From north to south Japan's islands span 3,500 kilometres. Kyushu is 200 kilometres from Korea. The total land area is 377,737 square kilometres, corresponding to slightly less than half the area of New South Wales, or one-twentieth of the total area of Australia. The terrain is characterised by complex geographical features, with numerous hot springs and volcanoes. Mt Fuji, Japan's most famous mountain and a dormant volcano, is also the highest, with an altitude of 3,776 metres.
Earthquakes are common, as Japan lies in the earthquake zone ringing the Pacific Ocean.
Japan is further divided into 47 administrative units called prefectures which, for the most part, follow natural boundaries. The cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto are included as separate administrative entities. Hokkaido and the Tohoku region of the northern part of Honshu still include some relatively undeveloped areas, settled extensively only late in the 19th century, where agriculture, forestry, fisheries and mining have traditionally been the main industries. These areas, however, have experienced considerable development and industrialisation around core cities in recent years. The Kanto region includes Japan's largest industrial area, centred on Tokyo and Yokohama.