Kagawa Prefecture

Kagawa Prefecture(香川県,Kagawa-ken)is aprefectureofJapanlocated on the island ofShikoku.Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 949,358 (as of 2020)and is thesmallest prefecture by geographic areaat 1,877square kilometres(725sq mi).Kagawa Prefecture bordersEhime Prefectureto the southwest andTokushima Prefectureto the south.
Takamatsuis the capital and largest city of Kagawa Prefecture,with other major cities includingMarugame,Mitoyo, andKan'onji. Kagawa Prefecture is located on theSeto Inland Seaacross fromOkayama Prefectureon the island ofHonshu, which is connected by theGreat Seto Bridge. Kagawa Prefecture includesShōdoshima, the second-largest island in the Seto Inland Sea, and the prefecture's southern land border with Tokushima Prefecture is formed by theSanuki Mountains.
Kagawa was formerly known asSanuki Province.
For a brief period between August 1876 and December 1888, Kagawa was made a part ofEhime Prefecture.
Located in Kagawa's capital city, Takamatsu, the mountain ofYashimawas thebattlefieldfor one of the best-known struggles between theHeikeandGenjiclans.
Kagawa comprises the northeast corner of Shikoku, borderingEhime Prefectureon the west andTokushima Prefectureon the south, with a coastline on theSeto Inland SeafacingOkayama Prefectureand theKansai. TheSanuki Mountainsrun along the southern border.
Kagawa is currently the smallest prefecture, by area, in Japan. Kagawa is a relatively narrow prefecture located between the mountains of Shikoku and the sea.
As of April 1, 2012, 11% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated asNatural Parks, namelySetonaikai National ParkandŌtaki-Ōkawa Prefectural Natural Park.
Eight cities are located in Kagawa Prefecture:
Kagawa has eight towns organized into fivedistricts. Many were created after 1999 through mergers, as part of a national effort to reduce the number of small towns and villages.
Kagawa has a nominal GDP of approximately 3,802 billion yen.Kagawa's major export industries, in order of export value, include transportation equipment, electrical equipment, chemical products, general machinery, mineral fuels, manufactured goods, raw materials, and foodstuff.
Sanuki udon(a type of udon noodle) is the most famous local food of Kagawa Prefecture. In 2008, there were over 700 udon restaurants in this prefecture alone.
Aside from udon, Kagawa is also famous for "hone-tsuki-dori", seasoned chicken thigh cooked on the bone. Originating fromMarugame City, the dish has now become a popular dish inizakayarestaurants across the country.
Olives and olive-related products have also come to be recognized as Kagawa foods. As the first place in Japan to successfully cultivate olives, Kagawa has been producing olive-related products since 1908. As well as winning both domestic and international awards for the quality of its olive oil, Kagawa has also created two offshoot food brands from its olive industry - "olive beef" and "olive yellowtail". Waste organic matter from olive pressing is used as feed for cattle and theYellowtail Amberjack. Due to the high amount of polyphenols in the olive waste, the flesh of the respective meats does not oxidize or lose color easily.
Other local specialties includewasanbonsugar sweets,sōmennoodles andshōyusoy sauce.Rare sugarresearches are thriving and have discovered mass production culture enzymes.D-tagatose 3-epimeraseis an enzyme that catalyzes the reversible epimerization reaction of the 3rd carbon of ketose.
As of October 2020, Kagawa Prefecture had an estimated population of 950,244. This was 7.1% lower than the population in the 2000 census, being 1,022,890. The area of the prefecture is 1,877 km, and the population density is 506.3/km.
The sports teams listed below are based in Kagawa.
Baseball
Basketball
Football (Soccer)
Volleyball
Ice Hockey
Based on its ancient name,Sanuki, Kagawa is famous for its Sanukiudon(wheat noodles). Recent years have seen an  interest in Sanuki udon across Japan, and many Japanese now take day-trips to taste the many Sanuki udon restaurants in Kagawa.
34°16′N133°57′E﻿ / ﻿34.267°N 133.950°E﻿ /34.267; 133.950