Honshu (本州, Honshū, pronounced [hoꜜɰ̃ɕɯː] ^ⓘ; lit. 'main island'), historically called Akitsushima (秋津島, lit. 'Dragonfly island'),^[3][4][5] is the largest and most populous island of Japan.^[6][7] It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separates the Sea of Japan, which lies to its north and west, from the North Pacific Ocean to the south and east. It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian island of Java.^[8][9][10]

Quick Facts Native name: 本州, Geography ...

Honshū

Native name: 本州
A May 2003 satellite image of Honshu
Geography
Location	Japanese archipelago
Coordinates	36°N 138°E
Archipelago	Japanese archipelago
Area	227,960[1] km2 (88,020 sq mi)
Area rank	7th
Length	1,300 km (810 mi)
Width	50–230 km (31–143 mi)
Coastline	10,084 km (6265.9 mi)
Highest elevation	3,776 m (12388 ft)
Highest point	Mount Fuji
Administration
Japan
Prefectures	Tōhoku  Akita Prefecture  Aomori Prefecture  Fukushima Prefecture  Iwate Prefecture  Miyagi Prefecture  Yamagata Prefecture Kantō  Chiba Prefecture  Gunma Prefecture  Ibaraki Prefecture  Kanagawa Prefecture  Saitama Prefecture  Tochigi Prefecture  Tokyo Chūbu  Aichi Prefecture  Fukui Prefecture  Gifu Prefecture  Ishikawa Prefecture  Nagano Prefecture  Niigata Prefecture  Shizuoka Prefecture  Toyama Prefecture  Yamanashi Prefecture Kansai  Hyōgo Prefecture  Kyoto Prefecture  Mie Prefecture  Nara Prefecture  Osaka Prefecture  Shiga Prefecture  Wakayama Prefecture Chūgoku  Hiroshima Prefecture  Okayama Prefecture  Shimane Prefecture  Tottori Prefecture  Yamaguchi Prefecture
Largest settlement	Tokyo (pop. 14,043,239)
Demographics
Population	104,000,000[2] (2017)
Pop. density	447/km2 (1158/sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Japanese
Additional information
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

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Honshu had a population of 104 million as of 2017^[update], constituting 81.3% of the entire population of Japan,^[11] 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,^[12] the island includes several past Japanese capitals, including Kyōto, 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.^[12] Honshu contains Japan's highest mountain, Mount Fuji, and its largest lake, Lake Biwa.^[13]

Most of Japan's industry is located in a belt running along Honshu's southern coast, from Tokyo to Nagoya, Kyōto, Osaka, Kobe, and Hiroshima;^[12] by contrast, the economy along the northwestern Sea of Japan coast is largely based on fishing and agriculture.^[14] 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 a mainly humid continental climate while the south has a humid subtropical climate.^[15]

The name of the island, Honshū (本州), directly translates to "main province" or "original land" in English.

The island is roughly 1,300 km (810 mi) long and ranges from 50 to 230 km (31 to 143 mi) wide, and its total area is 227,960 km² (88,020 sq mi),^[1] making it slightly larger than the island of Great 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 10,084 kilometres (6,266 mi) of coastline.^[7]

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 (17 ft)^[18][19] while causing devastating tsunamis). The highest peak is the active volcano Mount Fuji at 3,776 m (12,388 ft), 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. The climate is generally humid subtropical in western Japan and humid continental in the north.

Honshu island generates around US$3.5 trillion or more than 80% of Japan's GDP.^[25]

The Tokaido Shinkansen, opened in 1964 between Tokyo and Shin-Ōsaka, is Japan's first high-speed rail line.^[36] It is the world's oldest high-speed rail line and one of the most heavily used.^[37][38] The San'yō Shinkansen, connects 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 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:

• Geography of Japan
• Hokkaido
• Japanese archipelago
• Kyushu
• Okinawa
• Shikoku