Точиги: Префектура в сердце Канто

Prefecture of Japan

Tochigi Prefecture (栃木県) is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,897,649 (1 June 2023) and has a geographic area of 6,408 km² (2,474 sq mi). Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the west, Saitama Prefecture to the south, and Ibaraki Prefecture to the southeast. Utsunomiya is the capital and largest city of Tochigi Prefecture, with other major cities including Oyama, Tochigi, and Ashikaga. Tochigi Prefecture is one of only eight landlocked prefectures and its mountainous northern region is a popular tourist region in Japan. The Nasu area is known for its onsens, local sake, and ski resorts, the villa of the Imperial Family, and the station of the Shinkansen railway line. The city of Nikkō, with its ancient Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Situated among the inland prefectures of the northern part of the Kantō region, Tochigi is contiguous with Ibaraki, Gunma, Saitama, and Fukushima Prefectures. The climate of Tochigi may be classified as a humid temperate zone with broad variations in temperature. Winters are arid with dry winds, while summers are humid with frequent thunderstorms. The population of Tochigi as of November 2010 is approximately 2,005,096. Located in the center of the prefecture is the largest open plain in the Kantō region. Shirane , Nantai and Nasudake mountain are in the northern part of the area. Kinugawa, Nakagawa, and Watarase River originate in this region, which flow across the Kanto plain before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. Tochigi is the 20th largest prefecture in Japan with a total area of 6,408.09 square km. As of 1 April 2012, 21% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely Nikkō National Park, Oze National Park, and eight Prefectural Natural Parks.

Before the Meiji Restoration, Tochigi was known as Shimotsuke Province. In the early 15th century, the Ashikaga Gakkō, Japan's oldest school of higher education, was re established in the prefecture, holding over 3,000 students by the 16th century. Saint Francis Xavier introduced Ashikaga to the world as the best university in Japan. In the early 17th century, Japan was unified under the shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu. After his death, Tōshō gū shrine was built in Nikkō on what the shōguns thought of as holy ground to protect and worship Ieyasu. The establishment of the Nikkō Tōshō gū in 1617 brought Nikkō to national attention. The Tokugawa shogunate developed the Nikkō Kaidō (日光街道, part of the major road connecting Nikkō with Edo) and acquired lavish processions to worship Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa line of shōguns. In the late 19th century, the Tokugawa shogunate fell and the new government established the prefectures. The prefectural capital was established in the city of Tochigi after the unification of Utsunomiya Prefecture and Tochigi Prefecture in 1873. By 1884, however, the capital was transferred to Utsunomiya. In March 2011, following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, levels of radioactivity in Utsunomiya were 33 times higher than normal.

The chief city of Utsunomiya is famous for its many gyoza specialist shops. Also located in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture has one of the largest shopping malls in the North Kantō region, Bell Mall.

No. Governor(Birth–Death)Term of office 37–38 Jyukichi Kodaira (小平重吉)(1886–1960) 12 April 1947 4 February 1955 39 Kichi Ogawa (小川喜一)(1904–1979) 5 February 1955 4 February 1959 40–43 Nobuo Yokokawa (横川信夫)(1901–1975) 5 February 1959 7 December 1974 44–46 Yuzuru Funada (船田譲)(1923–1985) 8 December 1974 8 December 1984 47–50 Fumio Watanabe (渡辺文雄)(1929–) 9 December 1984 8 December 2000 51 Akio Fukuda (福田昭夫)(1948–) 9 December 2000 8 December 2004 52–55 Tomikazu Fukuda (福田富一)(1953–) 9 December 2004 Present

The sports teams and events listed below are based in Tochigi.

Tochigi S. C. (Utsunomiya)

Tour de Tochigi, a cat 2.2 three day road race of the UCI Asia Tour

Traversing the prefecture along the north–south axis and connecting to the rest of the country are the Tōhoku Expressway and the new and old Route 4. From east to west spans Route 50, connecting southern Tochigi with Ibaraki and Gunma Prefectures. Also connecting Tochigi, Gunma, and Ibaraki is the Kita Kantō Expressway, with the 18.5 km that connect the Tochigi Tsuga Interchange and the Utsunomiya Kaminokawa Interchange. Portions of the Kita Kantō Expressway are still being constructed and is set to be fully completed by 2011. The highway will link the region's other main transport arteries, the Tōhoku, the Jōban and the Kan Etsu Expressways, providing a link to the international port of Hitachinaka in Ibaraki.

Fukushima Airport is approximately an hour's drive from Utsunomiya on the Tōhoku Expressway. International and national air transportation is through Narita International Airport to the east of Tokyo, approximately three hours by vehicle from Utsunomiya.