Hyōgo prefecture (兵庫県 Hyōgo-ken) is in the western Kansai region of the main Japanese island Honshu.
Cities
Other destinations
Get in
By plane
By train
By bus
is located in the Kinki region on Honshū island, Japan. The capital is Kobe.
The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.
History
Present-day Hyōgo Prefecture includes the former provinces of Harima, Tajima, Awaji, and parts of Tamba and Settsu.
In 1180, near the end of the Heian Period, Emperor Antoku, Taira no Kiyomori, and the Imperial court moved briefly to Fukuhara, in what is now the city of Kobe. There the capital remained for five months.
Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in the city of Himeji.
The Ako Han, home of the 47 Ronin, is in Hyōgo Prefecture.
Southern Hyōgo Prefecture was severely devastated by the magnitude 7.2 Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995, which destroyed major parts of Kobe and Awaji, as well as Takarazuka and neighboring Osaka prefecture, killing nearly 5500 people.
Geography
Hyōgo has coastlines on two seas: to the north, the Sea of Japan, to the south, the Inland Sea. The northern portion is sparsely populated, except for the city of Toyooka, and the central highlands are only populated by tiny villages. Most of Hyogo's population lives on the southern coast, which is part of the Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe metropolitan area. Awaji Island is an island in the Inland Sea, lying between Honshū and Shikoku.
Summertime weather throughout Hyogo is hot and humid. During the winter, the north side tends to get lots of snow, while the south side only gets occasional flurries.
Hyogo borders on Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture.
Cities
Twenty-nine cities are located in Hyōgo Prefecture:
Mergers
:the towns of Sasayama+Nishiki+Tannan+Konda=the city of Sasayama. (Taki District was dissolved as a result of this merger.) (Merger Information Page)
:the towns of Sekinomiya+Oya+Yabu+Yoka=city of Yabu.(Yabu District was dissolved as a result of this merger.)
:The towns of Aogaki+Ichijima+Kaibara+Kasuga+Sannan+Hikami=the city of Tamba. (Hikami District was dissolved as a result of this merger.)
:the towns of Midori+Seidan+Mihara+Nandan=the city of Minamiawaji. (Mihara District was dissolved as a result of this merger.)
:*the towns of Awaji+Higashiura+Hokudan+Ichinomiya+Tsuna(all from Tsuna District)=the city of Awaji.
:*the towns of Asago+Ikuno+Santo+Wadayama=the city of Asago. (Asago District was dissolved as a result of this merger.) (Merger Information Page)
:*the towns of Hidaka, Kinosaki, Takeno, Izushi and Tanto+the city of Toyooka=the new city of Toyooka. (Due to this merger and the merger of Kasumi into Kami, Kinosaki District and Izushi District were dissolved.)
:*the town of Kasumi from the former Kinosaki District+the towns of Mikata from Mikata District+Muraoka from Mikata District=the town of Kami in from Mikata District.
:*the towns of Chikusa+Haga+Ichinomiya+Yamasaki (all from Shisō District)=the city of Shisō.
:*the towns of Hamasaka+Onsen(both from Mikata District)=the town of Shinonsen.
:*the towns of Kozuki+Mikazuki+Nanko+the old town of Sayō (all from Sayō...
