Honshu

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.

• Name — Honshu • Native Name Link — Japanese language • Location — * Sea of Japan (North and West) • Pacific Ocean (South and East) • Archipelago — Japanese archipelago • Area Km2 — 227,960 • Length Km — 1300 • Width Min Km — 50 • Width Max Km — 230 • Coastline Km — 10084 • Rank — 7th • Highest Mount — Mount Fuji • Elevation M — 3776 • Country — Japan • Country Admin Divisions Title — Prefectures • Country Largest City — Tokyo • Country Largest City Population — 14,246,219 • Population — 102,572,815 • Timezone1 — Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) • Population As Of — 2020 • Density Km2 — 442 • Ethnic Groups — Japanese • main province, historically known as Akitsushima or Hondo, is the largest of Japan's four main islands. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian island of Java.

The name of the island, Honshū, stems from Middle Chinese. It directly translates to "main province" or "home land" in English.

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 (c. 14,000–300 BCE), 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.

The Meiji Restoration, in Japanese history, is the political revolution in 1868 that brought the final demise of the Tokugawa shogunate (which was a military government). It ended the Edo (Tokugawa) Period (1603–1867) and at least nominally returned control of the country to direct imperial rule under Mutsuhito (the Emperor Meiji). One of the main leaders of the restoration (who were mostly young samurai) was Chōshū in far western Honshu, which was one of the feudal areas, hostile to Tokugawa authority domains.

• Illustration — Japan as seen from a satellite. Honshu is the largest, middle island. The island is roughly 1300 km long and ranges from 50 to wide, and its total area is 227,960 km². 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 10084 km of coastline. Mountainous and volcanic, Honshu experiences frequent earthquakes (such as the Great Kantō earthquake, which heavily damaged Tokyo in September 1923; and the earthquake of March 2011, which moved the northeastern part of the island by varying amounts of as much as 5.3 m while causing devastating tsunamis). The highest peak is the active volcano Mount Fuji at 3776 m, 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.

Honshu has a total population of 100.7 million people, according to the 2025 Census, 81.9% of the entire population of Japan. The largest city is Tokyo (population 14,246,219), the capital of Japan and part of the Greater Tokyo Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world.

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 (Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and the Ōnaruto Bridge; Shin-Onomichi Bridge, Innoshima Bridge, Ikuchi Bridge, Tatara Bridge, Ōmishima Bridge, Hakata–Ōshima Bridge, and the Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge; Shimotsui-Seto Bridge, Hitsuishijima Bridge, Iwakurojima Bridge, Yoshima Bridge, Kita Bisan-Seto Bridge, and the Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge), the Seikan Tunnel connects Honshu with Hokkaido, and the Kanmonkyo Bridge and Kanmon Tunnel connect Honshu with Toyo.

These are notable flora and fauna of Honshu.: Notable flora and fauna • Name — Type — Notes • Japanese black bear — Fauna — A subspecies of the Asian black bear. It is typically herbivorous and lives in Honshu and Kyushu. • Japanese macaque — Fauna — (Macaca fuscata or snow monkey), is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. • Japanese golden eagle — Fauna — (Aquila chrysaetos japonica), a subspecies of the golden eagle, inhabits Honshu and Hokkaido all year round. • Japanese wolf — Fauna — Aka Honshu Wolf is an extinct subspecies of the wolf. • Sika Deer — Fauna — Cervus nippon (Japanese deer), is overabundant in Honshu. • Japanese dwarf flying squirrel — Fauna — (Nihon momonga) is one of two species of Old World flying squirrels in the genus Pteromys. • Japanese raccoon dog — Fauna — (Nyctereutes viverrinus, also called tanuki), is a species of canid endemic to Japan. • Japanese giant salamander — Fauna — (Andrias japonicus) this fully aquatic salamander is endemic to Japan and called Ōsanshōuo (Giant Salamander) • Takydromus tachydromoides — Fauna — The Japanese grass lizard, is a wall lizard species of the genus Takydromus. • Japanese serow — Fauna — (kamoshika, lit. "coarse pelt deer"): (Capricornis crispus) is a Japanese goat-antelope found in dense woodland primarily in northern and central Honshu. • Japanese giant flying squirrel — Fauna — (musasabi, Petaurista leucogenys) is native to Japan where it inhabits sub-alpine forests and boreal evergreen forests on Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. • Japanese boar — Fauna — (Sus scrofa leucomystax, aka white-moustached pig, Nihon-inoshishi (ニホンイノシシ)), is a subspecies of wild boar native to all of Japan, save for Hokkaido and the Ryukyu Islands. • Japanese bush warbler — Fauna — (uguisu (鶯), is an Asian passerine bird more often heard than seen. It is a year-round resident of Japan (except Hokkaido where it is only in summer). • Sasakia charonda — Fauna — National butterfly of Japan (ō-murasaki, "great purple") • Copper pheasant — Fauna — (Syrmaticus soemmerringii) a large pheasant with a rich coppery chestnut plumage is endemic to Japan. • Green pheasant — Fauna — (Phasianus versicolor), aka Japanese green pheasant, is an omnivorous bird native to the Japanese archipelago, to which it is endemic. • Grey Heron — Fauna — (Ardea cinerea) Long legged wading bird. • Japanese scops owl — Fauna — (Otus semitorques) is a resident breeder in Japan and found in other countries in East Asia. • Doryrhamphus japonicus — Fauna — Doryrhamphus japonicus, or the Honshu pipefish, is a species of flagtail pipefish • Brahmaea japonica — Fauna — (Japanese owl moth) a species of moth of the Brahmaeidae family native to Japan. • Japanese spider crab — Fauna — (Macrocheira kaempferi) a marine crab with the largest leg-span of any arthropod. They live off the southern coasts of Honshū from Tokyo Bay to Kagoshima Prefecture. • Chum salmon — Fauna — (aka white salmon (白鮭 シロサケ) is native to middle and northern Honshu, Hokkaido and the North Pacific. • Silurus biwaensis — Fauna — The giant Lake Biwa catfish or Biwako-o'namazu, endemic to Lake Biwa. • Oncorhynchus kawamurae — Fauna — A species of landlocked Pacific trout in Japan. It is endemic to Lake Tazawa, Akita Prefecture, but was translocated to Lake Saiko. • Akita Inu — Fauna — (秋田犬, Akita-inu) is a historic dog breed of large size originating from the mountains in Akita Prefecture (northern Honshu). • Kai Ken — Fauna — The Kai Ken (甲斐犬) is a rare breed of dog native to Japan. It is originally from Kai Province in Yamanashi Prefecture. • Kishu — Fauna — Kishu Ken are a rare dog breed that was selectively bred for the hunting of wild boar and deer in the mountainous Mie prefecture and Wakayama prefecture. • Shiba Inu — Fauna — The Shiba Inu (柴犬), is an original and distinct spitz breed hunting dog, native to Japan. • Japanese rose — Flora — (Rosa rugosa), a species of rose native to eastern Asia and Japan. • Hydrangea hirta — Flora — A species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae that is native to East Asia and common in the Pacific side of Honshu. • Tsuga sieboldii — Flora — (Tsuga sieboldii or simply tsuga (栂)), is a conifer native to the Japanese islands of Honshū, Kyūshū, Shikoku and Yakushima.

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 east coast of Honshu, generating tsunami waves up to 40.5 meters (133 ft) high that were observed all across the Pacific, and killing 19,759. 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.

• Illustration — Mount Fuji seen from Lake Motosu in Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park National parks (国立公園) • 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 • Region — List of Quasi-National Parks • Tōhoku — Shimokita Hantō, Tsugaru, Hayachine, Kurikoma, Minami Sanriku Kinkasan, Zaō, Oga, Chōkai • Kantō — Suigō-Tsukuba, Minami Bōsō, Meiji no Mori Takao, Tanzawa-Ōyama • Chūbu — Echigo Sanzan-Tadami, Myōgi-Arafune-Saku Kōgen, Sado-Yahiko-Yoneyama, Noto Hantō, Echizen-Kaga Kaigan, Yatsugatake-Chūshin Kōgen, Tenryū-Okumikawa, Chūō Alps, Ibi-Sekigahara-Yōrō, Hida-Kisogawa, Aichi Kōgen, Mikawa-wan • Kansai — Suzuka, Wakasa Wan, Tango-Amanohashidate-Ōeyama, Biwako, Murō-Akame-Aoyama, Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen, Yamato-Aogaki, Kōya-Ryūjin, Meiji no Mori Minō, Kyoto Tamba Kogen • Chūgoku — Hyōnosen-Ushiroyama-Nagisan, Hiba-Dōgo-Taishaku, Nishi-Chūgoku Sanchi, Kita-Nagato Kaigan, Akiyoshidai

Honshu island generates around US$3.5 trillion or more than 80% of Japan's GDP.

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.

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.

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.

• Illustration — Mt. Fuji and the Tokaido Shinkansen 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 (serving Tokyo) • Narita International Airport (serving Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture) • Chubu Centrair International Airport (serving the Chūkyō region) • Kansai International Airport (serving the Keihanshin region)

The island is divided into five nominal regions and contains 34 prefectures, including metropolitan Tokyo. Administratively, some smaller islands are included within these prefectures, notably including the Ogasawara Islands, Sado Island, Izu Ōshima, and Awaji Island. The regions and their prefectures are: • Tōhoku region consists of six prefectures. • Akita • Aomori • Fukushima • Iwate • Miyagi • Yamagata • Kantō region consists of seven prefectures, including the capital of Japan which is the Tokyo Metropolis. • Chiba • Gunma • Ibaraki • Kanagawa • Saitama • Tochigi • Tokyo • Chūbu region consists of nine prefectures. • Aichi • Fukui • Gifu • Ishikawa • Nagano • Niigata • Shizuoka • Toyama • Yamanashi • Kansai region consists of seven prefectures. • * • Kyoto • * • Nara • Osaka • Shiga • Wakayama • Chūgoku region consists of five prefectures. • Hiroshima • Okayama • Shimane • Tottori • Yamaguchi