- Tōhoku region
The nihongo|Tōhoku region|東北地方|Tōhoku-chihō is a geographical area of
Japan . "Tōhoku" is Japanese for "northeast," and the Tōhoku region occupies the northeastern portion ofHonshū , the largestisland of Japan. The area is also known as nihongo|Michinoku|みちのく|.The region consists of six prefectures: Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and
Yamagata Prefecture s.The last stronghold of the indigenous Ainu on Honshū and the site of many
battle s, Tōhoku retains a reputation as a remote region, offering breathtaking scenery but a harshclimate . Thehaiku poet Matsuo Bashō wrote "Oku no Hosomichi " (The Narrow Road to the Deep North) during his travels through Tōhoku.Tōhoku, like most of Japan, is hilly or mountainous, with the
Ōu Mountains running north-south. Its initial historical settlement occurred between the seventh and ninth centuries, well after Japanese civilization and culture had become firmly established in central and southwestern Japan. Althoughiron ,steel ,cement ,chemical , pulp, andpetroleum -refining industries began developing in the 1960s, Tōhoku was traditionally considered thegranary of Japan because it suppliedSendai and theTokyo -Yokohama market withrice and other farm commodities. Tōhoku provided 20 percent of the nation's rice crop. The climate, however, is harsher than in other parts of Honshū and permits only one crop a year onpaddy field s.The inland location of many of the region's
lowland s has led to a concentration of much of thepopulation there. Coupled withcoast lines that do not favorseaport development, this settlement pattern resulted in a much greater than usual dependence on land and railroadtransport ation. Low points in the central mountain range fortunately makecommunication s between lowlands on either side of the range moderately easy.Tourism became a majorindustry in the Tōhoku region, with points of interest including
*Hirosaki
*the islands of Matsushima Bay
*Lake Towada
*Oirase River Valley
*Lake Tazawa
*Kakunodate
*theRikuchu Coastline National Park
*theBandai-Asahi National Park
*Sanriku Coastline
*Morioka
*Hiraizumi
*Aizu
*Mount Bandai
*Three Mountains of Dewa ee also
*
2006 Kuril Islands earthquake
*Geography of Japan
*Japanese dialects#Tōhoku
*List of regions in Japan External links
*wikitravel|Tohoku region|Tōhoku region
References
*loc - [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html Japan]
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