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

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

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 68,177 in 27587 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 100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . In 2016, the former town of Takatō, now part of Ina, was selected as one of

The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan is a Japanese nonprofit organization of listing some of the most beautiful villages and towns in Japan. The association is active on enhancement and protection of Japanese rural heritage, cultural fairs & branding and promotion of regional, nati ...

Geography

Ina is located in south-central Nagano prefecture. It is bordered to the east by the

Akaishi Mountains The are a mountain range in central Honshū, Japan, bordering Nagano, Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures. It is also called the , as it joins with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the Kiso Mountains ("Central Alps") to form the Japa ...

, including

Mount Nyukasa is a mountain located on the northernmost edge of the Akaishi Mountains (also known as the ''Southern Alps''), in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Outline Though part of the “Southern Alps”, Mount Nyukasa is not included in the Minami Alps Nation ...

(1955 meters), Mount Nokogiri (2685 meters),

Mount Senjō is a mountain on the border of Minami-Alps, Yamanashi, and Ina, Nagano, in Japan. This mountain is one of the major peaks of the Akaishi Mountains, and is one of the most popular peaks in the range. This mountain is also one of the 100 Famo ...

(3033 meters), and

Mount Shiomi is a mountain located in the centre of the Akaishi Mountains−Southern Alps, within Minami Alps National Park, Japan. It is on the border of Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka and Nagano Prefectures. It is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. ...

(3047 meters). The

Tenryū River The is a river in central Honshū, Japan. With a length of , it is Japan's ninth longest river. Its source is Lake Suwa in the Kiso Mountains near Okaya, Nagano, Okaya in Nagano Prefecture. It then flows through Aichi Prefecture and western Shi ...

runs through the city.

Surrounding municipalities

*Nagano Prefecture ** Komagane ** Shiojiri ** Suwa ** Chino ** Suwa District: Fujimi ** Kamiina District: Minowa, Minamiminowa, Miyada ** Shimoina District: Ōshika **

Kiso District is a district located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As of November 1, 2005, the district has an estimated population of 34,759. The total area is 1,546.26 km2. Historically, the district was once known as Nishichikuma District (西筑摩郡) ...

: Kiso (town) *

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the no ...

** Minami-Alps ** Hokuto *

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...

** Aoi-ku,

Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

Climate

The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Ina is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

History

The area of present-day Ina was part of ancient

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...

. The area was part of the holdings of

Takatō Domain was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Takatō Domain was based at Takatō Castle in Shinano Province, in the modern city of Ina, located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshu. The T ...

during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

and Ina developed as a ''

jōkamachi The term refers to a type of urban structures in Japan in which the city surrounds a feudal lord's castle. These cities did not necessarily form around castles after the Edo period; some are known as Jin'yamachi, cities that have evolved around J ...

'' surrounding Ina Castle and as a river port on the Tenryū River. The village of Ina was established within Ina District the creation of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889 and was raised to town status on October 15, 1897. The town of Ina merged with the villages of Tomigata, Misuzu, Tera, Higashiharuchika and Nishiminowa (all from Kitaiina District) to form the city of Ina on April 1, 1954. Ina annexed the village of Nishiharuchika in 1965. On March 31, 2006, Ina absorbed the town of Takatō, and the village of

Hase The Hase is a long river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ems, but part of its flow goes to the Else, that is part of the Weser basin. Its source is in the Teutoburg Forest, south-east of Osnabrück, on the north slope ...

(both from Kamiina District to create the new and expanded city of Ina.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ina has remained relatively stable over the past 70 years.

Government

Ina 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 legislature of 21 members.

Economy

The economy of Ina is largely agricultural, with rice, pears, tomatoes and dairy farming as major components. The manufacturing sector includes electronics and precision instrumentation.

Rubycon Corporation is a Japanese electronics company, whose main products are electrolytic capacitors, film capacitors and power supply units with a wide range of applications including consumer, industrial, power, lighting and automotive. Founded in 1952 as Nih ...

, an electronic components company has its headquarters in the city.Corporate Overview
"

Retrieved on June 13, 2015.

Education

Ina has 15 public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government. There are three public high schools operated by the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education and one private high school. The prefecture also operated one special education school. The city has one international school (Colégio Desafio) - Brazilian primary school.Escolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão

Archive
. Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015.

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company 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 ...

Iida Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Toyohashi Station in Toyohashi, Aichi with Tatsuno Station in Tatsuno, Nagano, operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The line links eastern Aichi Prefecture and southern Nagano Prefe ...

** - - - -

Highway

Nagano Expressway The is a 4-laned national expressway in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company and Central Nippon Expressway Company. Naming The expressway is officially referred to as the Chūō Expressway Nagano ...

* * *

Sister city relations

International

* -

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(from on November 22, 1994 as a friendship city)

Domestic

* Chita,

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

(from November 7, 1994 as a friendship city) * Miyake,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

(became allies on April 21, 1970) *

Shinjuku, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

(from July 12, 1986) *

Aizuwakamatsu is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,159 in 50,365 households, and a population density of 310 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Aizuwakamatsu is located in the west ...

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

(from September 24, 2004) * Iwanashiro,

(from September 23, 1994) * Iwata,

(became allies on August 1, 1984)

Local attractions

Takatō Castle is a Japanese castle located in the city of Ina, southern Nagano Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Takatō Castle was home to a cadet branch of the Naitō clan, '' daimyō'' of Takatō Domain. The castle was also known as . Bui ...

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Nagano Prefecture