Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands, is known for its volcanoes, natural hot springs (onsen) and ski areas. Popular ski resorts include Rusutsu, Furano and Niseko.
The Tōhoku region consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures: Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata.
The Chūbu region, Central region, or Central Japan is a region in the middle of Honshū, Japan's main island. It encompasses nine prefectures: Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, and Yamanashi.
The Kinki region 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, Tokushima and Tottori.
The Chūgoku region, also known as the San'in-San'yō region, is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi.
Shikoku is the smallest of Japan’s major islands. It's encircled by a 1,200km, 88-temple Buddhist pilgrimage route (henro) honoring the 9th-century monk Kukai.
Kyushu, the southwesternmost of Japan’s main islands, has a mostly subtropical climate. It’s known for its active volcanoes, beaches and natural hot springs such as those at Beppu. Its city of Fukuoka is home to museums, mega-malls and Kushida-jinja, an 8th-century Shinto shrine.
