1.
Tokyo metropolitan area; greater Tokyo; capital region
The region centered on Tokyo, generally including the surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, and Yamanashi. Home to approximately 36 million people.
首都圏に住んでいる。
I live in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
首都圏の電車は朝のラッシュがひどい。
The morning rush on trains in the greater Tokyo area is terrible.
台風の影響で首都圏の交通機関が大幅に乱れた。
Transportation in the Tokyo metropolitan area was severely disrupted due to the typhoon.
Frequently appears in news and weather forecasts. The formal definition under the Capital Region Development Act includes Tokyo and seven surrounding prefectures. In everyday use, it often refers more narrowly to Tokyo and the three adjacent prefectures (神奈川, 埼玉, 千葉). Related terms: 関東 (the Kanto region, a broader geographical term), 都心 (central Tokyo), 近畿圏 (Kinki/Kansai metropolitan area).