My Prefecture - Shizuoka

Japan is made up of 47 prefectures, and I live in Shizuoka Prefecture. The big island at the top of this map is Hokkaido, where I lived when I first came to Japan.

If you don't live in Japan, you might not be familiar with the geography. Shizuoka is on the Pacific Coast and shares Mt. Fuji with Yamanashi Prefecture. 

The prefecture was established in 1876 from Izu, Suruga, and Totomi provinces.  The population is 3,633,000 (as of the last census in Oct. 2020), the total area is 7,777 square kilometers, and the capital is Shizuoka City. Fujippi is the official mascot of the prefecture.

The prefecture is the leading producer of green tea, mandarin oranges (mikan), and wasabi, as well as almost the only place to find sakura shrimp. 

Famous people from the prefecture include Shimizu no Jirocho (1820-93), an entrepreneur, gangster, and folk figure who had influence with members of the Meiji government; Toyoda Sakichi (1867 - 1930), founder of Toyota Industries; and Inoue Yasushi (1907 - 91), an author known for historical fiction including Ryoju (translated as The Hunting Gun) and Togyu (translated as Bullfight).  

The largest cities and their 2020 populations include Hamamatsu (791,155), Shizuoka City (693,759), Fuji (245, 489), Numazu (189,611), Iwata (166,744), Fujieda (141,385), Yaizu (136,891), Fujinomiya (128,147), Kakegawa (114,989), and Mishima (107,851).

It is easy to travel to other areas of the county by Shinkansen or local trains. I'm not so crazy about the rainy season, but most of the year the weather is comfortable. I love living in Japan, and especially Shizuoka.