Japan Rail Pass Now - Japan Travel Guide

Geography
Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Natural Disasters
Japan lies in the Ring of Fire, a vaguely horseshoe shaped area around much of the Pacific Ocean. This is an area that experiences high levels
of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes due to continuous plate movements, volcanic belts, volcanic arcs and ocean trenches. As a result, 10%
of the active volcanoes in the world today are located in Japan.
Among the 40 active volcanoes and 148 dormant volcanoes in the country, Mount Fuji, an active volcano and the highest peak in the country,
is the most popular.
Other active volcanoes in Japan are the:
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Sakurajima – Located close to Kagoshima in southwestern Kyushu, it is a stratovolcano that experiences several small eruptions every
year.
Mount Asama – Found in Honshu, its most notable eruption was in 1783 when it caused so much devastation that Japan was left in
famine for almost five years.
Population
The 2015 census showed Japan’s population stood at around 127.1 million, with Tokyo ranked as the most populous city with around 9 million
people and Yokohama a distant second with almost 4 million.
Here are the other cities that made it to the top dozen most populated Japanese cities list as of 2015:
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Osaka – 2.70 million
Nagoya – 2.30 million
Sapporo – 1.95 million
Fukuoka – 1.54 million
Kobe – 1.54 million
Kawasaki – 1.48 million
Kyoto – 1.48 million
Saitama – 1.27 million
Hiroshima – 1.19 million
Sendai – 1.08 million
Regions
Japan consists of eight traditional regions:
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Hokkaido – the northernmost region with a population of 5.5 million and Sapporo as its largest metropolis
Tohoku – located in northern Honshu, it has a population of 9.3 million and has Sendai as its largest city
Kanto – has a population of 42.6 million and its largest city is Tokyo
Chubu – located in central Honshu, it has a population of 21.7 million, with Nagoya as its largest city
Kansai/Kinki – with 22.8 million people, it consists of Osaka (its largest city) and Japan’s former capital city Kyoto
Chugoku – is populated by 7.6 million people and its largest city is Hiroshima
Shikoku – is an island that is inhabited by 4 million people and has Matsuyama as its largest metropolis
Kyushu – consisting of Northern Kyushu, Southern Kyushu, and Okinawa, its total population is around 14.6 million and its largest city
is Fukuoka
236 - Japan Travel Guide