Can you name the capitals of Japan’s prefectures?
Each round highlights one of Japan’s prefectures on the map; type its capital. The quiz asks for 17 capitals, leaving out the places whose capital gives the answer away. There is no timer, and a wrong guess can be tried again.
How to play
- Each round highlights one prefecture on the map of Japan and names it below the map; a place too small to see is circled. Type its capital in the box at the bottom. Capital letters, accents and punctuation do not matter, and alternative spellings are accepted.
- A correct capital is accepted by itself after a short pause: the place turns green and the next one is highlighted. Press Enter to check any other answer.
- A wrong guess is marked so you can try again, as often as you like. There is no timer.
- Stuck? Press Finish to end the run: the capital is revealed and that place counts as missed.
- The 17 prefectures come in shuffled order, each once. Your score counts up to 17 at the top of the board, and naming the last capital completes the run. The answer review below the board lists every round.
- Your result is saved in this browser. Once enough people have played a game, the results also show how your score ranks, and you can copy or share an image of your result, or replay.
Tips for playing
Several of these capitals are major cities, such as Sapporo, Sendai, Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe, so start with those. The rest are smaller regional centres that are easier to recall once you know where their prefecture is.
All 17 capitals in the quiz
Show all 17 answers
Hokkaido (1)
| Prefecture | Capital | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido | Sapporo | — |
Tohoku (2)
| Prefecture | Capital | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| Iwate | Morioka | — |
| Miyagi | Sendai | — |
Kanto (4)
| Prefecture | Capital | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| Ibaraki | Mito | — |
| Tochigi | Utsunomiya | — |
| Gunma | Maebashi | — |
| Kanagawa | Yokohama | — |
Chubu (3)
| Prefecture | Capital | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| Ishikawa | Kanazawa | — |
| Yamanashi | Kofu | Kōfu |
| Aichi | Nagoya | — |
Kansai (3)
| Prefecture | Capital | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| Mie | Tsu | — |
| Shiga | Otsu | Ōtsu |
| Hyogo | Kobe | Kōbe |
Chugoku (1)
| Prefecture | Capital | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| Shimane | Matsue | — |
Shikoku (2)
| Prefecture | Capital | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| Kagawa | Takamatsu | — |
| Ehime | Matsuyama | — |
Kyushu & Okinawa (1)
| Prefecture | Capital | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| Okinawa | Naha | — |
Every name in the last column is accepted too. Not asked: Aomori, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Niigata, Toyama, Fukui, Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Wakayama, Tottori, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, Kochi, Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki and Kagoshima, whose capital shares the place’s name.
Frequently asked questions
How many capitals are in the quiz?
17 of the 47 prefectures. The 30 prefectures whose capitals’ names give the answer away are left out.
Which other spellings are accepted?
“Kōfu” for Kofu, “Ōtsu” for Otsu and “Kōbe” for Kobe. Capital letters, accents and punctuation never matter.
What is the capital of Tokyo?
Tokyo itself: the capital is the city of Tokyo, its 23 special wards, and the metropolitan government sits in Shinjuku. Tokyo is not asked here because the answer shares its name.
Is there a time limit?
No. Take as long as you like: a wrong guess can be tried again, and Finish ends the run whenever you want to stop.
Which capitals count?
The quiz asks for the capitals of 17 of the 47 prefectures of Japan, as listed in the answer key below and checked against the references under Sources. 30 prefectures, such as Aomori, Akita and Yamagata, are left out because the capital contains the place’s name or the other way round.
Where a place shares its capital, splits it between two cities or has a separate seat of government, every listed city is accepted. The map quiz for the same country asks for the places themselves.
More about Japan
Sources
Source: Natural Earth · Admin-1 states and provinces, 1:10m, v5.1.2
Public domain boundaries, simplified for a quiz. Projection: Lambert conformal conic, standard parallels 32.5°N and 43°N, central meridian 136°E; the Ryukyu Islands inset uses the same scale centred on 127.5°E. Groups are the eight traditional regions; Okinawa is grouped with Kyushu. Okinawa and the Amami Islands (Kagoshima) are drawn in a top-left inset at the same scale. Natural Earth assigns the Amami Islands to Okinawa; they are reassigned to Kagoshima. Tokyo's Ogasawara, Volcano, Okinotorishima and Minamitorishima islands (south of 32°N) are not drawn; the Izu Islands are. Names, groups, alternative names and capitals are curated from the references below; codes follow ISO 3166-2. The map is not a surveying or legal reference.
Found an incorrect answer or a source that needs updating? Send a correction with the game name and a reference.