page_title: Greater Tokyo Area
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Greater Tokyo Area / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Author: Zaida Montañana. December 2005. Nikon Coolpix 8 MPixels
context_page_description: The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan as well as the prefecture of Yamanashi of the neighboring Chūbu region. In Japanese, it is referred to by various terms, one of the most common being Capital Region.
  A 2016 United Nations estimate puts the total population at 38,140,000. It covers an area of approximately 13,500 km², giving it a population density of 2,642 person/km². It is the second largest single metropolitan area in the world in terms of built-up or urban function landmass at 8,547 km², behind only New York City at 11,642 km².
  The area has the largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a total GDP of approximately $1.8 trillion in 2017.
context_section_description: At the centre of the main urban area (approximately the first 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Tokyo Station) are the 23 special wards, formerly treated as a single city but now governed as separate municipalities, and containing many major commercial centres such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro and Ginza. Around the 23 special wards are a multitude of suburban cities which merge seamlessly into each other to form a continuous built up area, circumnavigated by the heavily travelled Route 16 which forms a (broken) loop about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from central Tokyo. Situated along the loop are the major cities of Yokohama (to the south of Tokyo), Hachiōji (to the west), Ōmiya (now part of Saitama City, to the north), and Chiba (to the east). Within the Route 16 loop, the coastline of Tokyo Bay is heavily industrialised, with the Keihin Industrial Area stretching from Tokyo down to Yokohama, and the Keiyō Industrial Zone from Tokyo eastwards to Chiba. Along the periphery of the main urban area are numerous new suburban housing developments such as the Tama New Town. The landscape is relatively flat compared to most of Japan, most of it comprising low hills.
  Outside the Route 16 loop the landscape becomes more rural. To the southwest is an area known as Shōnan, which contains various cities and towns along the coast of Sagami Bay, and to the west the area is mountainous.
  Many rivers run through the area, the major ones being Arakawa and Tama River.
caption: Shinjuku
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