Nagano Prefecture

Nagano Prefecture 長野県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
• Japanese	長野県
• Rōmaji	Nagano-ken
Symbol of Nagano Prefecture
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu (Kōshin'etsu)
Island	Honshu
Capital	Nagano
Government
• Governor	Shuichi Abe
Area
• Total	13,585.22 km2 (5,245.28 sq mi)
Area rank	4th
Population (February 1, 2011)
• Total	2,148,425
• Rank	16th
• Density	158.14/km2 (409.6/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	JP-20
Districts	14
Municipalities	77
Flower	Gentian (Gentiana scabra var. buergeri)
Tree	White birch (Betula platyphylla var. japonica)
Bird	Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta)
Website	www.pref.nagano.lg.jp/gaikokugo/index.htm

Nagano Prefecture (長野県, Nagano-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshu.^[1] The capital is the city of Nagano.^[2] Due to the abundance of mountain ranges in this area, the land available for inhabitance is relatively limited.

Nagano has impressive highland areas, including most of the Kita-Alps Northern Alps, Chu-Alps, and Southern Alps, which extend into the neighboring prefectures. In addition to its natural scenic beauty and rich history, Nagano was host to the 1998 Winter Olympics, which gained the prefecture international recognition as a world-class winter sport destination, and a Shinkansen line to Tokyo.

History

See Shinano Province

Geography

Nagano is an inland prefecture and it borders more prefectures than any other in Japan. Nagano contains the point furthest from the sea in the whole of Japan - this point lies within the city of Saku. The province's mountains have made it relatively isolated, and many visitors come to Nagano for its mountain resorts and hot springs. Nine of the twelve highest mountains in Japan can be found in Nagano and one of its lakes, Lake Kizaki, is a beach resort popular for its water attractions and games.

As of April 1, 2012, 21% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Chichibu Tama Kai, Chūbu-Sangaku, Jōshin'etsu Kōgen, and Minami Alps National Parks; Myōgi-Arafune-Saku Kōgen, Tenryū-Okumikawa, and Yatsugatake-Chūshin Kōgen Quasi-National Parks; and Chūō Alps, Enrei Ōjō, Hijiriyama Kōgen, Mibugawa Suikei, Ontake, and Tenryū Koshibu Suikei Prefectural Natural Parks.^[3]

Cities

Nineteen cities are located in Nagano Prefecture:

• Azumino
• Chikuma
• Chino
• Iida
• Iiyama
• Ina
• Komagane
• Komoro
• Matsumoto
• Nagano (capital)
• Nakano
• Okaya
• Ōmachi
• Saku
• Shiojiri
• Suwa
• Suzaka
• Tōmi
• Ueda

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Chiisagata District Aoki Nagawa Hanishina District Sakaki Higashichikuma District Asahi Chikuhoku Ikusaka Omi Yamagata

Kamiina District Iijima Minamiminowa Minowa Miyada Nakagawa Tatsuno Kamiminochi District Iizuna Ogawa Shinano Kamitakai District Obuse Takayama

Kiso District Agematsu Kiso (village) Kiso (town) Nagiso Ōkuwa Ōtaki Kitaazumi District Hakuba Ikeda Matsukawa Otari

Kitasaku District Karuizawa Miyota Tateshina Minamisaku District Kawakami Kitaaiki Koumi Minamiaiki Minamimaki Sakuho

Shimoina District Achi Anan Hiraya Matsukawa Neba Ōshika Shimojō Takagi Takamori Tenryū Toyooka Urugi Yasuoka

Shimominochi District Sakae Shimotakai District Kijimadaira Iiyama Nozawaonsen Yamanouchi Suwa District Fujimi Hara Shimosuwa

Mergers

Demographics

The lifespan in Nagano prefecture is the highest one nationwide with the average life expectancy of 87.18 years for women and 80.88 years for men.^[4]

Transportation

Railway

• East Japan Railway Company
  • Nagano Shinkansen
  • Shin'etsu Main Line
  • Chūō Main Line (east line)
  • Shinonoi Line
  • Ōito Line (from Matsumoto to Minami-Otari)
  • Koumi Line
• Central Japan Railway Company
  • Chūō Main Line (west line)
  • Iida Line
• West Japan Railway Company
  • Ōito Line (from Minami-Otari to Itoigawa)
• Shinano Railway
  • Shinano Railway Line
• Nagano Electric Railway
  • Nagano Line
  • Yashiro Line
• Matsumoto Electric Railway
  • Kamikōchi Line
• Ueda Dentetsu
  • Bessho Line

Road

Expressways

National highways

Airports

• Matsumoto Airport

Education

Universities

• Nagano University
• Nagano College of Nursing
• Shinshu University
• Matsumoto University
• Matsumoto Dental University
• Saku University
• Seisen Jogakuin College
• Suwa Tokyo University of Science

Tourism

• Lake Kizaki
• Lake Suwa
• Mount Kirigamine
• Suwa Taisha, one of the oldest shrines in Japan
• Matsumoto Castle, one of Japan's national treasures.
• One of the world's highest geysers (about 40 to 50 meters) in Suwa.
• Zenkō-ji temple in Nagano city

Sports

There are two local clubs J.League, AC Nagano Parceiro, Matsumoto Yamaga FC.

Prefectural symbols

• Siberian Silver Birch
• Gentian
• Ptarmigan
• Japanese Serow
• Shinano no Kuni (prefecture song)

Sister cities

• Changhua County, Taiwan (2008)
• Hebei, China
• Missouri, USA

Personalities

• Nagano's former governor, Yasuo Tanaka, is an independent who has made a reputation internationally for attacking Japan's status quo. Among other issues, he has refused national government money for construction projects that he deems unnecessary, such as dams, and has overhauled (locally) the press club system that is blamed for limiting government access to journalists who give favorable coverage. Tanaka was voted out from office on August 6, 2006 and was replaced by Jin Murai.
• Sasuke competitor Shinji Kobayashi, who works as a garbage man, is from Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture.
• Tatsumi Yoda (aka Tom Yoda), former chairman of Avex, is from Chikuma-shi.

See also

• Matsushiro Underground Imperial Headquarters
• Chūō Shinkansen

Notes

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 10-ISBN 0-674-01753-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Nagano (prefecture).

• Official Nagano Prefecture tourism website and blog

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nagano Prefecture.

Nagano Prefecture Cities Azumino Chikuma Chino Iida Iiyama Ina Komagane Komoro Matsumoto Nagano Nakano Okaya Ōmachi Saku Shiojiri Suwa Suzaka Tōmi Ueda Districts Chiisagata Hanishina Higashichikuma Kamiina Kamiminochi Kamitakai Kiso Kitaazumi Kitasaku Minamisaku Shimoina Shimominochi Shimotakai Suwa See also: Towns and villages by district

Regions and administrative divisions of Japan Regions Hokkaido Tōhoku Kantō Nanpō Islands Chūbu Hokuriku Kōshin'etsu Shin'etsu Tōkai Kansai Chūgoku San'in San'yō Shikoku Kyushu Northern Kyushu Southern Kyushu Okinawa Prefectures Hokkaido Hokkaido Tōhoku Aomori Iwate Miyagi Akita Yamagata Fukushima Kantō Ibaraki Tochigi Gunma Saitama Chiba Tokyo Kanagawa Chūbu Niigata Toyama Ishikawa Fukui Yamanashi Nagano Gifu Shizuoka Aichi Kansai Mie Shiga Kyoto Osaka Hyōgo Nara Wakayama Chūgoku Tottori Shimane Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Shikoku Tokushima Kagawa Ehime Kōchi Kyushu Fukuoka Saga Nagasaki Kumamoto Ōita Miyazaki Kagoshima Okinawa Sovereignty Movement Ryukyu independence movement Republic of Ainu

Coordinates: 36°15′N 138°6′E / 36.250°N 138.100°E / 36.250; 138.100