250px, Kashimana Kaihin Koen
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 45,997 in 18,455 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 221.6 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 34.1%.
The total area of the city is .
Geography
Hokota is located in central Ibaraki Prefecture, approximately 90 kilometers northeast of Tokyo and within 30 kilometers of Mito City, the prefectural capital. The eastern side of the city faces the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
and has a long shallow coastline from north to south. Most of the inland area is flat, and agriculture that takes advantage of the flat terrain and the mild climate is the core industry..
Surrounding municipalities
Ibaraki Prefecture
*
Kashima
*
Namegata
is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 32,144 in 11,412 households and a population density of 144.5 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 35.9%. The total area of ...
*
Omitama
280px, Lake Kasumigaura from Omitama
is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,776 in 18,311 households and a population density of 337 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged ove ...
*
Ōarai
Climate
Hokota 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 Hokota is . The average annual rainfall is with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .
[
]
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,Hokota population statistics
/ref> the population of Hokota has remained relatively steady over the past 70 years.
History
The town of Hokota was created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The city of Hokota was established on October 11, 2005, from the merger of the former town of Hokota, and the villages of Asahi
Asahi (朝日, 旭, or あさひ) means "morning sun" in Japanese and may refer to:
Cities
* Asahi, Chiba (旭市; ''Asahi-shi'') Wards
* Asahi-ku, Osaka (旭区; ''Asahi-ku'')
* Asahi-ku, Yokohama (旭; ''Asahi-ku'')
Towns
* Asahi, Aichi (旭 ...
and Taiyō (all from Kashima District).
Government
Hokota 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 18 members. Hokota, together with neighboring Ōarai and Ibaraki, contributes two members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ibaraki 2nd district
, the House of Representatives of Japan is elected from a combination of multi-member districts and single-member districts, a method called Parallel voting. Currently, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member districts (called proportional r ...
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
The economy of Hokota is primarily agricultural, with melons as a major cash crop.
Education
* Hokota has ten public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education.
Transportation
Railway
- Kashima Rinkai Railway
The is a railway company in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The third sector company is abbreviated as KRT. It was founded in 1969 to transport freight to and from the coastal industrial area of Kashima.
Lines
* Kashima Rinkō Line (freight only): ...
– Ōarai Kashima Line
The is a 53.0 km Japanese railway line in Ibaraki Prefecture, which connects Mito Station in Mito with Kashima Soccer Stadium Station in Kashima. It is owned and run by the third-sector railway operating company Kashima Rinkai Railway (KR ...
* - - - - -
Highway
*
*
*
Local attractions
*Otake Beach
*Kashima Littoral Park
Notable people from Hokota
* Tetsuya Asano
is a former Japanese football player and manager. He played for the Japanese national team.
Club career
Asano was born in Hokota on February 23, 1967. After graduating from high school, torough Toyota Shukyu-Dan, he joined Japan Soccer Leag ...
, soccer player
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture
Populated coastal places in Japan
Hokota, Ibaraki