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31-528: Higashidōri occupies the northeastern coastline of Shimokita Peninsula , facing the Pacific Ocean to the east and Tsugaru Strait to the north, with Cape Shiriya forming a boundary between the two waters. The low Shimokita Hills run north-south through the center of the village. Mount Kuwabata, the highest point in the village at an elevation of 402 meters. To the west of the Shimokita Hills

62-714: A quarter of all paddy fields in Japan. Chiba Prefecture is famous for its peanuts, also being the largest producer in Japan. Rare species of the lichen genus Menegazzia are found only in Honshu. Most of Japan's tea and silk is from Honshu. Japan's three largest industrial regions are all located on Honshu: the Keihin region , the Hanshin Industrial Region , and the Chūkyō Industrial Area . Honshu

93-490: A range of nuclear facilities. In 2012, Japan set a new world record for ocean drilling depth, reaching 2,111 meters below the seafloor off Shimokita Peninsula. Since the Eemian interglacial some 125,000 years ago the coast of the eastern tip of the peninsula has been uplifted on average 0.14–0.25 meters every thousand years (m/kyr). Slightly to the west the a north-facing sandy coast has uplift rates of 0.14–0.23 m/kyr for

124-568: Is 1268 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 21.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around -3.0 °C. Per Japanese census data, the population of Higashidōri peaked around the year 1960 and has declined over the past 60 years. The area around Higashidōri was inhabited by the Emishi people, with archaeological remains dating to

155-472: Is home to a large portion of Japan's minimal mineral reserves, including small oil and coal deposits. Several coal deposits are located in the northern part of the island, concentrated in Fukushima Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture , though Honshu's coal production is negligible in comparison to Hokkaido and Kyushu . Most of Japan's oil reserves are also located in northern Honshu, along

186-513: Is roughly 1,300 km (810 mi) long and ranges from 50 to 230 km (31 to 143 mi) wide, and its total area is 227,960 km (88,020 sq mi), making it slightly larger than the island of Great Britain . Its land area has been increasing with land reclamation and coastal uplift in the north due to plate tectonics with a convergent boundary . Honshu has 10,084 kilometres (6,266 mi) of coastline. Mountainous and volcanic, Honshu experiences frequent earthquakes (such as

217-412: Is seismically active, and is home to 40 active volcanoes. In 2011, an earthquake of magnitude 9.0–9.1 occurred off the coast of Honshu, generating tsunami waves up to 40.5 meters (133 ft) high and killing 19,747. It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan , and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The tsunami subsequently led to

248-701: Is the largest and most populous island of Japan . It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait , north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea , and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits . The island separates the Sea of Japan , which lies to its north and west, from the North Pacific Ocean to the south and east. It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and

279-682: Is the Tanabe Plain, which borders Mutsu City. There are large sand dunes and several swamps near the eastern coast, and many rivers flow to the sea. Hamlets are scattered throughout the coastline of the village, which does not have a well-defined center. Parts of the village are within the limits of the Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park . In the year 2002, the Ministry of the Environment classified some tidal flats of

310-455: Is the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū , stretching out towards Hokkaidō . It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, Tsugaru Strait to the north and Mutsu Bay to the west and south. Shaped like an axe pointing west, the peninsula has a thin "axe handle" connecting the mountainous "axe blade" to the mainland of Honshū to the south. The peninsula contains

341-543: The Great Kantō earthquake , which heavily damaged Tokyo in September 1923; and the earthquake of March 2011 , which moved the northeastern part of the island by varying amounts of as much as 5.3 m (17 ft) while causing devastating tsunamis). The highest peak is the active volcano Mount Fuji at 3,776 m (12,388 ft), which makes Honshu the world's 7th highest island . There are many rivers, including

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372-580: The Jōmon period . During the Edo period , it was controlled by the Nambu clan of Morioka Domain , but was a sparsely populated area with scattered fishing hamlets. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system on 1 April 1889, Higashidōri Village was proclaimed from the merger of twelve small hamlets, although the village administrative center was kept within the town hall of neighboring Tanabu Town (now part of

403-728: The Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge ; Shimotsui-Seto Bridge , Hitsuishijima Bridge , Iwakurojima Bridge , Yoshima Bridge , Kita Bisan-Seto Bridge , and the Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge ), the Seikan Tunnel connects Honshu with Hokkaidō, and the Kanmonkyo Bridge and Kanmon Tunnel connect Honshu with Kyūshū . These are notable flora and fauna of Honshu. Being on the Ring of Fire , the island of Honshu

434-533: The Shinano River , Japan's longest. The Japanese Alps span the width of Honshu, from the 'Sea of Japan' coast to the Pacific shore. The climate is generally humid subtropical in western Japan and humid continental in the north. Honshu has a total population of 104 million people, according to a 2017 estimate, 81.3% of the entire population of Japan. The largest city is Tokyo (population: 13,988,129),

465-582: The second-most populous after the Indonesian island of Java . Honshu had a population of 104 million as of 2017 , constituting 81.3% of the entire population of Japan, and mostly concentrated in the coastal areas and plains. Approximately 30% of the total population resides in the Greater Tokyo Area on the Kantō Plain . As the historical center of Japanese cultural and political power,

496-463: The Higashidōri shoreline to be one of the 500 Important Wetlands in Japan and an important wintering place for Brent geese Aomori Prefecture The village has a cold humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfb ) characterized by short, cool summers and long, cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Higashidōri is 8.6 °C. The average annual rainfall

527-540: The capital of Japan and part of the Greater Tokyo Area , the most populous metropolitan area in the world. Honshu is connected to the islands of Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku by tunnels and bridges. Three bridge systems have been built across the islands of the Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku ( Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and the Ōnaruto Bridge ; Shin-Onomichi Bridge , Innoshima Bridge , Ikuchi Bridge , Tatara Bridge , Ōmishima Bridge , Hakata–Ōshima Bridge , and

558-526: The city is part of Aomori 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . Higashidōri has one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the town government. The village does not have a high school. The economy of Higashidōri was traditionally almost completely dependent on commercial fishing . However, since the 1980s, there has been massive investment from Tōhoku Electric Power Company and Tokyo Electric Power Company towards

589-538: The city of Mutsu). In 1988, to celebrate its 100th anniversary as a village, a village hall was finally built within the borders of Higashidōri. Higashidōri has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral village council of 14 members. Higashidōri is part of Shimokita District which, together with the city of Mutsu, contributes three members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics,

620-686: The construction of the Higashidōri Nuclear Power Plant and related support facilities. In addition, the Iwaya Wind Farm , with a total generation capacity of 32.5 MW, is the largest in Japan. Higashidōri has no passenger railway service. The nearest train station is Shimokita Station on the JR East Ōminato Line . [REDACTED] Media related to Higashidōri, Aomori at Wikimedia Commons Shimokita Peninsula The Shimokita Peninsula ( 下北半島 , Shimokita-hantō )

651-719: The economy along the northwestern Sea of Japan coast is largely based on fishing and agriculture. The island is linked to the other three major Japanese islands by a number of bridges and tunnels. The island primarily shares two climates, with Northern Honshu having a mainly humid continental climate while the south has a humid subtropical climate . The name of the island, Honshū ( 本州 ) , directly translates to "main province" or "original land" in English. Humans first arrived in Honshu approximately 37,000 years ago, and likely earlier. The first humans to arrive in Honshu were Stone Age hunter-gatherers from Northeast Asia, likely following

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682-597: The island includes several past Japanese capitals, including Kyōto , Nara , and Kamakura . Much of the island's southern shore forms part of the Taiheiyō Belt , a megalopolis that spans several of the Japanese islands. Honshu contains Japan's highest mountain, Mount Fuji, and its largest lake, Lake Biwa . Most of Japan's industry is located in a belt running along Honshu's southern coast, from Tokyo to Nagoya , Kyōto , Osaka , Kobe , and Hiroshima ; by contrast,

713-441: The jurisdiction of the city of Mutsu , with a number of small towns and villages along the periphery. Most of the inhabitants live in coastal areas rather than the mountainous interior. Portions of the peninsula are within the borders of Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park , including Cape Ōma , the coastline of the village of Sai to the south, including seaside cliffs said to resemble Buddhas at Hotokegaura , Cape Shiriya to

744-617: The meltdown of 3 nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant , leading to the Fukushima nuclear disaster . Honshu island generates around US$ 3.5 trillion or more than 80% of Japan's GDP . Fruit, vegetables, grains, rice and cotton make up the main produce grown in Honshu. The Tohoku region, spanning the north-eastern part of the island, is notable for its rice production, with 65% of cultivated land being rice paddy fields – almost

775-786: The migration of ice age megafauna . Surviving artifacts from this period include finely-crafted stone blades, similar to those found in Siberia . Honshu was the target of devastating air raids during the Pacific War of World War II . The first air raid to strike Honshu and the other home islands was the Doolittle Raid . With the introduction of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress , the firebombing of Tokyo culminated in Operation Meetinghouse ,

806-640: The most destructive air raid in human history, which destroyed 16 square miles (41 km ; 10,000 acres) of central Tokyo , leaving an estimated 100,000 civilians dead, and over one million homeless. The war ended with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shortly before Japan's surrender and signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on September 2, 1945, on board the USS ; Missouri  (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay . The island

837-741: The most heavily used. The San'yō Shinkansen , connects the two largest cities in western Japan, Shin-Osaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka . Both the Tokaido Shinkansen and the Sanyo Shinkansen help form a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt megalopolis. The island is divided into five nominal regions and contains 34 prefectures, including metropolitan Tokyo. Administratively, some smaller islands are included within these prefectures, notably including

868-411: The northeast, and the volcanic interior of the peninsula, including Mount Osore and Lake Usori . Tourist attractions include Yagen Valley , known for its hot springs . Economically, the mainstays of the local economy are commercial fishing , forestry, and seasonal tourism. The main commercial centre is the city of Mutsu. The village of Rokkasho , at the southern end of Shimokita Peninsula, home to

899-477: The northernmost point on Honshū, Cape Ōma , and the largest sand dunes in Japan (the Sarugamori Sand Dunes ). The peninsula owes its name to its being the lower ( shimo ) portion of the former Kita District (North District) of Mutsu Province before the premodern province was divided in 1868. Administratively the area is a part of Aomori Prefecture , and the bulk of the area falls within

930-567: The same period. Further to the west, on top of the trace line of the volcanic front rates over the same period are in the order of 0.09–0.18 m/kyr. This uplift is related to the activity of offshore geological faults that has bended strata into an anticline . This peninsula is also called "Axe Peninsula" from the shape. Honsh%C5%AB Honshu ( 本州 , Honshū , pronounced [hoꜜɰ̃ɕɯː] ; lit.   ' main island ' ) , historically called Akitsushima ( 秋津島 , lit.   ' Dragonfly island ' ) ,

961-404: The west coast, spanning Niigata, Yamagata , and Akita Prefectures. Most of Japan's copper, lead, zinc and chromite is located on Honshu, along with smaller, scattered deposits of gold, silver, arsenic, sulfur and pyrite . The Tokaido Shinkansen , opened in 1964 between Tokyo and Shin-Ōsaka , is Japan's first high-speed rail line. It is the world's oldest high-speed rail line and one of

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