Chubu

The Chubu region located in the Japan’s central Honshu island is most famous for Mountains so much so the World famous Mount Fuji (Mt. Fuji) is located in the region. This region is also home to the Japanese Alps. Chubu means middle region in Japanese and is rightly called as its between the 2 most powerful regions of Kanto in the North and Kansai in the South. Chubu is known for its scenic beauty and wonderful landscapes. The region’s beauty is often missed by tourists as they would only visit Mt. Fuji, located between Shizuoka prefecture and Yamanashi prefecture. A visit to Mt. Fuji many a times is done just as a day trip from Tokyo. The Fuji Five Lake region at the base of the mountain has some wonderful resorts and Traditional Japanese Inns overlooking Mt. Fuji.

The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is a unique and spectacular route through the Northern Japanese Alps. It connects the Toyama city in Toyama prefecture with Omachi town in Nagano prefecture. From April to June one can walk or drive through a giant snow corridor where the snow powder can create a 20 meter high white wall.

Yamanouchi, is a Hot spring town in Nagano prefecture, famous for its bathing Snow monkeys. This can be seen at Jigokudani Monkey Park. This park is particularly very famous during the winter season. Matsumoto, again in Nagano prefecture is famous for its dark colored Matsumuto Castle, often considered as Japan’s top 3 castle.

The 9 prefectures of Chubu are –

1. Aichi

2. Gifu

3. Shizuoka

4. Fukui

5. Ishikawa

6. Toyama

7. Niigata

8. Nagona

9. Yamanashi