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地区 and 地方 have similar definitions, and 地帯 and 地域 are also defined similarly
(at least according to
[JMdict/EDICT](http://www.edrdg.org/jmdict/edict_doc.html):

>   1. 地区【ちく】 = district; section; sector
>   2. 地方【ちほう】= district; region; area; locality
>   3. 地帯【ちたい】= area; zone; belt (of land)
>   4. 地域【ちいき】 = area; region
>

Searching around for answers, I also found

>   5. 区域【くいき】 = limits; boundary; domain; zone; sphere; territory
>

The 類語例解辞典 dictionary [has an explanation of
sorts](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/thsrs/13827/m0u/) in Japanese, but I'm
not too confident in my Japanese skills.

What I have gathered so far:

>   * 区域 seems to be some very small area, like the premises of a factory, or
> a park.
>   * 地区 has something to do with residential areas, I think.
>   * 地方 is often used with the regions of Japan, like 「関東地方」、「東北地方」.
>

But I'm not sure if that's right, and I still don't quite understand the other
words, so I'd appreciate if someone could give an answer, at least explaining
the first four words.
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question
word-choice nuances synonyms
Words for area/district/region: the actual difference between 地区、地帯、地域、地方 (and also 区域)?
To help you understand those words I will give you few examples :

地区 : Those are districts/wards in a city, there are for example 23 special
wards in Tokyo. ( Shinjuku, Shibuya etc ...)
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_wards_of_Tokyo> You will say 新宿区 (the
ward of shinjuku) 渋谷区(the ward of shibuya). In every japanese city you have 地区

地方 is a region like Kanto or Kansai, it is the word for an administrative
region.

地域 is a general word for the term " a region", it could be the asion region,
the oceanian region, north of USA, north america ...

地帯 and 区域 definition and nuances you gave are accurate and pretty clear :

地帯 = area; zone; belt (of land)

区域 = limits; boundary; domain; zone; sphere; territory

Edit : As the Author asked about more details, here they are : First japanese
is about kanji :

in 地区, you have : 地 : earth, soil, ground 区 : area, district, region, ward (
like 新宿区, 渋谷区 )

so for a ward you will use : 地区 for a city I don't think you can use this form
for a prefecture you will use 地市 for a region you will use : 地方( example :
関東地方 )

All those word are talking about the area, the soils of those places. So it
means in your roman, the author is considering 西東京 as a fictional special ward
of tokyo and then calling it 西東京地区.

About the word 地帯 and 地域

帯 : the main meaning of this kanji is a belt. 地帯 : is what is written up
there, an area, a zone, a belt of land, for example : サンベルト地帯 ( the sunbelt in
USA ). Indeed, a belt of land is a zone, and is an area. The meaning is a belt
of land, but it can be translated into those 3 words depending on context,
that's why you gotta think about Kanjis, and not about translators.

域 : level, limits, range, region, stage.

地域 : I let you think about the meaning of this word, it can describe anything.
( the most general word to speak about "a region" of the world, of a country,
of a anything ).
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answer
If you ask about "actual" difference, the fact is that the major part of their
meanings are overlapping so you can't really find an example only one of them
is acceptable and others are not. Administrations might define these words as
they like.

However, according to my personal sense, the basic ideas are:

**地区** vs **地帯** vs **地域**

They are suitable for indicating continuous areas that surrounded by rigid
lines, belt-shaped, or have vague boundaries, respectively.

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/J16wM.png)

**地方** : It's a word for regions which don't only have geographical continuity
but cultural, traditional solidarity, and at least as big as a county.

**区域** : It's artificial zoning that geographical characteristics may be
ignored. A good example is 避難区域 (evacuation zone) around Fukushima 1 power
plant, which was designated automatically by radius from the site.
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answer