The Chūbu region is the central region of Honshū, Japan's main island. Chūbu has a population of 21,715,822 as of 2010. Chūbu, which means "central region", encompasses nine prefectures: Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, Yamanashi, and often Mie. It is located directly between the Kantō region and the Kansai region and includes the major city of Nagoya as well as along Pacific and Sea of Japan coastlines, extensive mountain resorts, and Mount Fuji. The region is the widest part of Honshū and the central part is characterized by high, rugged mountains. The Japanese Alps divide the country into the Pacific side, known as the front of Japan, or Omote-Nihon sunny in winter, and the Sea of Japan side, or Ura-Nihon, the back of Japan, snowy in winter.