Honshu

Feel the cool Pacific waves on my eastern shores and the gentle Sea of Japan to my west. I am covered in green forests and tall mountains that wear snowy hats in winter. A beautiful, cone-shaped mountain, a sleeping volcano, is my most famous feature. In my valleys and along my coasts, millions of people live in cities that sparkle with light. I am long and curved, like a dragon sleeping in the sea. I am Honshu, the heart of Japan.

My story began millions of years ago, born from fire and the powerful movement of the Earth. I am part of the 'Ring of Fire,' a place of many volcanoes and earthquakes. For ages, I was a wild land of forests. Then, more than 10,000 years ago, my first people arrived during what is called the Jōmon period. They were clever hunters and potters. Around 300 BCE, a new chapter started. People of the Yayoi period arrived, bringing a wonderful skill: how to grow rice. They created shimmering, watery fields called paddies, which changed my landscape and how people lived forever.

As more people made me their home, great cities began to rise. In the year 710, Nara became my first truly grand capital, filled with amazing wooden temples. Then, in 794, the emperor's court moved to a new city designed like a checkerboard, called Heian-kyō, which you now know as Kyoto. For more than a thousand years, Kyoto was the center of Japanese culture, a place of beautiful art, poetry, and gardens. Later, brave samurai warriors and powerful leaders called shoguns ruled. In the year 1603, a famous shogun named Tokugawa Ieyasu decided to build his government in a small fishing village called Edo. Under his family's rule, the land was peaceful for a very long time. Even my great mountain, Mount Fuji, gave a final fiery roar with its last big eruption in 1707.

A small fishing village called Edo grew into one of the biggest cities in the world. In 1868, when the emperor returned to power, the city's name was changed to Tokyo, which means 'Eastern Capital.' I have faced mighty challenges. On September 1st, 1923, the Great Kantō earthquake shook me terribly. More recently, on March 11th, 2011, another huge earthquake off my coast created a giant wave called a tsunami. Each time, my people showed incredible strength, rebuilding and helping one another. They also built amazing things, like the Shinkansen, or 'bullet train,' which began zipping across my back in 1964, connecting my cities faster than ever before.

Today, I am a land of wonderful contrasts. You can find quiet, ancient temples just a short train ride away from skyscrapers that touch the clouds. You can walk through a peaceful bamboo forest in the morning and be in the middle of a bustling, neon-lit city crossing by night. My story is written in every rice paddy, every temple bell, and every bullet train that rushes by. I am a home, a place of history, and a land of endless discovery, and my heart beats on with the millions of people who call me their own.