Yamanashi
prefecture, Japan
Lake Sai
Yamanashi, landlocked ken (prefecture), central Honshu, Japan. The prefectural capital, Kōfu, is located in central Yamanashi.
Much of the prefecture’s area is mountainous, including Mount Shirane (10,472 feet [3,192 metres]) and other peaks of the southern Japanese Alps in the west and northwest and Mount Fuji (12,388 feet [3,776 metres]), Japan’s highest point, straddling the southern border. Yamanashi is drained by the Fuji River and its tributaries. The five lakes associated with Mount Fuji—Yamanaka, Kawaguchi, Sai, Shōji, and Motosu—are located in the south.
Yamanashi is basically agricultural, with extensive mulberry fields and orchards of peaches, apples, and cherries. Kōshū grapes are also grown. Small-scale factories manufacture textiles and processed foods. Kōfu is a major industrial and educational centre. Much of Yamanashi’s land area is within Minami Alps (west), Chichibu-Tama-Kai (north), and Fuji-Hakone-Izu (south) national parks, and tourism is important to the local economy. Area 1,724 square miles (4,465 square km). Pop. (2010) 863,075.
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