Outline

Outline

Roughly the same size as the state of California in the United States, Japan is composed of a string of islands strung like a bow along the eastern edge of the Asian Continent. There are four main islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, and more than 3,500 smaller islands, with a total land area of 377,873 km². Japan faces the Pacific Ocean on the east and the south, and the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, and the East China Sea, on the west and north, between Japan and the various countries of the continent of Asia. Located as it is in the temperate zone, the climate undergoes various seasonal changes, and each region of Japan has its own characteristic variations.

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Position of Japan and Kinki Region
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Kinki Region

Located slightly west of the center of Honshu, the Kinki Region covers a land area of 31,517 km2, (8.3% of the whole country). The climate varies considerably from the north to the south of the region, with heavy snowfalls and rain in the coastal area along the Sea of Japan in the north in winter, while in the south, the coastal area facing the Pacific Ocean is characterized by heavy rains during the rainy season at the start of summer and typhoons in late summer and autumn. The climate is mild, with relatively little rain, in the central, inland region, where the major metropolitan areas are located. Due to the wide variations in climate, the region suffers a fair share of natural disasters caused by heavy precipitation. With an economy roughly equivalent to that of Canada, the second highest concentration of population nationwide, and also a high concentration of vital public and private facilities, the Kinki Region has a very high economic potential. The region is blessed with a diverse and rich natural environment, adjacent to many industrial and residential areas, and there are also a multitude of cultural facilities and assets located throughout the region. It has been said that the region is quintessentially Japanese, as it was the cradle of Japanese culture over 2,000 years ago, and the area now accounts for approximately half of the total number of national treasures and specified important cultural assets. Even on a global scale, you would be hard pressed indeed to find another region where nature, metropolitan areas, and such a rich cultural environment, developed over such a long period of time, coexist to the extent found in the Kinki Region. Furthermore, the area has made great contributions in the effort to achieve a society that places a high value both on harmony with the natural environment and the quality of life. Recently, with the completion of several major projects, the Kansai International Airport, the Kansai Science City, and the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, one of the longest suspension bridges in the world spanning the Akashi Straits, which separate Honshu and Awaji Island, it can be said that the Kinki Region played a leading role as the nation forged ahead in an age of outstanding progress.

Distribution of Cultural Assets (Compared Nationwide) Nov. 1, 2000
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(2002 Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Statistical Data Outline)