Yamanashi山梨県
Yamanashi-ken, やまなしけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.
Yamanashi is landlocked, with mountains on every side. Mount Fuji is on its border with Shizuoka.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 山梨県
- Reading
- Yamanashi-ken / やまなしけん
- Region
- Chūbu 中部
- Capital
- Kōfu 甲府市
- Population
- 809,974 (2020 census)
- Area
- 4,465 km²
- Density
- 181 people per km²
- Municipalities
- 27: 13 cities, 8 towns, and 6 villages
- Designated cities
- None
- Districts (郡)
- 5
- Codes
- JIS 19, ISO 3166-2 JP-19
- Website
- www.pref.yamanashi.jp
- Tree
- maple カエデ
- Flower
- Fuji cherry フジザクラ
- Bird
- Japanese bush warbler ウグイス
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kofu City甲府市 | 189,591 | 212.47 | 23.4% |
| Kai City甲斐市 | 75,313 | 71.95 | 9.3% |
| Minamiarupusu City南アルプス市 | 69,459 | 264.14 | 8.6% |
| Fuefuki City笛吹市 | 66,947 | 201.92 | 8.3% |
| Fujiyoshida City富士吉田市 | 46,530 | 121.74 | 5.7% |
| Hokuto City北杜市 | 44,053 | 602.48 | 5.4% |
| Yamanashi City山梨市 | 33,435 | 289.8 | 4.1% |
| Chuo City中央市 | 31,216 | 31.69 | 3.9% |
| Tsuru City都留市 | 31,016 | 161.63 | 3.8% |
| Koshu City甲州市 | 29,237 | 264.11 | 3.6% |
2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 17 are listed below.
How an address here begins
山梨県甲府市…
Yamanashi-ken, Kofu-shi, …
The prefecture name is written first, then the municipality name. The guide explains the rest of the address, and the map finds any address you paste into it.
Neighbouring prefectures
Every municipality in Yamanashi市区町村
27 local governments, each with its own mayor and assembly. Each has a page with its population, area, neighbours, and boundary on the map.
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 Yamanashi
- What is the capital of Yamanashi?
- Kōfu (甲府市). The prefectural office is there. It is also the largest municipality in the prefecture.
- What does 県 mean in 山梨県?
- 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 Yamanashi?
- 27: 13 cities, 8 towns, and 6 villages. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. The towns and villages are grouped into five districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.
- What is the population of Yamanashi?
- 809,974 at the 2020 census, on 4,465 km², which is 181 people per km². Yamanashi is the 42nd most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 32nd largest by area.
- Which prefectures border Yamanashi?
- Five prefectures: Saitama (埼玉県), Tokyo (東京都), Kanagawa (神奈川県), Nagano (長野県), and Shizuoka (静岡県). Borders across water are not counted.
- What region is Yamanashi in?
- Chūbu (中部). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Yamanashi elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.
- How is Yamanashi written in Japanese?
- 山梨県, read Yamanashi-ken and written やまなしけん 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 Yamanashi begin?
- With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 山梨県甲府市… (Yamanashi-ken, Kofu-shi, …). After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
- What is the largest city in Yamanashi?
- Kofu City (甲府市), with 189,591 people at the 2020 census. It is also the capital. The three most populous municipalities are Kofu City (甲府市, 189,591), Kai City (甲斐市, 75,313), and Minamiarupusu City (南アルプス市, 69,459).
- What are the symbols of Yamanashi?
- The prefectural tree is the maple (カエデ), the flower the Fuji cherry (フジザクラ), and the bird the Japanese bush warbler (ウグイス). Yamanashi 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.