KANSAI関西地方

The Kansai region (関西地方, Kansai-chihō, pronounced [kã̠ɰ̃sa̠i t͡ɕiho̞ː]) or the Kinki region (近畿地方, Kinki-chihō, [kʲĩŋʲkʲi t͡ɕiho̞ː]), lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū.

 

The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, 

Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and 

Tottori. While the use of the terms "Kansai" and "Kinki" have changed over history, in most modern contexts the use of the two terms is interchangeable. The metropolitan region of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto (Keihanshin region) is the second-most populated in Japan after the Greater Tokyo Area.