

Kyochuu, officially the Kyochuu Metropolis is the Imperial Capital of the Empire of Japan as well as the largest city in the Orion Arm. It is the seat of both the Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. Kyochuu is located on the planet Setsujoku in the system of the same name and contains roughly a quarter of the planet’s total population. The city is situated around of the Orion Arm’s largest natural harbors with most of the city built across a series of islands located at the mouth of the Fuji River.

Kyochuu was founded in 2043, making it one of the oldest colonies in the Orion Arm after those on Alpha Centauri. It officially became the capital of the Empire in 2094 during which time most of the Japanese government was relocated and the city was renamed from its original colonial designation. The city experienced an immense population boom throughout the early 22nd century as evacuation efforts intensified on Earth.

The Greater Kyochuu Metropolitan Area has a population of 556.8 million people while the city proper contains 209 million. It ranks first in the Interstellar Economic Power Index and second in the Global Cities Index. It also hosts 131 of the Forbes Interstellar 2000 Companies, the highest of any city in the Orion Arm.

Kyochuu is one of the few Japanese cities open to foreigners from outside the Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and it consistently ranks favorably in various tourism categories.

Geography

Kyochuu’s downtown core is situated at the mouth of the Fuji river which feeds into the naturally sheltered Karushima Harbor. Most of the city has been built on 19 separate islands, although outlying suburbs and urban sprawl occupy much of the harbor’s surrounding coast as well as numerous smaller islands and chains. In total nine major rivers flow through Greater Kyochuu with only Kashihara providing entirely fresh water.

Kyochuu covers an area of roughly 129,103km2 with an average elevation of 30 meters.

Climate

Most of Kyochuu lies within Setsojoku’s humid subtropical climate zone with hot humid summers and generally mild winters. The city’s climate bears a strong similarity to that of pre-exodus Honshu, something no doubt considered during the early colonization process. Annual rainfall averages 1,704mm with dryer winters and wetter summers. Snowfall is sporadic but occurs annually.

Cityscape

Kyochuu has a rich collection of buildings and structures dominated by various interpretations of Japanese architecture. The city has constantly been on the forefront of skyscraper building design and technology, supported not only by Japanese and Co-Prosperity Sphere design firms, but also by top firms operating out of the Greater German Reich and smaller neutral nations. Kyochuu had more completed or topped-out skyscrapers higher than 2km than any other city in the Orion Arm. The Imperial Spire, completed in 2279 is by far the Orion Arm’s tallest tower and the first to reach over 4km in height.

The city is also famed for its thousands of bridges which connect the islands of the downtown core together. Many of these have been awarded some level of landmark status by the Japanese government and become tourist attractions in their own right.

Prominent Buildings

Kyochuu Imperial Palace

The Imperial Palace is the primary residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located on it's own separate island in the middle of the Kyochuu downtown core. The Palace includes many buildings; several private residences of the Imperial Family, various archives, museums and administrative offices. The main palace is a a reconstruction of classical Japanese castles albeit with it's own original design. Several national treasures recovered from sites in Japan were incorporated into the palace, including several Golden Carps from Nagoya Castle and the Western Gate of Osaka Castle. Several modern elements including landing strips and VIP hangers are also present.

In popular culture

As the largest city of both the Empire of Japan and the Orion Arm, Kyochuu is frequently the setting for many Japanese and international movies, television shows and other forms of media. Landmarks of Kyochuu are routinely destroyed by kaiju movie monsters such as Godzilla.