Country Japan Region Kantō Prefecture Tokyo | Island Honshū Area 1,160 km² | |
Population 4.233 million (1 Oct 2016) | ||
Western Tokyo, also known as the Tama area (多摩地域, Tama chiiki), Tama region (多摩地方, Tama-chihō) or toka (都下), consists of the part of Tokyo Prefecture to the west of the 23 special wards.
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Overview
Whereas the special wards occupy the space that was formerly the city of Tokyo, western Tokyo consists of 26 cities, three towns, and one village occupying the area that were not part of the former city. They serve as "bed towns" for those working in central Tokyo, although some of them have a local commercial and industrial base.
List of cities, towns and a village
The towns of Hinode, Mizuho, Okutama, and the village of Hinohara lie in Nishitama District.
The offshore islands of Tokyo (including the Bonin, Volcano, Izu island chains, and the uninhabited islands of Okinotorishima and Minamitorishima) are not considered part of Western Tokyo.
History
Under the Ritsuryō system, Western Tokyo was part of Musashi Province. The provincial capital was at Fuchū. The provincial temple (kokubunji) was at Kokubunji and the principal shrine (ichinomiya) was at Tama.
Western Tokyo previously consisted of three districts:
