Kansai region

The Kansai region (関西地方, Kansai Chihō), a.k.a.Kinki region (近畿地方, Kinki Chihō), is a region of Japan that lies in the southern-central portion of Japan's main island, Honshū. The region consists of the prefectures of Hyōgo, Kyoto, Mie, Nara, Osaka, Shiga, and Wakayama.

Kansai is the second-most populated region of Japan (after Kantō), and contains the metropolitan region of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto (Keihanshin region), which is the second-most populated metropolitan region in Japan (after the Greater Tokyo Area).