Nobi and Kanto plains are located in which of the following countries ?

The correct answer is C, Japan.

The Nobi plain lies in the Chubu region of central Honshu around Nagoya, formed by the deltas of the Kiso, Nagara and Ibi rivers. The Kanto plain around Tokyo is the largest plain in Japan, built up by the Tone and Arakawa rivers. Both are alluvial plains, which is why they carry dense population, paddy cultivation and major industry.

• A) North Korea: Its plains, such as the Pyongyang and Chongchon river plains, are different features and not these two.
• B) South Korea: Its main lowlands, such as the Naktong basin, are not these plains.
• D) China: Its major plains are the North China Plain, the Yangtze lower plain and the Sichuan basin, not Nobi or Kanto.

The concept is Japan's physiography: a mountainous country with small alluvial plains on which most people live. This links to Mains questions on Japan's disaster vulnerability, since the Kanto plain sits on a seismically active zone and is exposed to earthquakes and tsunamis.

Trap: Aspirants who recognise the word "plain" but not the names guess a Korean or Chinese location. Learn the Japanese plain names along with the rivers that form them.