Hyōgo Prefecture

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan on the island of Honshu. The capital city is Kobe. History In the Meiji period, Hyōgo Prefecture was formed by merging the provinces of Harima, Tajima, Awaji, and parts of Tamba and Settsu. In 1993, Himeji Castle was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is in the city of Himeji. In 1995, the Great Hanshin earthquake damaged Kobe and neighboring Osaka Prefecture. It caused the deaths of 5,000+ people. Geography Hyōgo has coastlines on two seas. The Sea of Japan is north of the prefecture and the Seto Inland Sea is on the south. Awaji Island in the Inland Sea is part of Hyōgo. Hyōgo shares land borders with Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture. Cities There are twenty-nine cities in Hyōgo Prefecture, including National Parks National Parks are established in about 20% of the total land area of the prefecture. Shrines and Temples Izumo daijinju is the chief Shinto shrines (ichinomiya) in the prefecture. Related pages Provinces of Japan Prefectures of Japan List of regions of Japan List of islands of Japan Hanshin Tigers References Other websites Media related to Hyogo prefecture at Wikimedia Commons Official Hyōgo Prefecture website Himeji-jo, World Heritage Site