Biggest cities by language A-Z (Japanese)

456,000

Kansai

former castle town and is famous for its historic Tera Machi (Temple District)

113,000

Kyūshū

undisputed hot spring capital, famous for its Eight Hells (Jigoku) - spectacular, colorful volcanic ponds

985,000

Kantō

home to the Makuhari Messe convention center and the world's longest suspended monorail system

118,000

Kansai

famous for the Nozaki Kannon temple and its lively Nozaki-mairi spring festival

141,000

Kantō

best known to travelers for the Ebina Service Area, Japan’s most famous highway rest stop

1.6 million

Kyūshū

famous for its open-air food stalls (Yatai) and Hakata Ramen, characterized by its rich, creamy pork bone broth

400,000

Chūbu

important to the unifier Oda Nobunaga; it is famous for Ukai, the 1,300-year-old tradition of fishing with cormorant birds on the Nagara River

1.2 million

Chūgoku

home to the Atomic Bomb Dome and the floating torii gate of nearby Miyajima Island

493,000

Kantō

city in Chiba Prefecture

189,000

Chūbu

historic base of the powerful warlord Uesugi Kenshin and the place where skiing was first introduced to Japan by an Austrian officer

1.5 million

Kantō

famous for the Kanamara Matsuri (the “Steel Phallus Festival”) and the Doraemon museum

505,000

Shikoku

it is home to Dogo Onsen, one of Japan’s oldest hot spring bathhouses and a primary inspiration for the film Spirited Away

2.3 million

Chūbu

heart of Japan's automotive industry (Toyota); its castle is famous for its Golden Shachihoko (mythical tiger-headed carps)

2.8 million

Kansai

known as the "Nation’s Kitchen," it is the spiritual home of street foods like Takoyaki

3,400

Hokkaido

became a national sensation due to a humorous 1980s TV commercial for “Pip Elekiban” (magnetic therapy patches)

75,000

Kantō

name means “Dragon Cape” and it is the home of Ushiku Pond, a famous spot for eel-based local cuisine

2 million

Hokkaido

famous for its annual Snow Festival, its eponymous brewery, and for hosting the first Winter Olympics in Asia (1972)

14.3 million

Kantō

formerly known as Edo, and home to the iconic Shibuya Crossing

515,000

Kantō

undisputed Gyoza (dumpling) capital of Japan, where the city features a famous stone statue shaped like a giant dumpling

351,000

Kansai

coastal city famous for its Kishu Plums (Umeboshi) and its unique style of ramen

3.8 million

Kantō

Japan’s first port to open to foreign trade, it is home to one of the world’s largest Chinatowns

131,000

Kantō

home to a major US Army base and world-famous for its massive Sunflower Festivals