Honshu
Honshu, historically known as Akitsushima, is the largest of Japan's four main islands. It lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan. It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian island of Java.
Honshu had a population of 104 million as of 2017, constituting 81.3% of the entire population of Japan, and mostly concentrated in the coastal areas and plains. Approximately 30% of the total population resides in the Greater Tokyo Area on the Kantō Plain. As the historical center of Japanese cultural and political power, the island includes several past Japanese capitals, including Kyoto, Nara, and Kamakura. Much of the island's southern shore forms part of the Taiheiyō Belt, a megalopolis that spans several of the Japanese islands. Honshu also contains Japan's highest mountain, Mount Fuji, and its largest lake, Lake Biwa.
Most of Japan's industry is located in a belt running along Honshu's southern coast, from Tokyo to Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Hiroshima. The island is linked to the other three major Japanese islands by a number of bridges and tunnels. The island primarily shares two climates, with Northern Honshu having four seasons with largely varying temperatures while the south experiences long, hot summers and cool to mild winters.
Etymology
The name of the island, Honshū, stems from Middle Chinese. It directly translates to "main province" or "home land" in English.History
Early history
Humans first arrived in Honshu at least approximately 37,000 years ago. The first humans to arrive in Honshu were Stone Age hunter-gatherers from Northeast Asia, likely following the migration of ice age megafauna. Surviving artifacts from this period include finely crafted stone blades, similar to those found in Siberia.After the initial arrival of hunter-gatherers, the island saw the emergence of the Jōmon period, one of the earliest known eras of prehistoric Japanese culture. The Jōmon people were known for their distinctive cord-marked pottery and dogū clay figurines, many of which have been excavated at archaeological sites across Honshu. These artifacts reflect a complex spiritual life and early forms of sedentary communities, particularly along the coasts and river valleys.
Meiji Restoration
The Meiji Restoration, in Japanese history, is the political revolution in 1868 that brought the final demise of the Tokugawa shogunate. It ended the Edo Period and at least nominally returned control of the country to direct imperial rule under Mutsuhito. One of the main leaders of the restoration was Chōshū in far western Honshu, which was one of the feudal areas, hostile to Tokugawa authority domains.Geography
The island is roughly long and ranges from wide, and its total area is. It is slightly larger than Britain. Its land area has been increasing with land reclamation and coastal uplift in the north due to plate tectonics with a convergent boundary. Honshu has of coastline.Mountainous and volcanic, Honshu experiences frequent earthquakes. The highest peak is the active volcano Mount Fuji at, which makes Honshu the world's 7th highest island. There are many rivers, including the Shinano River, Japan's longest. The Japanese Alps span the width of Honshu, from the 'Sea of Japan' coast to the Pacific shore. Western Japan experiences a temperate climate with hot summers and cool to mild winters.
In addition to the general climate patterns, central Honshu, particularly the regions surrounding the Japanese Alps, experiences heavy snowfall in winter. Areas such as Niigata, Toyama, and Nagano prefectures are renowned for their snow accumulation, making them popular destinations for skiing and winter sports. These regions are among the snowiest inhabited places in the world, due to the humid air masses from the Sea of Japan colliding with the mountainous terrain.
Population
Honshu has a total population of 104 million people, according to a 2017 estimate, 81.3% of the entire population of Japan. The largest city is Tokyo, the capital of Japan and part of the Greater Tokyo Area, the most populous metropolitan area in the world.Extreme points
Bridges and tunnels
Honshu is connected to the islands of Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku by tunnels and bridges. Three bridge systems have been built across the islands of the Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku, the Seikan Tunnel connects Honshu with Hokkaido, and the Kanmonkyo Bridge and Kanmon Tunnel connect Honshu with Kyushu.Flora and fauna
These are notable flora and fauna of Honshu.Geologic activity
Being on the Ring of Fire, the island of Honshu is seismically active, and is home to 40 active volcanoes.In 2011, an earthquake of magnitude 9.0–9.1 occurred off the coast of Honshu, generating tsunami waves up to 40.5 meters high and killing 19,747. It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan, and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The tsunami subsequently led to the meltdown of 3 nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, leading to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Parks
| Minami Alps National Park | 南アルプス |
| Chūbu-Sangaku National Park | 中部山岳 |
| Hakusan National Park | 白山 |
| Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park | 妙高戸隠連山 |
| Daisen-Oki National Park | 大山隠岐 |
| Chichibu Tama Kai National Park | 秩父多摩甲斐 |
| Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park | 富士箱根伊豆 |
| Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park | 上信越高原 |
| Nikkō National Park | 日光国立公園 |
| Ogasawara National Park | 小笠原 |
| Ise-Shima National Park | 伊勢志摩 |
| Sanin Kaigan National Park | 山陰海岸 |
| Yoshino-Kumano National Park | 吉野熊野 |
| Setonaikai National Park | 瀬戸内海 |
| Bandai-Asahi National Park | 磐梯朝日 |
| Sanriku Fukkō National Park | 三陸復興 |
| Towada-Hachimantai National Park | 十和田八幡平 |
| Oze National Park | 尾瀬 |
Economy
Honshu island generates around US$3.5 trillion or more than 80% of Japan's GDP.Agriculture
Fruit, vegetables, grains, rice and cotton make up the main produce grown in Honshu. The Tōhoku region, spanning the north-eastern part of the island, is notable for its rice production, with 65% of cultivated land being rice paddy fields – almost a quarter of all paddy fields in Japan. Chiba Prefecture is famous for its peanuts, also being the largest producer in Japan. Rare species of the lichen genus Menegazzia are found only in Honshu.Industry
Most of Japan's tea and silk is from Honshu. Japan's three largest industrial regions are all located on Honshu: the Keihin region, the Hanshin Industrial Region, and the Chūkyō Industrial Area.Minerals and fuels
Honshu is home to a large portion of Japan's minimal mineral reserves, including small oil and coal deposits. Several coal deposits are located in the northern part of the island, concentrated in Fukushima Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture, though Honshu's coal production is negligible in comparison to Hokkaido and Kyushu. Most of Japan's oil reserves are also located in northern Honshu, along the west coast, spanning Niigata, Yamagata, and Akita Prefectures.Most of Japan's copper, lead, zinc and chromite is located on Honshu, along with smaller, scattered deposits of gold, silver, arsenic, sulfur and pyrite.
Transportation
The Tokaido Shinkansen, opened in 1964 between Tokyo and Shin-Ōsaka, is Japan's first high-speed rail line. It is the world's oldest high-speed rail line and one of the most heavily used. The San'yō Shinkansen connects stations in the two largest cities in western Japan, Shin-Osaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka. Both the Tokaido Shinkansen and the Sanyo Shinkansen help form a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt megalopolis.The island is served by Japan's 4 major airports which are:
- Haneda Airport
- Narita International Airport
- Chubu Centrair International Airport
- Kansai International Airport
Administrative regions and prefectures
The regions and their prefectures are:
- Tōhoku region consists of six prefectures.
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- Kantō region consists of seven prefectures, including the capital of Japan which is the Tokyo Metropolis.
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- Chūbu region consists of nine prefectures.
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- Kansai region consists of seven prefectures.
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- Chūgoku region consists of five prefectures.
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