(Redirected from Greater Tokyo)
Map of Japan with the 'Greater Tokyo Area' highlighted
The 'Greater Tokyo Area' is a large
metropolitan area in
Japan consisting of most of the
Japanese prefectures of
Chiba,
Kanagawa,
Saitama, and
Tokyo (at the center). In
Japanese, it is referred to as the , or .
It is the
world's most populous metropolitan area (35,197,000 at 2005 estimate
[United Nations World Urbanization Prospects (2005 edition)]), covering an area of approximately 13,500
km² (5,200
mi²).
[Japan Statistics Bureau - Keihinyo Major Metropolitan Area] It is the second largest in the world in terms of built-up or urban function landmass at 7,800 km² (3,000 mi²).
[1] (Only the urban area surrounding
New York City at 8,700 km² is larger). It has 35 cities with 200,000 people or more, 21 cities with at least 300,000 people, and 10 with over 500,000 people, and the only city in the world to have a suburb (
Yokohama) with more than 3 million people. It is first in the world in terms of railed transit usage, with 22 million passengers using rail as their primary means of travel daily on its 136 predominantly heavy rail lines.
Definition
Like most metropolitans areas, the actual population size depends on definition. While the four-prefecture definition is the most commonly used measure, the Japan Statistics Bureau uses two definitions: (1) the major metropolitan area, which consists of all municipalities that have at least 1.5% of their population aged 15 and above commuting to a
designated city (as of 2000 these were: Yokohama, Kawasaki, and Chiba) or the
23 special wards; and (2) the set of municipalities that are completely or mostly within 50 and 70
kilometres of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices in Shinjuku, with populations (as of 2000) of 30,724,000 and 34,394,000 respectively.
[2] The Tokyo region continues to increase its population and density despite a demographic decline nationwide.
Cities
(populations listed for those over 300,000)
Cities within Tokyo
Tokyo is legally classified as a , a word which translates as "metropolis," and is treated as one of the forty-seven
prefectures of Japan. It is not administered as a single city.
Eastern Tokyo-to
Central Tokyo, situated in the eastern portion of Tokyo-to, was once incorporated as
Tokyo City, which was dismantled during
World War II. Its subdivisions have been reclassified as . The twenty three special wards currently have the legal status of cities, with individual mayors and city councils, and call themselves "cities" in English. However, when listing Japan's largest cities, Tokyo's twenty three wards are counted as one city. ''See:
Special wards of Tokyo''
Western Tokyo-to
Western Tokyo, known as the Tama district (''Tama-chiho'' 多摩地方) comprises a number of municipalities, including these suburban cities:
Cities outside Tokyo
The core cities of the Greater Tokyo Area outside Tokyo-to are:
★
Chiba (population 940,000)
★
Kawasaki (population 1.36 million)
★
Saitama (population 1.19 million)
★
Yokohama (population 3.62 million)
The other cities in Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama Prefectures are:
★ Abiko
★ Ageo
★ Asahi
★ Asaka
★ Atsugi
★ Ayase
★ Chichibu
★ Chigasaki
★ Choshi
★ Ebina
★ Fujimi
★ Fujimino
★ Fujisawa (pop 400,000)
★ Fukaya
★ Funabashi (pop 580,000)
★ Futtsu
★ Gyoda
★ Hadano
★ Hanno
★ Hanyu
★ Hasuda
★ Hatogaya
★ Hidaka
★ Higashimatsuyama
★ Hiratsuka
★ Honjo
★ Ichihara
★ Ichikawa (pop. 470,000)
★ Inzai
★ Iruma
★ Isehara
★ Kamagaya
★ Kamakura
★ Kamogawa
★ Kashiwa (pop 380,000)
★ Kasukabe
★ Katsuura
★ Kawagoe (pop 330,000)
★ Kawaguchi (pop 500,000)
★ Kazo
★ Kimitsu
★ Kisarazu
★ Kitamoto
★ Koshigaya (population 318,000)
★ Kounosu
★ Kuki
★ Kumagaya
★ Matsudo (pop 480,000)
★ Minamiashigara
★ Misato
★ Miura
★ Mobara
★ Nagareyama
★ Narashino
★ Narita
★ Niiza
★ Noda
★ Odawara
★ Okegawa |
★ Sagamihara (pop 700,000)
★ Sakado
★ Sakura
★ Satte
★ Sawara
★ Sayama
★ Shiki
★ Shiroi
★ Sodegaura
★ Soka
★ Tateyama
★ Toda
★ Togane
★ Tokorozawa (pop 338,000)
★ Tomisato
★ Tsurugashima
★ Urayasu
★ Wako
★ Warabi
★ Yachimata
★ Yachiyo
★ Yamato
★ Yashio
★ Yokaichiba
★ Yokosuka (pop 420,000)
★ Yoshikawa
★ Yotsukaido
★ Zama
★ Zushi |
source: stat.go.jp census 2005
Additional cities
In the major metropolitan area (MMA) definition used by the Japanese Statistics Bureau, the following cities in
Ibaraki,
Tochigi,
Gunma,
Yamanashi, and
Shizuoka Prefectures are included:
Gunma Prefecture
★
Tatebayashi
Ibaraki Prefecture
★
Inashiki
★
Ishioka
★
Joso
★
Kasumigaura
★
Koga
★
Moriya
★
Ryugasaki
★
Toride
★
Tsuchiura
★
Tsukuba
★
Ushiku
Shizuoka Prefecture
★
Atami
Tochigi Prefecture
★
Oyama
Yamanashi Prefecture
★
Otsuki
★
Uenohara
Border areas
Greater Tokyo is bordered by metropolitan areas of
Numazu-
Atami (ab. 500,000) to the southwest,
Maebashi-
Takasaki-
Ōta-
Ashikaga, Tochigi (ab. 1,500,000 people) on the northwest, and Greater
Utsunomiya (ab 800,000) to the north. If these areas are included, Greater Tokyo's population would be around 38-39 million.
Geography
At the centre of the main urban area (approximately the first 10km 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 40km 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 Area 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 south is an area known as
Shōnan comprising various cities and towns along the coast of
Sagami Bay, with their long beaches comprising black volcanic sand, and to the west the area is mountainous.
Many rivers run through the area, the major ones being
Arakawa and
Tama River.
Transportation
Main articles: Transportation in Greater Tokyo
Air
The Greater Tokyo Area has two major airports,
Tokyo International Airport (chiefly domestic) and
Narita International Airport (chiefly international). Minor facilities include
Chofu and
Honda Airports.
Tokyo Heliport serves helicopter traffic, including police, fire, and news. Various military facilities handle air traffic:
Naval Air Facility Atsugi (
United States Navy and
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force),
Hyakuri Airfield (
Japan Air Self-Defense Force),
Yokota Air Base (
United States Air Force), and
Camp Zama (
United States Army). Hyakuri is being developed for civil aviation with plans for service to begin in 2009; it will be called Ibaraki Airport.
Rail
Greater Tokyo has an extensive railway network comprising monorails, commuter rails, subways, private lines, trams, and so forth. There are around 136 individual rail lines in the Greater Tokyo Area, and between 1000 to 1200 railway stations depending on one's definition of the area, most designed for heavy use, usually long enough to accommodate 10-car trains. Major stations are designed to accommodate hundreds of thousands of passengers at any given time, with miles of connecting tunnels linking vast department stores and corporate offices.
Tokyo Station has underground connections that stretch well over 4 kilometers, and
Shinjuku Station has well over 200 exits. Greater Tokyo's Railway Network is easily considered the world's largest in terms of both daily passenger throughput with a daily trips of over 40 million (20 million different passengers) as well as physical extent with approximately 2,578 kilometers of track. Some 57 percent of all Greater Tokyo residents used rail as their primary means of transport in 2001.
[3]
JR East and many other carriers crisscross the region with a network of rail lines. The most important carriers include
Keihin Kyuko Electric Railway (''Keikyu''),
Keisei Electric Railway,
Keio Electric Railway,
Odakyu Electric Railway,
Seibu Railway,
Tobu Railway, and
Tokyo Kyuko Electric Railway (''Tokyu''). In addition to Tokyo's two subway systems (
Tokyo Metro and
Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (''Toei'' and ''Toden'' lines), Yokohama operates
three lines. The
Tokyo Monorail provides service to Haneda Airport and other destinations.
Tokyo Railway and Subway Map
Greater Tokyo Railway and Subway Map
Other
The
Shuto Expressway system connects other national
expressways in the capital region.
Tokyo and Yokohama are the only two of the major ports in the Greater Tokyo Area.
References
1. demographia.com - World urban areas
2. Japan Statistics Bureau - Population figures for range of distance
3. Urban Transport Fact Book - Tokyo-Yokohama suburban rail summary
See also
★
List of metropolitan areas in Japan by population
★
National Capital Region (Japan) briefly shows the two definitions of the "Capital Area" (Shuto-ken.)
External links
★
Urban Employment Areas in Japan (2000)
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