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Location/Geography

Kanagawa lies almost at the center of the Japanese islands and is located in the southwest area of the Kanto Plain, sharing its northern border with Tokyo and its western border with Yamanashi and Shizuoka. Tokyo Bay lies to the east and Sagami Bay to the south.

The following chart provides information about the latitude and longitude of the prefecture:

The area of the prefecture as of October 1, 2005 was 2,415.84 square kilometers, which makes it the 42nd largest, or 6th smallest, of all prefectures (data from the Geographical Survey Institute).

The prefecture can be divided into roughly three regions by topographical features: the mountainous region in the west, the plains and plateaus in the central part, and the hilly and coastal area in the east.

The 1500-meter high mountains of the Hakone and Tanzawa ranges are called "the roof of Kanagawa." The Sagami River which runs through the central part and the Sakawa River which runs through the western part are highly utilized as important water resources. Ashino Lake is located at high altitude, ranked seventh among the major lakes in Japan in that respect. The Sagami, Tsukui and Tanzawa lakes are manmade and were created for water resources. The 426 km long coastline shows colorful and varied scenery, and the Keihin Industrial Zone along the Tokyo Bay has highly sophisticated ports.

There are also Hakone and Yugawara hot spring resorts which constitute parts of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, as well as Tanzawa-Oyama Quasi National Park and prefectural natural parks. The "ancient city" of Kamakura, like Kyoto and Nara, has many historic sites and scenic spots. Thus, Kanagawa is not only an industrial and cultural center, but also a region blessed with a rich natural environment and tourist attractions.

Climate

While there are the Tanzawa and Hakone mountain ranges in the northwest area, Kanagawa has plains to the east and south and faces the Pacific Ocean. Because it is also affected by the Black Currents (warm currents) of the Pacific Ocean, it has a mild climate with high precipitation which is typical of the region along the Pacific Ocean.

Population