Tama Hills
Encyclopedia
is an area of hills stretching across southwest Tokyo
and northeast Kanagawa Prefecture
in the Kantō Plain
on Honshū
, Japan
. Its total area is approximately 300 km2. Tama River
marks its northeastern boundary.
It straddles the municipalities of Hachiōji
, Hino
, Tama
, Inagi
and Machida
cities in Tokyo and Kawasaki
and Yokohama
cities in Kanagawa.
The area is dotted with remains of Jōmon period
hunter-gatherer
settlements.
The area had been developed extensively since the 1950s to support demand for housing around rapidly-expanding Tokyo and Yokohama. The hills are now mostly a patchwork of new residential suburbs and low, forested hills and pockets of remaining farmland. Some fairly large areas of forests still exist in places. Most notable among the housing developments are Tama New Town
and Kohoku New Town.
Points of interest in Tama Hills include:
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and northeast Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
in the Kantō Plain
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
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...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Its total area is approximately 300 km2. Tama River
Tama River
The is a major river in Yamanashi, Kanagawa and Tokyo Prefectures on Honshū, Japan. It is officially classified as a Class 1 river by the Japanese government....
marks its northeastern boundary.
It straddles the municipalities of Hachiōji
Hachioji, Tokyo
is a city located in Tokyo, Japan, about 40 kilometers west of the center of the special wards of Tokyo.As of January 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 551,901 and a population density of 2,962.27/km². The total area is 186.31 km². It is the eighth largest city in the...
, Hino
Hino, Tokyo
is a city located in central Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 182,092 and a population density of 6,610 persons per km². The total area was 27.53 km².-Geography:...
, Tama
Tama, Tokyo
is a municipality classified as a city, located in Tokyo, Japan.Its southern half forms part of the Tama New Town project, Japan's largest residential development, constructed in the 1970s....
, Inagi
Inagi, Tokyo
is a city located in Tokyo, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 81,134 and the density of 4,096.33 persons per km². The total area is 17.97 km².The city was founded on November 1, 1971.-History:...
and Machida
Machida, Tokyo
is a city located in the western part of the greater metropolis of Tokyo, Japan. The city was founded on February 1, 1958.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 424,669 and a population density of 5,928.65 persons per km². The total area is 71.63 km²...
cities in Tokyo and Kawasaki
Kawasaki, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, between Tokyo and Yokohama. It is the 9th most populated city in Japan and one of the main cities forming the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area....
and Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
cities in Kanagawa.
The area is dotted with remains of Jōmon period
Jomon period
The is the time in Japanese prehistory from about 14,000 BC to 300 BC.The term jōmon means "cord-patterned" in Japanese. This refers to the pottery style characteristic of the Jōmon culture, and which has markings made using sticks with cords wrapped around them...
hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
settlements.
The area had been developed extensively since the 1950s to support demand for housing around rapidly-expanding Tokyo and Yokohama. The hills are now mostly a patchwork of new residential suburbs and low, forested hills and pockets of remaining farmland. Some fairly large areas of forests still exist in places. Most notable among the housing developments are Tama New Town
Tama New Town
is a large residential development, straddling the municipalities of Hachiōji, Tama, Inagi and Machida cities, in Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a new town in 1965...
and Kohoku New Town.
Points of interest in Tama Hills include:
- Tama zooTama ZooThe is a zoo, owned by the government of Tokyo, and located in Hino, Tokyo, Japan. Tama Zoo was opened on May 5th, 1958, originally as part of Ueno Zoo...
- one of the main zooZooA zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
s in Japan. - Zoorasia - a new zoo in Asahi ward, Yokohama.
- Yomiuri LandYomiuri LandYomiuri Land is one of the larger and well known Japanese amusement parks near Tokyo, first opened in 1964. It is situated on hillsides, and features modern "thrill" rides such as roller coasters and water rides...
amusement park - Nihon Minka-enNihon Minka-enis a park in the Park of Tama-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. On display in the park is a collection of 20 traditional from various parts of Japan, especially thatched-roofed houses from eastern Japan. Of these, nine have received the designation of Important Cultural Assets from the...
- a collection of 20 traditional Japanese farmhouses in Tama wardTama-ku, Kawasakiis one of the 8 wards of the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 211,221 and a density of 10,310 persons per km². The total area was 20.49 km².-Geography:...
, Kawasaki.