Yamanashi prefecture is located in the central region of Honshu in Japan. It is the equivalent to the Kai province in the past, where the capital was Kofu city. The east side of the prefecture connects with Tokyo and Kanagawa prefectures. It is 120 km away from Tokyo city. The south side connects with Shizuoka prefecture, the west side with Nagano prefecture, and the north side connects to both the Saitama and Nagano prefectures. The prefecture is located inland with an area of 4465 km². The prefecture population is about 0.89 million. The prefecture is full of mountains. To the south is the Fuji Mountain, and to the west is the southern Japanese Alps. The east side has the Okuchichibu Mountains and the Yatsugatake Mountains. Yamanashi prefecture is surrounded by mountains with latitude of over 2000 m. The landscape is extremely rare for a country like Japan in the oceanic region.
Yamanashi prefecture is an important area of Japan for growing fruits. It is also where the only Maglev research center in Japan is located.