The Tohoku area, located at the northern part of Honshu (mainland) consists of 6 prefectures, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata and Fukushima, with an area of 66,889.55km2 which accounts for approximately 30% of Honshu area. The total population is approximately 9.6 million. Since the Tohoku area is located at the far ends of Kaido (later-called "Tokaido") and Sando (later-called "Tosando") that started from capital regions, it is also called as "Michinoku" (meaning "the end of the roads" in Japanese).
Though wintertime in the Tohoku area is very severe with lots of snow, the area produces a variety of tasty foods in its rich nature, including fruits such as apples (Aomori) and cherries (Yamagata), livestock products such as Hinai chicken and Yonezawa beef and rice such as Akita-Komachi and Haenuki brands. In addition, the area has a flourishing fishing industry with abundant seafood such as tuna available at Ooma-town of Aomori and abalone and firmed seaweed available at Sanriku with the highest output in Japan. Since forests cover a major part of the Tohoku area, forestry is also active there. In Iwate prefecture, 77% of the land is covered with forests and the forestry output is the fifth highest in Japan.
Also, Japan's major festivals such as Nebuta Festival in Aomori and Tanabata Festival in Sendai are held actively in the area.
