This region includes the Kyushu Island as well as the Ryukyu Islands.
Kyushu region has eight prefectures: Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Oita, Okinawa and Saga.
The Ryukyu islands from Osumi-moto to Yoron-to belong to the Kagoshima prefecture which is located in the southernmost part of the Kyushu island. The ones further south form the Okinawa prefecture.
Kyushu Island, the third biggest island of the country, is located southwest of Chugoku and Shikoku. The island is mostly mountainous and has many volcanoes (including Mt Aso) and hot springs.
This zone represents the fourth economy of the country thanks to heavy industries in the North (automotive, chemicals…) and agriculture in the South.
Kyushu has a subtropical climate, especially in the southern prefectures of Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Okinawa.

The region features many natural wonders including volcanoes, hot springs and many mountains.
Kirishima National Park is a volcanic area very popular among visitors.
Yakushima island is famous for its ancient cedar forest.
People also come to Fukuoka (the biggest city of the region), Nagasaki and Beppu (famous for its onsens).
The Ryukyu Islands, especially in the Okinawa prefecture, attract thousands of tourists every year from Japan but also from overseas. People come there to enjoy beautiful beaches, do diving and discover the Ryukyu culture.

The region produces mainly rice, tea, soy and sweet potatoes.
Famous dishes on the Kyushu island include Mentaiko (marinated roe) and Hiyajiru (cold soup). Okinawa is famous for its Goya Champuru (goya and tofu stir fried with pork) and Taco Rice (an okinawan version of tex-mex).

Shikoku region includes the following prefectures: Ehime, Kagawa, Kōchi, and Tokushima.
Located southwest of Japan, it includes the Shikoku island (the smallest of the four main islands) and the islets around.
The main cities of the island are Kochi, Matsuyama (in Ehime), Takamatsu (the largest city and located in Kagawa), Tokushima and Naruto (in Tokushima).
Shikoku is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the Seto Inland Sea. The island is connected with Honshu thanks to several bridges. The shinkansen (fast train) doesn’t reach the region.
The area is usually divided in two parts: the North with most of the population and the south, wider but mountainous less populated.
Industry is limited in the region which produce many different kinds of fruits.
Shikoku as a mild climate but has heavy rains and typhoons in summer.

The region is the less touristic in Japan but has quite a few interesting spots including Cape Ashizuri, the Iya Valley, Kotohira and the Yoshino river where people practice rafting.
Shikoku is famous for its 1,647 km 88 Temple Pilgrimage.

Ehime and Takushima produce fruits (oranges, mikan, sudachi…) and Kanagawa is famous for its Sanuki udon.

This day was first introduced in the country in 1936 by Morozoff Ltd, a chocolate company from Kobe, but became really popular during the sixties.
On the contrary to western countries, this is women who offer chocolates to men. A woman will usually give chocolates to her boyfriend (honmei-choko), to her office male co-workers (giri-choko) and sometimes to her women friends (tomo-choko).
One month later is White Day when men return a present to their girlfriend.
The romantic day in Japan is Christmas Eve when couples go to fancy restaurants for dinner.

Chugoku consists of the following prefectures: Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. The region is located on the southwestern side of Honshu.
The main cities of the area are Hiroshima (destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945) and Okayama.
Chugoku is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the Seto Inland Sea. Note that Chugoku is also the Japanese name for China.
The region is characterized by short plains and irregular hills and is divided in two parts by moutains in its center. The region is usually divided in two parts: the Sanyo region (along the Seto Inland Sea coast) with heavy industry (automotive, electronics…) and the rural Sanin region.
Sanyo has some of the lowest annual rainfall of the country. Weather is usually mild and sunny. Sanin has nice and sunny summers but cloudy winters with heavy snowfalls.

Main attractions of the region are Kurashiki with its canal and old warehouses, Okayama and its famous garden, Hiroshima with its Peace Memorial, Miyajima with is shrine and floating torii and Iwakuni for its bridge.
The region is famous for its pottery centers, Kijigangu (wooden dolls) and Omen (papier-mâché masks).

Some popular dishes are okonomiyaki (also associated with Kansai) and matsuba gani (snow crab).

Kansai consists of the following prefectures: Hyogo, Kyoto, Mie, Nara, Osaka, Shiga and Wakayama. This region is located south of Chubu on the Honshu island.
The main cities of the area are Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto. The three of them form the second most populated urban region after the Greater Tokyo Area. People from Kansai are known to be down-to-earth and to have a strong sense of humor.
This region has the second largest economy after Kanto.
Kansai is bordered by the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan and the Seto Inland Sea. The Kinki Plain is the economical center with both Osaka and Kobe. Lake Biwa (in Shiga prefecture) is the biggest fresh water lake of the country.
On the Pacific Ocean side winters are usually cold with little snow and summer sunny, hot and humid. On the Sea of Japan side winters are cold with heavy snowfalls and summers are cooler than in other side.

This region is the host the two former capitals of the country: Nara and Kyoto. It contains quantities of National Treasures and attracts visitors from all over the world.
Kyoto is probably the most famous city of the country after Tokyo. With more than 2000 temples, quantities of gardens and museums this is the number one destination for tourists.
Nara, the first capital is far different from bustling modern Kyoto. Visitors particularly appreciate to walk in the park between numerous deers begging for food.
Osaka on the other way is renowned for its nightlife and its food.

Popular dishes of the region include okonomiyaki (Japanese omelet) and takoyaki (octopus balls). Kobe beef is also very popular through the country. Kansai also produces top ranked sake.

Chubu is the central region of Honshu island and is located between Kanto and Kansai.
Due to its size, the region is usually divided into three distinct subregions: Tokai (prefectures: Aichi, Gifu and Shizuoka), Kōshin’etsu (prefectures: Nagano and Yamanashi) and Hokuriku (prefectures: Fukui, Ishikawa, Niigata and Toyama).
The main cities are Nagoya (the fourth most populated city in Japan and located in Tokai), Nagano (in Kōshin’etsu), Niigata and Kanazawa (in Hokuriku).

Tokai area is nested between the Pacific Ocean and the Japanese Alps. This is an important roadways between Tokyo and Osaka or Kyoto. The city of Nagoya and the three prefectures around (Aichi, Gifu, and Mie) represent the third strongest economy in Japan.
This zone is famous for its heavy industry and is the host of the car manufacturer Toyota.
Winters are usually cold with little snow and summer sunny, hot and humid.
Main attractions are Mt Fuji and Inuyama.
Popular dishes include misokatsu (pork cutlets with miso sauce), tenmusu (rice with tempura) and unadon (eels on rice with sweet sauce).

Kōshin’etsu area is located between Tokai and Hokuriku. Japanese Alps cover most of the area. The prefecture of Nagano became famous after it was host to the 1998 Winter Olympics. People come here to practice winter sports every year and to enjoy the numerous onsens.
Winters are usually cold and summers hot.
Main attractions are Nagano and its Zenki-ji temple, Japan Alps National Park, Matsumoto and Takayama.
Yamanashi is famous for its pears and Nagano for its soba.

Hokuriku is located along the Sea of Japan. Niigata is the largest city of the area.
Winters are cold, long and with heavy snowfalls. Summers are cooler than in Tokai.
Main attractions are Noto-hando, the Eihei-ji temple and Kanazawa.
The region produce important quantities of rice.

Kanto consists of the following prefectures: Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, Tochigi and Tokyo. This region is located on the eastern side of Honshu between Tohoku and Chubu.
The main cities of the region are Tokyo, Yokohama, Kawazaki, Saitama and Chiba.
With more than 30 millions inhabitants, Tokyo is the largest city in the world. The region density is 1,200 persons per square kilometre. The Kanto area is also the most industrialized of Japan, especially in Tokyo and Yokohama.

The Kanto Plain represents 40% of the region. There are also hills and moutains.
Winters are usually cold with little snow and summers are hot and humid.

The Narita airport is the main point of arrival and departure in Japan.
As capital and biggest city, Tokyo offers plenty of activities to visitors. Main attractions are Asakusa with the Kannon Temple, the Meiji Shrine and its park, Ueno Park with its aquarium, zoo and museum, Shinjuku and Shibuya with hundreds of shops and Ginza. Roppongi is renowned for its night life. The Imperial Palace is only open to visitor twice a year.
In Kanagawa prefecture are Kamakura (with many temples and the Amida Buddha) and Hakone National Park.
Yokohama is famous for its Chinatown and for its modern and beautiful harbor area Minato Mirai 21.
Kawagoe, in Saitama prefecture, is a former castle town nicknamed Little Edo. Gunma prefecture has many onsens and Tochigi is the site of Nikko National Park with its Toshogu shrine and Kegon Waterfall.

Cuisine is usually stronger than the one in Kansai. Many of the standard Japanese dishes are prepared in a local way called Edo-mae.

Tohoku consists of the following prefectures: Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata. This region is located in the North part of Honshu (the largest island of the country), just South of Hokkaido.
The main cities of the region are Aomori, Hiraizumi (with its numerous temples), Hirosaki, Miyako, Morioka, Sendai (the largest city of the area) and Yamagata.
This place features many mountains, lakes and rice fields. There are also many hot springs. Mostly rural, this part of Japan is renowned for its beautiful sceneries and attracts more and more tourists every year.
Winter are usually cold with a lot of snow. Summers are globally hot and humid.

People usually here come to enjoy the landscape and to go hiking in the mountains or soaking in the onsens (hot springs). It’s also possible to ski in many areas. The beautiful lakes Towada-ko and Tazawa-ko attract many tourists.
There are also some sacred places (Dewa Sanzan and Kinkazan), castles and samurai residences.The famous Kokeshi dolls are from this area (from Naruko).

The prefecture of Akita is famous for its kiri-tempo (rice sticks), Aomori for its apples, Fukushima for its peaches, Miyagi its beef tongue and Yamagata for its cherries.
The regions produce first grade rice and famous sake.

Hokkaido is the only prefecture of the region.
This island is the second largest in Japan and also the northernmost.
The main cities of the prefecture are Sapporo (the capital and largest city), Asahikawa and Hakodate with its port facing the island of Honshu. Hokkaido and Honshu are connected by the Seikan Tunnel built under the sea.
The island features many mountains, volcanoes a well as coastal plains. There are also many very well preserved rivers, lakes and forests. The region offers many national parks to the visitors including Shiretoko National Park (a Unesco World Heritage Site).The prefecture covers 1/5 of the total surface of Japan but host only 5% of its population. Part of local people are Ainu, a specific group different in both culture and origin.
Due to its location Hokkaido is cold in winter and average temperatures range from −12 °C to −4 °C (10 °F to 25 °F). There is also a lot of snow at this time of the year. In summer average temperatures range from 17 °C to 22 °C (63 °F to 72 °F). The summer is much drier and cooler than in other parts of Japan.

There are plenty of things to do all year round. You can hike the mountains, fish salmons, go camping along a lake, do rafting or even visit one of the numerous flowers farm in summer. People mostly come in winter to ski in one of the many ski resorts (Niseko, Furano…). There is also the Sapporo Snow Festival where huge blocks of ice are transformed into short-lived sculptures.
Sapporo also host the Sapporo Beer Museum.
Wood carving is one of the local crafts.

Hokkaido cuisine use many of the renowned local vegetables and seafood. Salmon, crab and scallop are widely used.
One of most popular dish is Jingisukan, some slices of mutton cooked on a little grill.