The Kansai region (関西地方, Kansai-chihō) or the Kinki region (近畿地方, Kinki-chihō) lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Sometimes Fukui and Tokushima are also included. While the use of the terms "Kansai" and "Kinki" have changed over history, in most modern contexts the two can be considered the same.
The Kansai region is the cul...
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The Kansai region (関西地方, Kansai-chihō) or the Kinki region (近畿地方, Kinki-chihō) lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Sometimes Fukui and Tokushima are also included. While the use of the terms "Kansai" and "Kinki" have changed over history, in most modern contexts the two can be considered the same.
The Kansai region is the cultural and historical heart of Japan with 11% of its land area and 22,732,176 residents as of 2008. The Kinki Plain with the cities of Osaka and Kyoto forms the core of the region, from there the Kansai area stretches west along the Seto Inland Sea towards Himeji and Kobe and east encompassing Lake Biwa, Japan's largest freshwater lake. In the north the region is bordered by the Sea of Japan, to the south by the Kii Peninsula and Pacific Ocean, and to the east by the Japanese Alps (for Kansai) or Ise Bay (for Kinki). Four of Japan's national...
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