The is the largest plain in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 located in the Kanto Region

Kanto region

The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....

 of central Honshū

Honshu

is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...

. The total area 17,000 sq km covers more than half of the Region extending over Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Saitama Prefecture

Saitama Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...

, Kanagawa Prefecture

Kanagawa Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...

, Chiba Prefecture

Chiba Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, Gunma Prefecture

Gunma Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantō region on Honshu island. Its capital is Maebashi.- History :The remains of a Paleolithic man were found at Iwajuku, Gunma Prefecture, in the early 20th century and there is a public museum there.Japan was without horses until...

, and Tochigi Prefecture

Tochigi Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Kantō region on the island of Honshū, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya.Nikkō, whose ancient Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples UNESCO has recognized by naming them a World Heritage Site, is in this prefecture...

.

The northern limit borders on the Abukuma Highlands, Yamizo Mountain Range, Ashio Mountain Range, and a volcanic field associated with the Nasu Volcanic Belt. The western coincides with the Kantō Mountain Range and the southern edge is defined by the Bōsō Peninsula

Boso Peninsula

thumb|Locationthumb|Landsat image with high-resolution data from Space Shuttle is a peninsula in Chiba prefecture on Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean....

, the Miura Hills

Miura Peninsula

is a peninsula located in Kanagawa, Japan. It lies south of Yokohama and Tokyo and divides Tokyo Bay, to the east, from Sagami Bay, to the west. Cities and towns on the Miura Peninsula include Yokosuka, Miura, Hayama, Zushi, and Kamakura....

, Tokyo Bay

Tokyo Bay

is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...

, and Sagami Bay

Sagami Bay

Sagami Bay , also known as the Sagami Gulf or Sagami Sea, lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshū, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while the...

. The Kashima Sea and Kujūkuri Beach define the eastern end of the plain. Most of the rivers originate in the northern or western mountain ranges and flow east or southeast into the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

, Tokyo Bay, or Sagami Bay. In the central part of the plain is the Tone River

Tone River

The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length and has a drainage area of...

; in the northern part the Watarase River

Watarase River

The is a major river in the northern Kantō region of Japan. A tributary of the Tone River, it is 106.7 km in length and drains an area of 2,621 km². Its source is at Mount Sukai on the boundary of the city of Nikkō in Tochigi Prefecture and it empties into the Tone at the boundary of the...

, Kinu River, Kokai River, Naka River, and Kuji River; and in the southern part the Arakawa River

Arakawa River

The is one of the principal rivers flowing through Tokyo, the capital city of Japan. The point of origin is on Mount Kobushi in Saitama Prefecture, and the Arakawa River empties into Tokyo Bay, spanning 173 kilometers. The drainage basin covers 2,940 square kilometers...

, Tama River

Tama River

The is a major river in Yamanashi, Kanagawa and Tokyo Prefectures on Honshū, Japan. It is officially classified as a Class 1 river by the Japanese government....

, and Sagami River

Sagami River

The is a river in Kanagawa and Yamanashi Prefectures on the island of Honshū, Japan.The upper reaches of the river in Yamanashi prefecture are also sometimes known as the , and the portion near the river mouth as the...

. Of these rivers, the Tone River encompasses a large area of floodplain, for it has the largest drainage area in Japan of 16,840 sq km. The drainage areas covered by these rivers account for the alluvial lowland of the Kanto Plain.

A collection of plateaus constitute a large part of the plain. Among them are the Ōmiya, Musashino

Musashino Terrace

The Musashino Terrace , also translated as Musashino Platform, is a large platform of land, known as a river terrace, in the Kantō region of Honshū, Japan....

, Sagamino, and Jōsō Plateaus. These large plateaus are divided into smaller ones by shallow river valleys. One of the common features of the plateaus is that their surfaces are covered with a thick layer of loam

Loam

Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...

 of volcanic origin. Volcanic ashes from surrounding volcanoes, Mounts Asama

Mount Asama

is an active complex volcano in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. The volcano is the most active on Honshū. The Japan Meteorological Agency classifies Mount Asama as rank A. It stands above sea level on the border of Gunma and Nagano prefectures...

, Haruna

Mount Haruna

is a dormant stratovolcano in Gunma, eastern Honshū, Japan.- Outline :Mount Haruna has many peaks and the tallest one, Mount Kamonga is 1,449 m high. It appeared about 300,000 years ago and the last known eruption was c. 550. The volcano has a summit caldera containing the symmetrical cone of...

, and Akagi

Mount Akagi

is a mountain in Gunma Prefecture, Japan.The broad, low dominantly andesitic stratovolcano rises above the northern end of the Kanto Plain. It contains an elliptical, 3 x 4 km summit caldera with post-caldera lava domes arranged along a NW-SE line. Lake Ono is located at the NE end of the...

 to the north and Mounts Hakone and Fuji

Mount Fuji

is the highest mountain in Japan at . An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and...

 to the south, are thought to have been deposited on these plateaus.

Among the plateaus, the Musashino Plateaus has the largest stretch of land, extending from the western edge of Ōme

Ome

-Places:Italy* Ome, Lombardy, a comune in the Province of BresciaJapan* Ōme, Tokyo, a city in the Prefecture of Tokyo* Ōme Line, a railway in the Prefecture of TokyoUnited States* OME, the IATA and FAA code for Nome Airport, Alaska-Other uses:...

 to the eastern edge of Yamanote which borders alluvial plains of the Arakawa and Sumida

Sumida River

The is a river which flows through Tokyo, Japan. It branches from the Arakawa River at Iwabuchi and flows into Tokyo Bay. Its tributaries include the Kanda and Shakujii rivers....

 Rivers. Its elevation gradually declines from west to east, measuring 190 m at Ōme and 20 m at Yamanote.
Hills in the Kantō Plain stand on Tertiary strata and rise higher than surrounding plateaus, exemplified by the Sayama Hills and Tama Hills

Tama Hills

is an area of hills stretching across southwest Tokyo and northeast Kanagawa Prefecture in the Kantō Plain on Honshū, Japan. Its total area is approximately 300 km2...

, typically, undulating between 100 and 200 m above sea level. Hills located at the western edge of the Kantō Plain, the Hiki Hills, Koma Hills, Kusahana Hills, and Kaji Hills, also reach approximately 200 m above sea level.

What is noteworthy is the overall tilt of the plateaus and hills. In general, the whole area is slightly bent and forming a basin centered in the Tone River and Tokyo Bay. The ongoing process of tectonic extension continues as the plain’s central region gradually sinks.