Tochigi

Tochigi, ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, in the northern Kantō chihō (region). Utsunomiya, in south-central Tochigi, is the prefectural capital.

The southeastern portion of the prefecture constitutes the northern extent of the Kantō Plain. The land rises along the eastern border with Ibaraki prefecture to Mount Yamizo and associated mountains. Western Tochigi prefecture is much higher and is occupied by the Ashio Highlands and bordered (northwest) by the mountains associated with Mounts Taishaku and Shirane. The Ashio Highlands are the site of the resorts of Nikkō, Shiobara, and Kawaji. Nikkō National Park, largely in Tochigi, contains Lake Chūzenji. The main river in the prefecture, the Kinu River, runs longitudinally between the eastern and western mountain groups.

Major agricultural products of the prefecture are rice, vegetables, tobacco, hemp, and wax gourds. Cattle are also raised. There was some mineral exploitation in the Ashio Highlands, yielding copper and manganese, but mining operations had ceased by the mid-1970s. Traditional industries include the manufacture of ceramics. Modern industry produces automobiles, processed foods, and electric appliances. Tourism, especially in the resort areas, is an important component of the regional economy. The historic places in Nikkō were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999.

Utsunomiya is the commercial and industrial centre of Tochigi prefecture. Other important cities include Ashikaga in the southwest and Oyama in the south. The Keihin Industrial Zone, centred on Tokyo, spread northward to prefectures in the northern Kantō region, including Tochigi, during the 1960s. Area 2,474 square miles (6,408 square km). Pop. (2010) 2,007,683.