Yamanashi

Yamanashi, landlocked ken (prefecture), central Honshu, Japan. The prefectural capital, Kōfu, is located in central Yamanashi.

Much of the prefecture’s area is mountainous, including Mount Shirane (10,472 feet [3,192 metres]) and other peaks of the southern Japanese Alps in the west and northwest and Mount Fuji (12,388 feet [3,776 metres]), Japan’s highest point, straddling the southern border. Water from the Japanese Alps and molded into a raindrop shape became the basis of the now-famous raindrop cake, which was invented in the prefecture in 2014; marketed as “water you can eat,” the delicate gelatinous dessert became a worldwide sensation. The five lakes associated with Mount Fuji—Yamanaka, Kawaguchi, Sai, Shōji, and Motosu—are also located in the south.

Yamanashi is basically agricultural, with extensive mulberry fields and orchards of peaches, apples, and cherries. Kōshū grapes are also grown. Small-scale factories manufacture textiles and processed foods. Kōfu is a major industrial and educational centre. Much of Yamanashi’s land area is within Minami Alps (west), Chichibu-Tama-Kai (north), and Fuji-Hakone-Izu (south) national parks, and tourism is important to the local economy. Area 1,724 square miles (4,465 square km). Pop. (2010) 863,075.