Ishikawa Prefecture in the context of Noto Peninsula

The Chūbu region (中部地方, Chūbu-chihō), Central region, or Central Japan (中部日本, Chūbu-nihon) is a large and diverse region in the middle of Honshū, Japan's main island. In a wide, classical definition, it encompasses nine prefectures (ken): Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, and Yamanashi.

It is located directly between the Kantō region and the Kansai region and includes the major city of Nagoya as well as Pacific Ocean and Sea of Japan coastlines, extensive mountain resorts, and Mount Fuji.

Fukui Prefecture (福井県, Fukui-ken; Japanese pronunciation: [ɸɯ̥.kɯ(ꜜ)(.)i, -kɯ.iꜜ.keɴ, -kɯꜜi.keɴ]) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 737,229 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the east, Shiga Prefecture to the south, and Kyoto Prefecture to the southwest.

Fukui is the capital and largest city of Fukui Prefecture, with other major cities including Sakai, Echizen, and Sabae. Fukui Prefecture is located on the Sea of Japan coast and is part of the historic Hokuriku region of Japan. The Matsudaira clan, a powerful samurai clan during the Edo period that became a component of the Japanese nobility after the Meiji Restoration, was headquartered at Fukui Castle on the site of the modern prefectural offices. Fukui Prefecture is home to the Kitadani Formation and Kitadani Family, the Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins, and the Tōjinbō cliff range.

Gifu Prefecture (岐阜県, Gifu-ken; Japanese pronunciation: [ɡʲi.ɸɯ, ɡʲi.ɸɯ̥ꜜ.keɴ]) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 2,040,000 (as of April 1, 2025) and has a geographic area of 10,621 square kilometres (4,101 sq mi). Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, Fukui Prefecture and Shiga Prefecture to the west, Mie Prefecture to the southwest, Aichi Prefecture to the south, and Nagano Prefecture to the east.

Gifu is the capital and largest city of Gifu Prefecture, with other major cities including Ōgaki, Kakamigahara, and Tajimi.

Toyama Prefecture (富山県, Toyama-ken; Japanese pronunciation: [toꜜ.ja.ma, to.ja.maꜜ.keɴ]) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 993,848 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture to the south, Nagano Prefecture to the east, and Niigata Prefecture to the northeast.

Toyama is the capital and largest city of Toyama Prefecture, with other major cities including Takaoka, Imizu, and Nanto. Toyama Prefecture is part of the historic Hokuriku region, and the majority of the prefecture's population lives on Toyama Bay, one of the largest bays in Japan. Toyama Prefecture is the leading industrial prefecture on the Japan Sea coast and has the advantage of cheap electricity from abundant hydroelectric resources. Toyama Prefecture contains the only known glaciers in East Asia outside of Russia, first recognized in 2012, and 30% of the prefecture's area is designated as national parks.

The National Crafts Museum (国立工芸館, Kokuritsu Kōgei Kan) is a museum of Japanese crafts in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. Still retaining the more formal, official designation National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo Craft Gallery (東京国立近代美術館工芸館), it forms part of the Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art (ja). As part of the government policy of regional revitalization, the facility relocated in 2020 from Kitanomaru Park in Tokyo, where it first opened in 1977. It is now housed in two Western-style buildings of the Meiji period that have themselves been relocated from elsewhere in Kanazawa, reassembled, and restored, the 1898 Old 9th Division Command Headquarters and 1909 Old Army Generals Club. From the collection of some 3,800 items, by craftsmen from all over Japan, some 1,900 have been transferred, including approximately 1,400 by "holders" and preservers of Important Intangible Cultural Properties, who are often referred to as "Living National Treasures", and members of the Japan Art Academy.

Kanazawa (金沢市, Kanazawa-shi; Japanese pronunciation: [ka.naꜜ.(d)za.wa, ka.na.(d)za.waꜜ.ɕi]) is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan. As of 1 January 2018, the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km. The total area of the city was 468.64 square kilometres (180.94 sq mi).

The Kaga Domain (加賀藩, Kaga-han), also known as the Kanazawa Domain (金沢藩, Kanazawa-han), was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1583 to 1871.

The Kaga Domain was based at Kanazawa Castle in Kaga Province, in the modern city of Kanazawa, located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshu. The Kaga Domain was ruled for its existence by the tozama daimyō of the Maeda, and covered most of Kaga Province and Etchū Province and all of Noto Province in the Hokuriku region. The Kaga Domain had an assessed kokudaka of over one million koku, making it by far the largest domain of the Tokugawa shogunate. The Kaga Domain was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 by the Meiji government and its territory was absorbed into Ishikawa Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture.

The Hokuriku Shinkansen (Japanese: 北陸新幹線) is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo with Tsuruga in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It is jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West).

The first section, between Takasaki and Nagano in Nagano Prefecture, opened on 1 October 1997 in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics, and was originally called the Nagano Shinkansen (長野新幹線). The extension to Toyama in Toyama Prefecture and Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture opened on 14 March 2015. Construction of a further section onward to Fukui and Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture, covering 125 kilometers and six stations, commenced in 2012 and opened on 16 March 2024. The route of the final section to Shin-Osaka was decided on 20 December 2016 as the Osaka–Kyoto route, with construction expected to begin in the late 2020s and take about 25 years, after impact assessment procedures for areas along the line are completed.

Kenroku-en (Japanese: 兼六園; Garden of Six Attributes), located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, is a strolling style garden constructed during the Edo period by the Maeda clan. Along with Kairaku-en and Kōraku-en, Kenroku-en is considered one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan and is noted for its beauty across all seasons, particularly in winter. Spread over nearly 25 acres, features of the landscape include meandering paths, a large pond, several tea houses, and one of Japan's oldest fountains. First opening to the public in 1871, the garden was later designated a National Site of Scenic Beauty in 1922, and subsequently received status as a National Site of Special Scenic Beauty in 1985. The grounds are open through paid admission year-round during daylight hours.

The Kitadani Formation (Japanese: 北谷層 Kitadani-sō) is a unit of Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rock which crops out near the city of Katsuyama in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, and it is the primary source of Cretaceous-aged non-marine vertebrate fossils in Japan. Most, if not all, of the fossil specimens collected from the Kitadani Formation are reposited at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum.

The Kitadani Formation is a unit within the Tetori Group, a major sequence of Lower Cretaceous rocks that is distributed across Fukui, Ishikawa, and Gifu prefectures of western-central Honshu. The Tetori Group exhibits marked lateral variation, and the Kitadani Formation is only present in Fukui Prefecture. The Kitadani Formation comprises interbedded tuffs, sandstones, and shales and reaches a maximum thickness of approximately one hundred meters (~328 feet). It conformably overlies the Akaiwa Formation and is unconformably overlain by the Omichidani Formation. The Kitadani Formation is significant because it is the major source of dinosaur fossils in Japan and because of Japan's unique position along the northeastern margin of Eurasia during the Early Cretaceous.

Hakusan (白山市, Hakusan-shi) is a city located in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 January 2018, the city had an estimated population of 113,375 in 43246 households, and a population density of 290 persons per km. The total area of the city was 754.93 square kilometres (291.48 sq mi). It is the second-most populous city in Ishikawa Prefecture after Kanazawa.

Komatsu (小松市, Komatsu-shi) is a city located in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 March 2018, the city had an estimated population of 108,509 in 42,664 households, and a population density of 290 persons per km. The total area of the city was 371.05 square kilometres (143.26 sq mi).

Kaga (加賀市, Kaga-shi) is a city located in southwestern Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 March 2018, the city had an estimated population of 67,793 in 29054 households, and a population density of 290 persons per km. The total area of the city was 305.87 square kilometres (118.10 sq mi).

Toyama Bay (富山湾, Toyama-wan) is a bay located on the northern shores of the Hokuriku region of Honshu, Japan on the Sea of Japan. The bay borders Toyama and Ishikawa prefectures. The bay is known for the mirages on the horizon during the winter months and for being a spawning ground for the firefly squid. It is also one of Japan's three largest bays. Parts of the bay are within the borders of the Noto Hantō Quasi-National Park.

Toyama shrimp are found in Toyama bay, which they are named after.

The Ryōhaku Mountains (両白山地, Ryōhaku Sanchi) are a mountain range spanning Gifu, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui and Shiga prefectures in Japan. It is divided into the Kaetsu Mountains (加越山地 Kaetsu Sanchi), whose major peak is Mount Haku, and the Etsumi Mountains (越美山地 Etsumi Sanchi), whose major peak is Mount Nōgōhaku. The range derives its name from the two major peaks, which both have "haku" in their names. Most of the Ryōhaku Mountains are within Hakusan National Park.

Kaga Province (加賀国, Kaga no Kuni; Japanese pronunciation: [kaꜜ.ɡa (no kɯ.ɲi), kaꜜ.ŋa-]) was a province of Japan in the area that is today the south and western portion of Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchū, Hida, and Noto Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated form name was Kashū (加州).

Noto Province (能登国, Noto no Kuni; Japanese pronunciation: [noꜜ.to (no kɯ.ɲi)]) was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern part of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan, including the Noto Peninsula (Noto-hantō) which is surrounded by the Sea of Japan. Noto bordered on Etchū and Kaga provinces to the south, and was surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the east, north and west. Its abbreviated form name was Nōshū (能州).