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Largest island of Japan
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, 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. 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; 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 the migration of ice age megafauna. Surviving artifacts from this time 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, the most destructive air raid in human history, which destroyed 16 square miles (41 km2) 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 Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

The island is roughly long and ranges from wide, and its total area is , while causing devastating tsunamis). The highest peak is the active volcano Mount Fuji at , which makes Honshu the world's 7th highest island. There are many rivers, including 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 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 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 connects Honshu with Kyūshū.

Being on the Ring of Fire, the island of Honshu 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 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. 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 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 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 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.