50 Fun Facts About Prefectures of Japan

Which prefecture of Japan, not the capital itself, is home to both Tokyo Disneyland and Narita International Airport?

Chiba has hosted Tokyo Disneyland in the city of Urayasu since 1983, when it opened as the first Disney park built outside the United States. Narita, the airport, had begun operating in the same prefecture in 1978.

Which prefecture in northern Japan gave its name to the dog breed of Hachiko, the famously loyal pet?

Akita is home to the city of Odate, where Hachiko was born on a farm in 1923. The breed itself was known as the Odate dog until 1931, when it took the name of the whole prefecture.

Which prefecture, the most northerly in Japan, celebrates winter with a huge snow festival in its capital, Sapporo?

Hokkaido is also the largest prefecture in Japan. Its Sapporo Snow Festival began as a one-day event in 1950, when six local high school students built six snow statues in a city park.

Which prefecture of Japan, once the independent Ryukyu Kingdom, stayed under American administration until 1972?

Okinawa was returned to Japan on May 15, 1972, 27 years after the battle fought there. Karate also comes from these islands: it grew up in the old kingdom under Chinese influence.

Which prefecture's capital was home to Japan's emperors for eleven centuries, until the court moved to Tokyo?

Kyoto was chosen as the seat of the imperial court in 794 by Emperor Kanmu. After the court left for the city whose new name meant eastern capital, it was briefly known as Saikyo, the western capital.

Which prefecture of Japan holds the Atomic Bomb Dome and Itsukushima Shrine, whose gate seems to float at high tide?

Hiroshima's dome was the only structure left standing near the hypocenter of the 1945 bomb. First scheduled for demolition, it is now kept as a preserved ruin and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Which prefecture of Japan suffered meltdowns at its Daiichi nuclear plant after the tsunami of March 2011?

Fukushima is the third-largest prefecture in Japan, and the plant stood on its Pacific coast at Okuma. Mountain ranges split it into three regions called Aizu, Nakadori and Hamadori.

Which prefecture of Japan is the birthplace of takoyaki, the octopus-filled batter balls first sold by a street vendor?

Osaka street vendor Tomekichi Endo is credited with inventing takoyaki in 1935. Merchants there also set up the Dojima Rice Exchange in 1697, where the world's first futures market took shape.

Which landlocked prefecture of Japan, host of the 1998 Winter Olympics, borders more prefectures than any other?

Nagano touches eight other prefectures, the most of any in the country. Its mountains are also home to Jigokudani, the valley where wild snow monkeys gather around the hot springs.

Which old Japanese province, now western Kagoshima Prefecture, gave its name to a small, easy-peeling orange?

Satsuma was the province from which these mandarins were first exported to the West. Towns in Alabama, Florida, Texas and Louisiana were later named after the fruit.

How many prefectures make up Japan, a total reached after more than 300 early prefectures were merged?

Japan has 47 prefectures, which rank immediately below the national government. Within months of the 1871 reform that created them, mergers had already cut the first batch to 72.

Which port city, the capital of Hyogo Prefecture, was devastated in 1995 by the Great Hanshin earthquake?

Kobe is also the point of origin and namesake of Kobe beef, and the home of Arima Onsen, one of the most famous hot spring resorts in Japan. At least 5,000 people died in the earthquake.

Which island of Japan has a name that means 'four provinces', matching the four prefectures that share it today?

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. The name recalls the old provinces of Awa, Tosa, Sanuki and Iyo, each of which became one of the modern prefectures.

Which hilltop castle in Hyogo Prefecture, nicknamed the White Heron, was one of Japan's first World Heritage Sites?

Himeji Castle owes the nickname to its brilliant white walls, said to resemble a bird taking flight. It came through both the bombing of 1945 and the earthquake of 1995 almost undamaged.

Which prefecture of Japan shares Mount Fuji with Yamanashi and includes the resort coast of the Izu Peninsula?

Shizuoka is also known as the green tea heartland of Japan. Mount Fuji, the tallest volcano in the country, stands on its north-eastern border.

Which prefecture of Japan, home to the old shogunate seat of Kamakura, has Yokohama as its capital?

Kanagawa takes in Yokohama, the second-largest city in Japan, as well as Kamakura, where the first shogunate ruled from 1185 to 1333.

Which prefecture of Japan, whose capital is Nagoya, is home to the Toyota Motor Corporation?

Aichi even has a city called Toyota: the town of Koromo took the car maker's name because of its long ties with the company.

Which government of Japan, named after its emperor, replaced the feudal domains with prefectures in 1871?

The Meiji government required every daimyo, or feudal lord, to return his authority to the emperor. The reform is known in Japanese as haihan-chiken: abolish the domains, establish prefectures.

Which prefecture's harbour held Dejima, the artificial island that was Japan's only door to the West for two centuries?

Nagasaki kept Dutch traders on Dejima from 1641 to 1858, on an island linked to the town by one small bridge that was guarded on both sides.

Which Japanese prefecture's capital, the imperial seat in the 700s, is known for its Great Buddha and sacred deer?

Nara was the site of Heijo-kyo, the capital for most of the years from 710 to 784. Its Buddha, the largest bronze statue of its kind in the world, sits in the Great Buddha Hall of the temple of Todai-ji.

Which prefecture on Japan's island of Kyushu is home to Mount Aso, one of the world's largest active volcanoes?

Kumamoto has Mount Aso in its east, where a smoking cone sits at the centre of a caldera about 25 kilometres long and 18 wide.

Which prefecture of Japan, home to the largest city on Kyushu, is the birthplace of pork-bone tonkotsu ramen?

Fukuoka food vendor Tokio Miyamoto invented tonkotsu ramen in the city of Kurume in 1937. In the capital the dish is often called Hakata ramen, after the historical name of the city centre.

Which prefecture at the northern tip of Honshu, Japan's best-known apple region, is where the Fuji apple was developed?

Aomori growers bred the Fuji in 1939 in the town of Fujisaki, which gave the apple its name. The prefecture grows more than half of all the apples produced in the country.

Which prefecture, the smallest in Japan by area, is famous above all for its Sanuki udon noodles?

Kagawa was formerly known as Sanuki Province, which is where the noodles get their name. In 2008 the prefecture had more than 700 udon restaurants.

Which prefecture, the least populous in Japan, is famous for the great sand dunes on its Sea of Japan coast?

Tottori also holds Mount Daisen, the highest peak in the Chugoku Mountains. Its dunes are among the largest in the country.

Which prefecture on the Sea of Japan includes Sado Island, whose old gold mines are now a World Heritage Site?

Niigata was once two old provinces, Echigo on the mainland and Sado offshore. The mines joined the UNESCO list in 2024, and rice remains the principal product of the prefecture.

Which prefecture of Japan is home to Ise Shrine, the sanctuary of the sun goddess that is rebuilt every 20 years?

Mie's great shrine is dismantled and rebuilt on an adjacent site so that it stays forever new, and so that building techniques pass from one generation to the next.

Which prefecture of Japan is home to Nikko's Toshogu, the shrine and tomb of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu?

Tochigi's shrine, first built in 1617, carries the famous carving of the three wise monkeys on the stable of its sacred horses.

Which region of six prefectures in northern Honshu bore the brunt of Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami?

Tohoku literally means north-east, and the region is also known as Ou. The disaster of March 11, 2011 killed more than 19,000 people along its eastern coast.

Which directly elected official, chosen for a four-year term, is the chief executive of each prefecture of Japan?

Governor is the English title for the post, known in Japanese as chiji. Each one appoints between one and four deputies with the approval of the prefectural assembly.

Which prefecture on Kyushu, home to the spa city of Beppu, has more hot springs than any other in Japan?

Oita owes its springs to a volcanic belt running through the prefecture, and visitors come for its onsen baths and traditional ryokan inns.

Which capital of Miyagi Prefecture, founded in 1600 by the warlord Date Masamune, is nicknamed the City of Trees?

Sendai earned the nickname after its feudal domain encouraged residents to plant trees in their gardens. Zelkova trees still line many of its main streets.

Which capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, whose name means 'marsh of gold', produces nearly all of Japan's gold leaf?

Kanazawa is also home to Kenroku-en, counted among the Three Great Gardens of Japan. It was laid out over two centuries by the Maeda lords who ruled from the castle next door.

Which volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture, among the most active in Japan, was an island until its lava flows of 1914?

Sakurajima, whose name means Cherry Blossom Island, has been a peninsula ever since. It stands only four kilometres across the bay from the prefectural capital.

Which stadium gives its name to the summer baseball tournament for champion high schools from every prefecture of Japan?

Koshien Stadium stands in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, and the event is known simply as Summer Koshien. Regional tournaments run from mid-June to decide which schools are sent there.

Which battle of 1600, fought in what is now Gifu Prefecture, opened the way to the Tokugawa shogunate?

Sekigahara ended in defeat for Ishida Mitsunari, a result generally taken as the starting point of the shogunate that ruled for another two and a half centuries, until 1868.

In Japan, which suffix follows the names of most prefectures, with only four using a different term?

Most prefectures are ken. The four exceptions are one metropolis styled to, one regional prefecture styled do and two urban prefectures styled fu.

Which folk hero of Japan, born from a giant peach, is popularly claimed as a local hero by Okayama Prefecture?

Momotaro was tied to Okayama only in the modern era. Even on the eve of the Second World War it was considered just the third contender among the regions known as his homeland.

Which lake, the largest in Japan, lies entirely within Shiga Prefecture and ranks among the oldest in the world?

Lake Biwa is of tectonic origin and dates back at least four million years. It is estimated to be the 13th oldest lake on the planet.

Tokyo, the only prefecture of Japan styled a metropolis, grew from a city known by which name until 1868?

Edo grew from a fishing village into a city of about a million people by 1721, by many estimates the largest in the world at the time. Its new name means eastern capital.

Which mountain village in Gifu Prefecture is a World Heritage Site for its thick-thatched gassho-zukuri farmhouses?

Shirakawa-go gets more than ten metres of snow in an average year, which is why its farmhouses were given such thick thatched roofs. It shares its UNESCO listing with Gokayama, across the prefectural border.

Which prefecture, known for its mikan oranges, is home to Dogo Onsen, said to be the oldest hot spring in Japan?

Ehime's Dogo Onsen stands in the capital, Matsuyama, and is old enough to appear in the Nihon Shoki, one of the two oldest chronicles of Japan.

Which prefecture of Japan, at the western tip of Honshu, has a port nicknamed the home of fugu pufferfish?

Yamaguchi's largest city, Shimonoseki, earned the nickname for its locally caught and cooked pufferfish. Only the Kanmon Straits separate the prefecture from Kyushu.

Which prefecture of Japan is home to Mount Koya, the temple town first settled by the monk Kukai in the ninth century?

Wakayama's Mount Koya is the world headquarters of the Koyasan Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. Its head temple, Kongobu-ji, joined the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2004.

Which prefecture of Japan hosts Awa Odori, the country's largest dance festival, during the Obon holiday each August?

Tokushima was once Awa Province, and odori means dance, hence the name. The festival is popularly traced to a drunken party thrown in 1586 to celebrate the opening of the local castle.

Which prefecture of Japan is known for the dinosaur fossils dug up at Katsuyama, home of a leading dinosaur museum?

Fukui has given its name to several of the finds, among them Fukuiraptor and Fukuisaurus. Its city of Sabae is known for making most of the glasses produced in Japan.

Which prefecture on the Sea of Japan is home to Izumo-taisha, widely regarded as the country's oldest Shinto shrine?

Shimane's great shrine is where the gods are believed to convene in the tenth month of the old lunar calendar, to discuss the coming year's marriages, deaths and births.

Which prefecture of Japan, the largest on the island of Honshu, has Morioka as its capital?

Iwate is also home to the Buddhist temples of Hiraizumi, including Chuson-ji and Motsu-ji, and to Tenshochi park, known for its huge, ancient cherry trees.

Which island chain of Japan is governed as part of Tokyo despite lying about 1,000 kilometres to the south?

The Bonin Islands, known in Japanese as the Ogasawara Islands, have only two permanently inhabited islands. They were named a Natural World Heritage Site in 2011.

Which island in Kagoshima Prefecture has been a World Heritage Site since 1993 for its ancient cedar forest?

Yakushima is the wettest place in Japan, and its best-known cedar, Jomon Sugi, is estimated to be at least 2,300 years old. The forests inspired the setting of the film Princess Mononoke.