兵庫県

Hyōgo Prefecture - Hyogo Prefecture

兵庫県 (Hyōgo-ken, Hyogo Prefecture) is located on the largest Japanese island Honsu in the Kansai region, a little south of the middle. In the center there are numerous large cities like Osaka, Kyoto, and Kōbe. This is the second-most populated area of Japan after Tokyo. This prefecture has coastline on both sides of the island. The cities are in a lowland at the Kii Channel, which is connected to the Pacific Ocean. The northern portion is sparsely populated, as well as the central highlands. In the mountains there are only tiny villages.

The large island Awaji-shima separates the Inland Sea and Osaka Bay. It is connected by motorway bridge with Honshu and Shikoku island, in other words, it's the land-bridge to Shikoku. We have no underground sites listed on Awaji-shima. It sits on the Nojima Fault, which is responsible for the disastrous 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, which killed more than 5,500 people. They even declared the fault a national natural monument in 1998. The 北淡町震災記念公園 (Hokudancho Earthquake Memorial Park) contains the Nojima Fault Preservation Museum, where the movement in the ground cut across roads, hedges and other installations.