- published: 23 Jul 2014
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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.