Northern Kyūshū Data
Sum of 5 prefectures
Area	25,256.75km²
General Population	10,381,372 （Sept 2008）
Pop Density	411.03 per km² （Sept 2008）

is a subregion of Kyūshū

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

.

This northern region encompasses the prefectures of Fukuoka

Fukuoka Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....

, Saga

Saga Prefecture

is located in the northwest part of the island of Kyūshū, Japan. It touches both the Sea of Japan and the Ariake Sea. The western part of the prefecture is a region famous for producing ceramics and porcelain, particularly the towns of Karatsu, Imari, and Arita...

, Nagasaki

Nagasaki Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.- History :Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki...

, Kumamoto

Kumamoto Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.- History :Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system...

, and Ōita

Oita Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.- History :Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, and Toyo no kuni...

.

History

The northern region of Kyūshū was the first to be colonized by the Chinese and Koreans.

Before 1963 it was called North Kyūshū (Kitakyūshū, 北九州) until the city of Kitakyūshū was formed. To avoid confusion the name was changed.

It is the most urban

Urban area

An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

ized and industrialized part of the Kyūshū region.

For the purposes of development analysis, the area is construed to include Yamaguchi Prefecture

Yamaguchi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture. The largest city, however, is Shimonoseki.- History :...

 on Honshū

Honshu

is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...

. Although Yamaguchi not part of Kyūshū, it is a functional satellite of the Kanmon Straits

Kanmon Straits

The Kanmon Straits or the Straits of Shimonoseki is the stretch of water separating two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshū side of the water is Shimonoseki and on the Kyūshū side is Kitakyūshū, whose former city and present ward, Moji , gave the strait its "mon"...

 metropolitan area.

The region is part of the Taiheiyō Belt

Taiheiyo Belt

The also known as Tokaido corridor is the name for the megalopolis in Japan extending from Ibaraki Prefecture in the north all the way to Fukuoka Prefecture in the south, running for almost...

 and comprises the Northern Kyūshū Industrial Zone (:ja:北九州工業地帯)

External links

• Kyushu Tourism Information, Northern Kyūshū maps