The Taiheiyō Belt (太平洋ベルト, Taiheiyō beruto^?, lit. "Pacific Belt") is the name for the continuous urbanization zone in Japan extending from Ibaraki Prefecture in the north all the way to Fukuoka Prefecture in the south, running for almost 1,200 km. The urbanization zone runs mainly along the Pacific coast (hence the name) of Japan from Kanto region to Osaka, and the Inland Sea (on both sides) to Fukuoka, and is concentrated along the Tōkaidō-Sanyō rail corridor. A view of Japan at night clearly shows a rather dense and continuous strip of light (that demarcates urban zones) that basically delineates the region. Ibaraki Prefecture ) is located in the Kantō region on HonshÅ« island, Japan. ... Fukuoka Prefecture ) is located on KyÅ«shÅ« Island, Japan. ... Kanto can mean: The Kanto region of Japan. ... Osaka )   is a city in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of HonshÅ«. The city is the capital of Osaka Prefecture. ... An inland sea is a shallow sea that covers central areas of continents during high stands of sea level that result in marine transgressions. ... Fukuoka can refer to several locations in Japan: Fukuoka Prefecture (福岡県) Fukuoka City (福岡市) in Fukuoka Prefecture Two towns in Japan are named Fukuoka (福岡町): Fukuoka in Toyama Prefecture and Fukuoka in Gifu Prefecture. ... Tōkaidō Main Line The Tōkaidō Main Line ) is the busiest trunk line of Japan Railway (JR), connecting Tokyo Station and Kobe Station. ... JNR201 JR-West321 JR-West223 The Sanyō Main Line (山陽本線, Sanyō-honsen) is the JR main railway line in western Japan, connecting Kobe Station and Moji Station, largely running parallel the coast of the Inland Sea, in other words the southern edge of western HonshÅ«. The Sanyō Shinkansen line...

Although it contains the majority of Japan's population, references to it in Japanese are mainly economic or regional in nature.

The term was first used in 1960 in an Economic Commission Subcommittee Report formed to double the national income. At this time, it was identified as the core of the nation's industrial complex. The region is specifically defined by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry as the following prefectures: Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, Mie, Osaka, Hyogo, Wakayama, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka, and Oita. As economic development (along with urban development) spilled over to nearby regions, they were added to this list.

By extension of the definition for megalopolis worldwide, Taiheiyo belt would be a great candidate because the cities literally are completely connected and adjacent from one end to the other without rural areas in between, but technically no scholarly definition exists for megalopolis for any region outside of the USA. A megalopolis is defined as an extensive metropolitan area or a long chain of continuous metropolitan areas. ...

The Sea of Japan has a much less well developed string of cities named Ura-nippon (裏日本), stretching 1000 km from Akita to Yamaguchi. It is often referenced in relation to the Taiheiyo belt. The Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea (see naming dispute), is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, bordered by Japan, Korea and Russia. ... Akita (秋田, autumn ricefield) is a Japanese surname and the name of serveral places. ... Yamaguchi (山口, mountain entrance/gateway) is the 15th most common Japanese surname. ...

Major Cities

These are cities that form the largest contiguous swath of urbanization in Japan, with very little or no rural areas in between, listed from north to south.

• Greater Utsunomiya (pop. 900,000) including Nikkō, Kanuma, Tochigi, Oyama, Shimotsuke.

• Greater Maebashi (pop. 1,500,000) including Takasaki, Kiryu, Isesaki, Ota, Ashikaga, Sano, and Tatebayashi.

• Greater Ibaraki (pop. 1,300,000) including Mito, Tsuchiura, Hitachinaka, Hitachi, Tsukuba.

• Greater Tokyo (pop. 35.5 million)

• Mt. Fuji Area (pop. 700,000) including Gotemba, Atami, Numazu, Fujinomiya, Fujieda, Mishima

• Greater Shizuoka (pop. 1,000,000)

• Greater Hamamatsu (pop. 1,100,000) including Kakegawa and Iwata.

• Toyohashi (pop. 400,000)

• Greater Nagoya (Chūkyō Metropolitan Area) (pop. 8,000,000)

• Greater Osaka (pop. 17,000,000) including Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Sakai, and Higashiosaka

• Greater Nara (pop. 1,000,000)

• Himeji (pop. 500,000)

• Tokushima (pop. 300,000)

• Greater Okayama (pop. 1,900,000) including Okayama, Kurashiki, Takamatsu, Marugame, Sakaide, Tamano, Soja.

• Fukuyama-Kure (pop. 1,100,000) including Onomichi, Mihara, Higashi Hiroshima.

• Greater Hiroshima (pop. 1,300,000) including Hatsukaichi.

• Greater Matsuyama (pop. 1,050,000) including Imabari, Saijō, Niihama, Shikokuchūō.

• Iwakuni - Yamaguchi (pop. 1,000,000) including Ube, Hofu, Shunan, Hikari, Sanyō-Onoda.

• Kanmon Straits (pop. 1,700,000) including Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu including Iizaka.

• Greater Fukuoka (pop. 2,500,000) including Saga and Kasuga.

• Kurume (pop. 300,000)

• Greater Kumamoto (熊本都市圏) (pop. 1,000,000)

• Sasebo (pop. 200,000)

• Nagasaki (pop. 650,000) including Isahaya, Unzen.

Total population: approx 82.9 million Utsunomiya (Japanese: 宇都宮市; -shi) is a city located in Tochigi, Japan. ... Great Gate, Nikko, circa 1860-1900. ... Kanuma (鹿沼市; -shi) is a city located in Tochigi, Japan. ... Tochigi (栃木市 Tochigi-shi) is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. ... Categories: Japan geography stubs | Old provinces of Japan ... Maebashi (前橋市 Maebashi-shi) is the capital city of Gunma in Japan. ... Cities Annaka | Fujioka | Isesaki | Kiryu | Maebashi  (capital) | Numata | Ōta | Shibukawa | Takasaki | Tatebayashi | Tomioka Districts Agatsuma | Gunma | Kanra | North Gunma | Nitta | Oura | Sawa | Seta | Tano | Tone | Usui | Yamada Edit this tempate Categories: Japan geography stubs | Cities in Gunma Prefecture ... Kiryū (桐生市; -shi) is a city located in Gunma, Japan. ... Isesaki (伊勢崎市; -shi) is a city located in Gunma, Japan. ... OTA may stand for: Operational transconductance amplifier Orthodontic Technicians Association, the professional body representing orthodontic technicians in the United Kingdom. ... Ashikaga (足利市; -shi) is a city located in Tochigi, Japan. ... Sano (佐野市; -shi) is a city located in Tochigi, Japan. ... Tatebayashi (館林市; -shi) is a city located in Gunma, Japan. ... Mito (水戸市; -shi) is the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and has a central location, moderately offset towards the coast in that prefecture. ... Tsuchiura (土浦市; -shi) is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan. ... Hitachinaka (ひたちなか市; -shi) is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan. ... Hitachi (日立市; -shi) is a city located on the Pacific Ocean in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. ... Tsukuba (Japanese: つくば市 Tsukuba-shi) is a planned city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. ... The Greater Tokyo Area (東京都市圏 Tōkyō-toshiken), also the Tokyo-Yokohama area, is a large metropolitan area in Japan consisting of the prefectures of Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama. ... Gotenba (御殿場市; -shi) is a city located on the southeastern flank of Mt. ... Atami (熱海市; -shi) is a city located in Shizuoka, Japan. ... Numazu (沼津市; -shi) is a city located in Shizuoka, Japan. ... Fujinomiya (富士宮市; -shi) is a city located in Shizuoka, Japan. ... Fujieda (藤枝市; -shi) is a city located in Shizuoka, Japan. ... Mishima can refer to: Mishima, Shizuoka, a city in Japan Yukio Mishima, the penname of Kimitake Hiraoka, a Japanese author This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Shizuoka (静岡市; -shi) is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. ... Hamamatsu (浜松市; -shi) is a city located in western Shizuoka, Japan. ... Kakegawa (掛川市; Kakegawa-shi) is a city located in Shizuoka, Japan. ... Iwata (磐田市; -shi) is a city located in Shizuoka, Japan. ... Toyohashi (豊橋市; -shi) is a city located in Aichi, Japan. ... Nagoya ) is the fourth largest city in Japan. ... It has been suggested that ChÅ«kyō region be merged into this article or section. ... ÅŒsaka-Kōbe-Kyōto is a metropolitan area that is centered on the cities of Osaka in the Osaka prefecture, Kobe in the Hyogo prefecture, and Kyoto in the Kyoto prefecture. ... Osaka )   is a city in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of HonshÅ«. The city is the capital of Osaka Prefecture. ... Kyoto )   is a city in the central part of the island of HonshÅ«, Japan. ... Kobe ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture and a prominent port city in Japan with a population of about 1. ... Sakai (堺市; -shi) is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. ... Higashiōsaka (東大阪市; -shi, East Osaka) is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. ... Nara ) is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. ... Himeji city information Categories: Cities in Hyogo Prefecture | Japan geography stubs ... Tokushima (徳島市; -shi) is the capital city of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku island of Japan. ... Okayama (岡山市; -shi) is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chugoku region of Japan. ... Okayama (岡山市; -shi) is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chugoku region of Japan. ... Kurashiki (倉敷市; -shi) is a historic city located to the west of Okayama, Japan, sitting on the Takahashi River, on the coast of the Inland Sea. ... Takamatsu (高松市; -shi lit. ... Marugame (丸亀市; -shi lit. ... Sakaide (坂出市; -shi) is a city located in Kagawa, Japan. ... Tamano (玉野市; -shi) is a city located in Okayama, Japan. ... Sōja (総社市; -shi) is a city located in Okayama, Japan. ... Fukuyama can refer to: Fukuyama, Hiroshima, a city in Japan Francis Fukuyama, an American philosopher and political economist Masaharu Fukuyama, a Japanese singer-songwriter Yoshiki Fukuyama, a Japanese guitarist Fukuyama congenital muscular dystrophy (FCMD) Category: ... Kure can refer to: Kure, Hiroshima (呉), a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan Kure Atoll Kure Beach Kure, Turkey This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Onomichi (尾道市; -shi) is a city located in Hiroshima, Japan. ... Mihara (三原市; -shi) is a city located in Hiroshima, Japan. ... The Japanese city of Hiroshima ) is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the ChÅ«goku region of western HonshÅ«, the largest of Japans islands. ... Hatsukaichi (廿日市市; -shi) is a city located in Hiroshima, Japan. ... See Matsuyama (disambiguation) for other places having a name Matsuyama. ... Imabari (今治市; -shi) is a city located in Ehime, Japan. ... A Donjari float used in Saijos fall harvest festival. ... Niihama (新居浜市; -shi) is a city located in the eastern part of Ehime, Japan. ... Shikokuchūō ) is a city located in Ehime, Japan. ... Iwakuni, including the Kintai Bridge Iwakuni (岩国市; -shi) is a city located in Yamaguchi, Japan. ... Yamaguchi (山口, mountain entrance/gateway) is the 15th most common Japanese surname. ... Binomial name Dioscorea alata L. A piece of cake made with ube Ube (or ubi) is the Filipino word for purple yam (Dioscorea alata). ... Hōfu (防府市; -shi) is a city located in Yamaguchi, Japan. ... Shūnan (周南市; -shi) is a city located in Yamaguchi, Japan. ... Hikari (ひかり) is a Japanese word that means light. Hikari may refer to: Hikari, Chiba, a former town located in Sousa District, Chiba, Japan Hikari, Yamaguchi, a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan Hikari (Shinkansen), a train service running on the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen, Japan Hikari (song), a song by Utada... The Kanmon Straits (関門海峡 Kanmon Kaikyō) or Straits of Shimonoseki is the stretch of water separating two of Japans four main islands. ... Shimonoseki (下関市; -shi) is a city located in Yamaguchi, Japan. ... Kitakyushu , literally North KyÅ«shÅ«) is a city located in Fukuoka prefecture, KyÅ«shÅ«, Japan. ... This article is about a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. ... , Saga (佐賀市;; -shi) is the capital of Saga Prefecture, located on the island of Kyushu, Japan. ... Kasuga (春日市; -shi) is a city located in Fukuoka, Japan. ... Categories: Cities in Kumamoto Prefecture | Japan geography stubs ... Sasebo (佐世保市; -shi) is a city located in Nagasaki, Japan. ... Nagasaki (Japanese: 長崎市, Nagasaki-shi  ) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ... Isahaya (諫早市; -shi) is a city located in Nagasaki, Japan. ... Mt. ...

External links

• Satellite images of stable night time lights in Japan
• Urban Employment Areas in Japan
• List of metropolitan areas in Japan by population