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Map of Japan
An even better map service (though in Japanese only) of the whole country is provided
by Mapion.
Japan is
divided into 5 main geographical divisions: Hokkaido, Honshu,
Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa. The main island of Honshu is further
divided into 5 regions: Tohoku, Chubu, Kanto, Kinki and Chugoku.
The administrative system is divided as follows: Tokyo To (metropolis); Hokkaido Do (circuit);
Osaka Fu, Kyoto Fu (urban prefectures); 43 Ken (prefectures). This system was introduced
in 1888, with Tokyo being designated as a metropolis in 1943.
Click on the names of the 9 regions below to go to our sightseeing
pages on each. Clicking on the prefectures will take you to the
English section (where available) of their respective official
Web sites.
The population of Japan is approximately 126,580,000 (August 1999). The most
densely populated areas are the Tokyo metropolis and its port
cities of Yokohama and Kawasaki and the so-called Kansai area, made up of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto. While the population
of the 23 ku (wards) that make up the city of Tokyo is around 8 million, the
metropolis is home to almost 30 million people. The population
of the Kansai araea is around 16 million.
Click on the cities in the map below to go to their Web sites.
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