Editing Tochigi Prefecture (section)

== Prefectural overview ==
Situated among the inland prefectures of the northern part of the Kantō region, Tochigi is contiguous with Ibaraki, Gunma, Saitama, and Fukushima Prefectures.

The climate of Tochigi may be classified as a humid temperate zone with broad variations in temperature. Winters are arid with dry winds, while summers are humid with frequent thunderstorms.

The population of Tochigi as of November 2010 is approximately 2,005,096.

Located in the center of the prefecture is the largest open plain in the Kantō region. Shirane ({{convert|2,578|m|}}), Nantai ({{convert|2,484|m|}}) and Nasudake ({{convert|1,917|m|}}) mountain are in the northern part of the area. Kinugawa, Nakagawa, and Watarase River originate in this region, which flow across the Kanto plain before emptying into the Pacific Ocean.  Tochigi is the 20th largest prefecture in Japan with a total area of 6,408.09 square km.

As of 1 April 2012, 21% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as [[List of national parks of Japan#History|Natural Parks]], namely [[Nikkō National Park]], [[Oze National Park]], and eight Prefectural Natural Parks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/doc/files/np_6.pdf |title=General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture |publisher=[[Ministry of the Environment (Japan)|Ministry of the Environment]] |date=1 April 2012 |access-date=18 November 2013}}</ref>