Kanagawa神奈川県
Kanagawa-ken, かながわけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.
Kanagawa is south of Tokyo and has three designated cities: Yokohama, Kawasaki, and Sagamihara.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 神奈川県
- Reading
- Kanagawa-ken / かながわけん
- Region
- Kantō 関東
- Capital
- Yokohama 横浜市
- Population
- 9,237,337 (2020 census)
- Area
- 2,416 km²
- Density
- 3,823 people per km²
- Municipalities
- 33: 19 cities, 13 towns, and 1 village
- Designated cities
- Yokohama City, Kawasaki City, and Sagamihara City
- Districts (郡)
- 6
- Codes
- JIS 14, ISO 3166-2 JP-14
- Website
- www.pref.kanagawa.jp
- Tree
- ginkgo イチョウ
- Flower
- golden-rayed lily ヤマユリ
- Bird
- gull カモメ
The tree, flower, and bird are the prefectural symbols, chosen by ordinance. Every prefecture has all three.
The most populous municipalities
| Municipality | Population | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yokohama City横浜市 | 3,777,491 | 437.71 | 40.9% |
| Kawasaki City川崎市 | 1,538,262 | 143.01 | 16.7% |
| Sagamihara City相模原市 | 725,493 | 328.91 | 7.9% |
| Fujisawa City藤沢市 | 436,905 | 69.56 | 4.7% |
| Yokosuka City横須賀市 | 388,078 | 100.82 | 4.2% |
| Hiratsuka City平塚市 | 258,422 | 67.82 | 2.8% |
| Chigasaki City茅ヶ崎市 | 242,389 | 35.7 | 2.6% |
| Yamato City大和市 | 239,169 | 27.09 | 2.6% |
| Atsugi City厚木市 | 223,705 | 93.84 | 2.4% |
| Odawara City小田原市 | 188,856 | 113.6 | 2.0% |
2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 23 are listed below.
How an address here begins
神奈川県横浜市…
Kanagawa-ken, Yokohama-shi, …
The prefecture name is written first, then the municipality name, then the name of one of Yokohama's 18 wards. The guide explains the rest of the address, and the map finds any address you paste into it.
Neighbouring prefectures
Every municipality in Kanagawa市区町村
33 local governments, each with its own mayor and assembly. Each has a page with its population, area, neighbours, and boundary on the map.
Designated cities政令指定都市
A designated city is divided into wards. The wards are offices of the city, not governments.
Yokohama City横浜市, 18 wards
Kawasaki City川崎市, 7 wards
Sagamihara City相模原市, 3 wards
Other cities市
Districts, with their towns and villages郡 町 村
A district is a name that groups towns and villages in an address. It has no office and no election. Each town and village in it is a government.
Questions about Kanagawa
- What is the capital of Kanagawa?
- Yokohama (横浜市). The prefectural office is there. It is also the largest municipality in the prefecture. It is a designated city, divided into wards.
- What does 県 mean in 神奈川県?
- 県 (ken) means prefecture. It is the ordinary word for prefecture, used by 43 of the 47. The other four are Tokyo (都), Hokkaidō (道), Osaka, and Kyoto (府), which are the same kind of government with a different word at the end of the name.
- How many municipalities are in Kanagawa?
- 33: 19 cities, 13 towns, and 1 village. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. Three of them are designated cities, divided into wards: Yokohama City (18 wards), Kawasaki City (7 wards), and Sagamihara City (3 wards). The wards are offices of the city, not governments. The towns and villages are grouped into six districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.
- What is the population of Kanagawa?
- 9,237,337 at the 2020 census, on 2,416 km², which is 3,823 people per km². Kanagawa is the 2nd most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 43rd largest by area.
- Which prefectures border Kanagawa?
- Three prefectures: Tokyo (東京都), Yamanashi (山梨県), and Shizuoka (静岡県). Borders across water are not counted.
- What region is Kanagawa in?
- Kantō (関東). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Kanagawa elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.
- How is Kanagawa written in Japanese?
- 神奈川県, read Kanagawa-ken and written かながわけん in hiragana. The last character, 県, is the word for prefecture, and the name is often used without it in English.
- How does an address in Kanagawa begin?
- With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 神奈川県横浜市… (Kanagawa-ken, Yokohama-shi, …). In Yokohama the ward name is written after the city name, since it is a designated city. After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
- What is the largest city in Kanagawa?
- Yokohama City (横浜市), with 3,777,491 people at the 2020 census. It is also the capital. The three most populous municipalities are Yokohama City (横浜市, 3,777,491), Kawasaki City (川崎市, 1,538,262), and Sagamihara City (相模原市, 725,493).
- What are the symbols of Kanagawa?
- The prefectural tree is the ginkgo (イチョウ), the flower the golden-rayed lily (ヤマユリ), and the bird the gull (カモメ). Kanagawa chose them by ordinance, as every prefecture has.
Boundaries: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Municipality counts are from the boundary data on the map. Website and symbols: the prefecture's Japanese Wikipedia article, read in September 2026.