GREATER TOKYO AREA

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 estimateUnited 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.

Contents

Definition

Cities

Cities within Tokyo

Eastern Tokyo-to

Western Tokyo-to

Cities outside Tokyo

Additional cities

Border areas

Geography

Transportation

Air

Rail

Other

References

See also

External links

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:

★ Akiruno ★ Akishima ★ Chofu ★ Fuchu ★ Fussa ★ Hachioji (pop 540,000) ★ Hamura ★ Higashikurume ★ Higashimurayama

★ Higashiyamato ★ Hino ★ Inagi ★ Kiyose ★ Kodaira ★ Koganei ★ Kokubunji ★ Komae ★ Kunitachi

★ Machida (pop over 410,000) ★ Mitaka ★ Musashimurayama ★ Musashino ★ Nishi-tokyo ★ Ōme ★ Tachikawa ★ Tama

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)