250px, Hitachinaka city hall is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 154,663 in 64,900 households and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 1547 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 26.1%. The total area of the city is . It is a " hiragana city", the place name is written with the ''

hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrast ...

'' syllabary, and not the traditional ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

''.

Geography

Hitachinaka is located slightly northeast of central Ibaraki Prefecture and east of the capital of

Mito Mito may refer to: Places *Mito, Ibaraki, capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan *Mito, Aichi, a Japanese town *Mito, Shimane, a Japanese town * Mitō, Yamaguchi, a Japanese town * Mito District, a district in the province of Concepción, Per ...

. It consists of a lowland area around the Naka River in the south and the

Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

in the east.

Surrounding municipalities

Ibaraki Prefecture *

Tōkai Tōkai ( 東海, literally ''East Sea'') in Japanese may refer to: * Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu * Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also known as "Tokaimura" (Tokai-village) * Tōkai, Aichi, a city * Tōkai University, a private university in T ...

* Naka *

* Ōarai

Climate

Hitachinaka has a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hitachinaka is 13.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1415 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Hitachinaka has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.

History

The towns of Hiraiso and Minato, as well as the village of Katsuta were created within Naka District with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Minato was renamed Nakaminato in 1938. Nakaminato had commercial fishing industry as its main industry, but the area rapidly developed into a

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

, Katsuta was elevated to town status in 1940. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the area was subject to air raids and to shelling by Allied warships due to its numerous factories producing war-related materials. On March 31, 1954, the towns of Nakaminato and Hiraiso merged, forming the city of Nakaminato. Katsuta was raised to city status on November 1 of the same year. The two cities merged on November 1, 1994, to form the city of Hitachinaka.

Government

Hitachinaka has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

city council of 25 members. Hitachinaka contributes three members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Ibaraki 4th district Ibaraki 4th district (茨城県第4区 ''Ibaraki-ken dai-yon-ku'' or 茨城4区 ''Ibaraki 4-ku'') is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan. It is located in Northern Ibaraki and consists of the cities o ...

of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

Economy

Hitachinaka developed primarily as a

for

group factories, and Hitachi remains the primary employer. Secondary industries include commercial fishing, agriculture and seasonal tourism.

Education

Hitachinaka has 20 public elementary schools and nine public middle schools operated by the city government, and five public high school operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education, including Katsuta High School. The prefecture also operates one technical institute and one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

–

Jōban Line The Jōban Line ( ja, 常磐線, ) is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line officially begins at Nippori Station in Arakawa, Tokyo before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, ...

* –

– Suigun Line * – Hitachinaka Seaside Railway –

Minato Line The is a 14.3 km Japanese railway line operated by the third-sector railway operator between and , all within Hitachinaka, Ibaraki. It is the only railway line operated by the Hitachinaka Seaside Railway. The line was formerly operated by ...

* – – – – – – – – – –

Highway

* * * Hitachinaka Road * Higashi-Mito Road

Local attractions

Hitachi Seaside Park is a public park in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, Japan. Overview Covering an area of 190 hectares, the park features blooming flowers around the year. The park has become known for its nemophila, baby blue-eyes flowers, with the blooming of 4.5 million ...

Hitachinaka City Stadium is a multipurpose athletic stadium in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki 250px, Hitachinaka city hall is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 154,663 in 64,900 households and a population density of 1547 ...

Hitachinaka Baseball Stadium is a baseball stadium in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The stadium has an All-seater stadium, all-seated capacity of 25,000.Torazuka Kofun 270px, Signpost at Torazuka Kofun showing interior The is a Kofun period burial mound located in what is now the Nakane neighborhood of city of Hitachinaka in Ibaraki Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. It received protection ...

, National Historic Site

Annual events

Rock in Japan Festival The Rock in Japan Festival is an annual three-day rock festival held during early August at the Hitachi Seaside Park, in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, Japan, organized by ''Rockin'on ''Rockin'On Japan'', often stylized in all caps, is a monthly magazin ...

Sister cities

Hitachinaka is twinned with: *

Nasushiobara, Tochigi 270px, Shiobara Onsen is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 115,794 in 48,437 households, and a population density of 67 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Nasushioba ...

, Japan (1990) *

Ishinomaki, Miyagi is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 138,538, and a population density of 250 persons per km2 in 61,919 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Ishinomaki is in northeastern Miya ...

, Japan (1996)

Notable people

Natsuo Yamaguchi is a Japanese politician of the Komeito party and a member of the House of Councillors in the National Diet of Japan. Early life A native of Nakaminato (now Hitachinaka), Ibaraki and he was raised in Hitachi until his graduation from public se ...

, politician *

Kentaro Shiga is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. He returned from a two-year hiatus due to injury in 2005. History All Japan Pro Wrestling (1994−2000) Shiga trained in the All Japan dojo and debuted in All Japan Pro Wr ...

, professional wrestler *

Ōuchiyama Heikichi Ōuchiyama Heikichi (born Heikichi Ōuchi, 19 June 1926 – 1 November 1985) was a sumo wrestler from Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1944, and reached the top '' makuuchi'' division in 1949. He reached the second h ...

, sumo wrestler

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Hitachinaka, Ibaraki