Nagano Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
• Japanese	長野県
• Rōmaji	Nagano-ken
Symbol of Nagano Prefecture
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu
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]

  History

  Map of Nagano Prefecture

  Hida Mountains (Aug 2006)

Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano.^[3] This province was divided among many local daimyo during the Sengoku period.

Nagano was host to the 1998 Winter Olympics, which gained the prefecture international recognition and a Shinkansen line to Tokyo.

  Geography

Nine of the twelve highest mountains in Japan can be found in this inland prefecture. Nagano is also the prefecture which is bordered by the highest number of other prefectures and it contains the location which is the furthest point from the sea within Japan. One of its lakes is Lake Kizaki, a beach resort popular for its water attractions and games.

The province's mountains have made it relatively isolated, and many visitors come for its mountain resorts and hot springs.

As of 1 April 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.^[4]

  Cities

Nineteen cities are located in Nagano Prefecture:

  Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

  Mergers

  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

  Zenkō-ji

• 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

  Prefectural symbols

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

  Sister cities

• Changhua County, Taiwan (2008)
• Clearwater, Florida, United States

  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.

  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
• Nagano (prefecture) travel guide from Wikitravel

  External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nagano Prefecture

• Nagano Prefecture official tourism web site and blog

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 Ryukyu Islands 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

Coordinates: 36°15′N 138°6′E / 36.25°N 138.1°E / 36.25; 138.1