Chūbu region

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Chubu region, Japan

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

Chūbu (中部地方 Chūbu-chihō) is the central region of Honshū, Japan's main island.

The Chūbu, or central region, encompasses nine prefectures in the midland of Japan, west of the Kantō region: Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, and Yamanashi.

The region is the widest part of Honshū and is characterized by high, rugged mountains. The Japanese Alps divide the country into the sunnier Pacific side, known as the front of Japan, or Omote-Nihon, and the colder Sea of Japan side, or Ura-Nihon, the back of Japan.

The region comprises three distinct districts.

Hokuriku (北陸), a coastal strip on the Sea of Japan that is a major wet-rice producing area. The road through Hokuriku region was Hokurikudō (北陸道).

The Central Highland (中央高地), commonly called Koshin (甲信), an inland region between Hokuriku and Tōkai. The roads through Central Highland were Nakasendō (中山道) and Kōshū Kaidō (甲州街道).

Tōkai (東海), the eastern seaboard, a narrow corridor along the Pacific Coast. The road through Tōkai region was Tōkaidō (東海道).

Hokuriku region lies west of the massive mountains that occupy the central Chūbu region. The district has a very heavy snowfall and strong winds. Its turbulent rivers are the source of abundant hydroelectric power. Niigata Prefecture is the site of domestic gas and oil production. Industrial development is extensive, especially in the cities of Niigata and Toyama. Fukui and Kanazawa also have large manufacturing industries. Hokuriku developed largely independently of other regions, mainly because it remained relatively isolated from the major industrial and cultural centers on the Pacific Coast. Because port facilities are limited and road transport hampered by heavy winter snows, the district relied largely on railroad transportation.

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

The Tōkai region, bordering the Pacific Ocean, is a narrow corridor interrupted in places by mountains that descend into the sea. Since the Tokugawa period (1600-1867), this corridor has been important in linking Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. One of old Japan's most famous roads, the Tōkaidō, ran through it connecting Edo (Tokyo, since 1868) and Kyoto, the old imperial capital; in the twentieth century, it became the route of new super-express highways and high-speed railroad lines.

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

It is located between Kantō and Kansai, 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 served by Chūbu Centrair International Airport (NGO), an airport on an off-shore artificial island in the city of Tokoname, Aichi near Nagoya, and by Nagoya Airport, which is located near Nagoya in the cities of Komaki and Kasugai.