Hokuriku region

File:Hokuriku subregion.png

Hokuriku subregion with Niigata

The Template:Nihongo is located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan and is part of the larger Chūbu region.<ref>Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Chūbu" in Template:Google books.</ref> It is almost equivalent to the former Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern Japan.

From the Heian period until the Edo period, the region was a core recipient of population, and grew to be proportionately much larger than it is today, despite the rural character; in modern times, its population has remained consistent, with most urban growth in the 20th century instead taking place in Kanto, Chūkyō, and Kansai. The Hokuriku region is also known for traditional culture that originated from elsewhere that has been long lost along the Taiheiyō Belt.

The Hokuriku region includes the four prefectures of Ishikawa, Fukui, Niigata and Toyama,<ref>Nussbaum, "Hokuriku" at Template:Google books.</ref> although Niigata is sometimes included as an addition rather than being one of the core prefectures. It is similar to the following region definitions:

• Template:Nihongo: includes both the Hokuriku and Shin'etsu regions
• Template:Nihongo: includes Niigata, Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures
• Template:Nihongo: includes Niigata and Nagano prefectures

Major cities

The major population centers of Hokuriku are:

• Jōetsu, Nagaoka (special cities)
• Kanazawa, Toyama, Fukui (core cities)
• Niigata (designated city)

Of these, Niigata is the largest with a population of over 800,000.

• Niigata City
  Niigata City
• Kanazawa City
  Kanazawa City
• Toyama City
  Toyama City
• Fukui City
  Fukui City
• Jōetsu City
  Jōetsu City
• Nagaoka City
  Nagaoka City

Industries

The main industries in the Hokuriku area include chemicals, medicine, tourism, textiles and textile machinery, heavy machinery, farming, and fishing. Koshihikari, a popular variety of rice is a special product of Hokuriku subregion.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,<ref>Niigata 1995-2020 population statistics</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hokuriku subregion has had negative population growth since year 2000.

Climate

File:Naebatop.jpg

Naeba Ski Resort, Yuzawa, Niigata

The Hokuriku region has the highest volume of snowfall of any inhabited and arable region in the world. This is because dry Siberian air masses, which develop high humidity over the Sea of Japan, are forced upwards when they encounter the mountains of Honshū, causing the humidity to condense as snow.

The long winters and deep snow of this region are depicted in Hokuetsu Seppu, an encyclopedic work of the late Edo period which describes life in the Uonuma district of Niigata Prefecture.

The Hokuriku region is also the setting for Yasunari Kawabata's novel Snow Country.

Tourism

In 2014 the Hokuriku region was listed among the Top 10 Regions by travel media Lonely Planet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The region has seen an influx of tourists since 2015 as the Hokuriku Shinkansen (formerly Nagano Shinkansen) extended its services from Nagano to Kanazawa, enabling direct bullet train services to the Hokuriku region from Tokyo. When services commenced in March 2015, the travel time from Tokyo to Toyama was reduced to about 2 hours, with Kanazawa an additional 30 minutes away.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In March 2024, the Hokuriku Shinkansen was further extended to Tsuruga via Fukui, with travel time from Tokyo to Fukui and Tokyo to Tsuruga reduced to 2 hours and 51 minutes and 3 hours and 8 minutes respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Hokuriku dialect
• Hokuriku Expressway
• Hokuriku Main Line
• Hokuriku Shinkansen
• Kitamaebune
• Kōshin'etsu region
• Shin'etsu region
• Tōhoku region
• Tōkai region

Citations

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Template:OCLC. Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN.