Aichi Prefecture

Aichi Prefecture (愛知県 Aichi-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region.^[1]

The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region.

The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.^[2]

Originally, the region was divided into the two provinces of Owari and Mikawa.^[3] After the Meiji Restoration, Owari and Mikawa were united into a single entity.

Located near the center of the Japanese main island of Honshu, Aichi Prefecture faces the Ise and Mikawa Bays to the south and borders Shizuoka Prefecture to the east, Nagano Prefecture to the northeast, Gifu Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture to the west.

Notable sites in Aichi include the Meiji Mura open-air architectural museum in Inuyama, which preserves historic buildings from Japan's Meiji and Taishō periods, including the reconstructed lobby of Frank Lloyd Wright's old Imperial Hotel (which originally stood in Tokyo from 1923 to 1967).

Other sites in Aichi include the tour of the Toyota car factory in the city by the same name, the monkey park in Inuyama, and the castles in Nagoya, Okazaki, Toyohashi, and Inuyama.

Because of Aichi's location along the Eastern seacoast, there are some scenic spots, but other than the Atsumi Peninsula surf beaches there are no significant beach destinations when compared to neighboring Shizuoka Prefecture. Most attractions are man-made destinations, dealing with the region's history or modern marvels.

The Tōkai region (東
地方 Tōkai-chihō^?) is a sub-region of the Chūbu region in Japan that runs along the Pacific Ocean.
Chūkyō (中京圏 Chūkyō-ken^?), sometimes called the Chūkyō region (中京地方 Chūkyō-chihō), is the name of a major metropolitan area in Japan that is centered on the city of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture. The area makes up the most urban part of the Tōkai region.