Japanese Place Names - Geographic Features

Geographic Features

Geographic features figure prominently in Japanese place names. Some examples are

• hama(浜) for a beach; e.g. Hamamatsu
• hantō (半島) for a peninsula; e.g., Izu Hanto
• ishi (石) or iwa (岩) for a rock; e.g., Ishikawa Prefecture; Iwate Prefecture
• izumi (泉) for a spring; e.g., Hiraizumi, Iwate
• kaikyō (海峡) for a strait; e.g., Bungo kaikyō
• kawa or -gawa (川 or 河) for a river; e.g., Asakawa
• ko (湖) for a lake; e.g., Biwa-ko, Kizaki-ko
• nada (灘) for a sea
• oka (岡) for a hill; e.g., Fukuoka
• saki (崎) or misaki (岬) for a promontory; e.g., Miyazaki city
• san or -zan (山) for a mountain; e.g., Aso-san
• sawa or -zawa (沢) for a stream; e.g., Mizusawa, Iwate
• shima or -jima (島) or tō for an island; e.g., Ie-shima, Iwo Jima, Okinawa Honto
• tani or -dani (谷) for a valley
• wan (湾) for a headland or bay; e.g., Sagami-wan
• yama (山) for a mountain; e.g., Yamanashi Prefecture