is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyà Âgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyà Âgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, and Okayama and Tottori prefectures to the west.
Kobe is the capital and largest city of Hyà Âgo Prefecture, and the seventh-largest city in Japan, with other major cities including Himeji, Nishinomiya, and Amagasaki. Hyà Âgo Prefecture's mainland stretches from the Sea of Japan to the Seto Inland Sea, where Awaji Island and a small archipelago of islands belonging to the prefecture are located. Hyà Âgo Prefecture is a major economic center, transportation hub, and tourist destination in western Japan, with 20% of the prefecture's land area designated as Natural Parks. Hyà Âgo Prefecture forms part of the Kobe metropolitan area and Osaka metropolitan area, the second-most-populated urban region in Japan after the Greater Tokyo area and one of the world's most productive regions by GDP.
Present-day Hyà Âgo Prefecture includes the former provinces of Harima, Tajima, Awaji, and parts of Tanba and Settsu.
In 1180, near the end of the Heian period, Emperor Antoku, Taira no Kiyomori, and the Imperial court moved briefly to Fukuhara, in what is now the city of Kobe. There the capital remained for five months. Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in the city of Himeji.
Southern Hyà Âgo Prefecture was severely devastated by the 6.9 Mw Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995, which destroyed major parts of Kobe and Awaji, as well as Nishinomiya and Ashiya and the neighboring Osaka Prefecture, killing nearly 6,500 people.
Hyà Âgo has coastlines on two seas: to the north, the Sea of Japan, to the south, the Seto Inland Sea. On Awaji Island, Hyà Âgo borders the Pacific Ocean coastline in the Kii Channel. The northern portion is sparsely populated, except for the city of Toyooka, The central highlands are only populated by tiny villages. Most of Hyà Âgo's population lives on the southern coast, which is part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area. Awaji is an island that separates the Inland Sea and Osaka Bay, lying between Honshu and Shikoku.
Summertime weather throughout Hyà Âgo is hot and humid. As for winter conditions, the north of Hyà Âgo tends to receive abundant snow, whilst the south receives only the occasional flurry.
Hyà Âgo borders on Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture.
20% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Sanin Kaigan and Setonaikai National Parks; Hyà Ânosen-Ushiroyama-Nagisan Quasi-National Park; and Asago Gunzan, Harima Chà «bu Kyà «ryà Â, Inagawa Keikoku, Izushi-Itoi, Kasagatayama-Sengamine, Kiyomizu-Tà Âjà Âko-Tachikui, Onzui-Chikusa, Seiban Kyà «ryà Â, Seppiko-Mineyama, Tajima Sangaku, and Taki Renzan Prefectural Natural Parks.
Two major artificial islands are located Hyà Âgo Prefecture:
The city of Akà  and the only town in Akà  District (Kamigà Âri), were scheduled to merge and the city would still retain the name Akà Â. Akà  District would be defunct if the merger was successful. However, the merger has not taken place.
As in all prefectures nationwide, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries play a big role in the economy of Hyogo Prefecture. Hyà Âgo Prefecture also has an IT industry, many heavy industries, metal and medical, Kobe Port being one of the largest ports in Japan. Kobe Port also hosts one of the world's fastest supercomputers, and Hyogo Prefecture passed laws to keep Kobe Port free of nuclear weapons (a nuclear-free zone) since the year 1975.
Hyà Âgo is a part of the Hanshin Industrial Region. There are two research institutes of Riken, natural sciences research institute in Japan, in Kobe and Harima. "SPring-8", a synchrotron radiation facility, is in Harima.
There are 163 public and 52 private high schools within Hyogo prefecture. Of the public high schools, some are administered by the Hyogo prefectural government, whilst the others are administered by local municipalities.
The sports teams listed below are based in Hyà Âgo.
Baseball
Basketball
Football (soccer)
Rugby
Volleyball
A popular troupe of Takarazuka Revue plays in Takarazuka.
Arima Onsen in the south of the province in Kita-ku, Kobe is one of the Three Ancient Springs in Japan. The north of Hyogo Prefecture has sightseeing spots such as Kinosaki Onsen, Izushi, and Yumura Onsen. Takeda Castle in Asago is often referred to locally as the "Machu Picchu of Japan". The matsuba crab and Tajima beef are both national delicacies.
Kansai International Airport in nearby Osaka Prefecture is also used by air travellers from the prefecture as it provides most domestic and international travel.
Hyogo entered a sister state relationship with Washington state in the United States on October 22, 1963, the first such arrangement between Japan and the United States.
In 1981, a sister state agreement was drawn up between Hyogo and the state of Western Australia in Australia. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of this agreement in 1992, the Hyogo Prefectural Government Cultural Centre was established in Perth.