Are 近畿【きんき】 and 関西【かんさい】 two nouns for the same concept and same region or there is an actual difference?


I have learnt that the 関西【かんさい】 area of Japan is also called 近畿【きんき】.
According to my findings (see [this
entry](https://english.stackexchange.com/q/103609/363747) on another
stackexchange site), 関西 is a more popular term than 近畿. I would like to know:

1) Do they refer exactly to the same geographical place in Japan or there is
any difference between their boundaries?

2) Are both considered 地方【ちほう】 or this is appropriate only for one of them?

よろしくお願いします！




近畿 is more specific. Being "near-capital" literally, it refers to an area
including 大阪府, 京都府, 兵庫県, 奈良県, 滋賀県, 和歌山県, plus usually 三重県*1, seldom 福井県
(especially its southern part).

関西, on the other hand, has more variation in its meaning. In the narrowest
sense, it is roughly the same area as 近畿. In its broadest sense, it can refer
to the 'western' part of Japan including the 九州 area. Still, its centre is
always considered to be 京阪神 area, and as such, it seems to be interchangeable
to 近畿 most of the time (i.e. the broadest sense isn't very often seen).
Dictionaries at my hand agrees that 関西, in recent usage, can refer to 京阪神
area, which is narrower than 近畿.

I also feel that 関西 has more connotation regarding culture, which may explain
why the former is more frequently encountered. I don't think neither is more
popular/common than the other.

Both are considered as 地方.

[This Q&A from
NDL](http://crd.ndl.go.jp/reference/modules/d3ndlcrdentry/index.php?page=ref_view&id=1000166263)
can be an interesting reading.

*1: 三重 is tricky in this regard. It is also commonly included in 東海 area, and has possibly more connection to the 名古屋 city culture-wise. 




近畿 is more specific. Being "near-capital" literally, it refers to an area
including 大阪府, 京都府, 兵庫県, 奈良県, 滋賀県, 和歌山県, plus usually 三重県*1, seldom 福井県
(especially its southern part).

関西, on the other hand, has more variation in its meaning. In the narrowest
sense, it is roughly the same area as 近畿. In its broadest sense, it can refer
to the 'western' part of Japan including the 九州 area. Still, its centre is
always considered to be 京阪神 area, and as such, it seems to be interchangeable
to 近畿 most of the time (i.e. the broadest sense isn't very often seen).
Dictionaries at my hand agrees that 関西, in recent usage, can refer to 京阪神
area, which is narrower than 近畿.

I also feel that 関西 has more connotation regarding culture, which may explain
why the former is more frequently encountered. I don't think neither is more
popular/common than the other.

Both are considered as 地方.

[This Q&A from
NDL](http://crd.ndl.go.jp/reference/modules/d3ndlcrdentry/index.php?page=ref_view&id=1000166263)
can be an interesting reading.

*1: 三重 is tricky in this regard. It is also commonly included in 東海 area, and has possibly more connection to the 名古屋 city culture-wise. 

