Thunderbird Limited Express

The Hokuriku Shinkansen line is expected to be completed in 2014 and will shorten the Tokyo-Toyama trip to approximately 2 hrs 7 min and the Osaka-Toyama trip to approximately 1 hr 40 min.

Expressway [link]

Tokyo: 5 hr
Osaka: 4 hr 10 min
Nagoya: 3 hr 15 min
Niigata: 2 hr 30 min

Air [link]

Toyama Airport (TOY)

Domestic [link]

Tokyo: 1 hr
Sapporo: 1 hr 20 min
Fukuoka: 1 hr 30 min

International [link]

Shanghai: 2 hr 30 min via Shanghai Airlines
Dalian: 2 hr 30 min via Southern China Airlines
Seoul: 1 hr 50 min via Asiana Airlines
Vladivostok: 2 hr 40 min via Vladivostok Airlines

As of April 2008 all international carriers have 3 flights a week with additional flights during peak seasons

All Japan Chindon Competition (Toyama City (Toyama Castle Park), Mid April

Tonami Tulip Fair (Tonami City), May

Marumage Festival (Himi City), May 17

Summer

Sassa Narimasa Sengoku Era Festival (Toyama City), Late July

Fall

Toyama Festival (Toyama City), Sept. 1

Owara Kaze no Bon (Toyama City (Yatsuo Area)), Sept. 1-3

Mugiya Festival (Nanto City (Johana Area)), Mid Sept.

Kokiriko Festival (Nanto City (Hakusan Shrine)), Sept. 25-26

Winter

Nanto Toga Soba Festival (Nanto City (Toga Village Area)), Mid Feb.

Regional Foods [link]

Trout Sushi (Masu no Sushi)
White Shrimp (Shiro Ebi)
Matured Yellow Tail (Buri)
Firefly Squid (Hotaru Ika)
Fish Paste (Kamaboko)

Regional Sake [link]

Tateyama (立山)
Narimasa (成政)
Masuizumi (満寿泉)
Sanshoraku (三笑楽）

Sports [link]

The sports teams listed below are based in Toyama.

Football (soccer)

Kataller Toyama (Toyama City)

Basketball

Toyama Grouses (Toyama City)

Baseball

Toyama Thunderbirds (Toyama City)

Rugby Union

Takaoka Mariners (Takaoka)

Tourism [link]

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

Notes [link]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "富山県の魅力・観光>シンボル" (in Japanese). Toyama Prefectural website. Toyama Prefecture. http://www.pref.toyama.jp/gaiyou/symbol.html. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Toyama prefecture" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 991 at Google Books; "Hokuriku" at p. 344 at Google Books.
^ Nussbaum, "Toyama" at p. 991 at Google Books.
^ First glaciers of Japan recognised]
^ Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780 at Google Books.
^ Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry: 2004 Industrial Statistics

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

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Toyama prefecture

v t e Toyama Prefecture

Cities	Toyama (capital) Takaoka Uozu Himi Namerikawa Kurobe Tonami Oyabe Nanto Imizu

Nakaniikawa District	Funahashi Kamiichi Tateyama

Shimoniikawa District	Asahi Nyūzen

Regions and administrative divisions of

Japan

Regions

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: 36°43′N 137°9′E / 36.717°N 137.15°E / 36.717; 137.15

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyama_Prefecture

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

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