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 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, Tochigi Prefecture ...

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 n ...

. , 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 usi ...

of 27,577 in 10,849 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 RosenberPopu ...

of 386 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 32.9%. The total area of the city is . It is known for its annual iris festival (Itako Ayame Matsuri). Much of the city is within the borders of the Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park.

Geography

Itako is located in southern Ibaraki Prefecture, bordered by

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to t ...

to the south, and sandwiched between Lake Kasumigaura to the west and Lake Kitaura to the east. The

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the Kantō ...

also flows through the city, which has been noted since 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 character ...

for its network of canals. The city is approximately 80 kilometers north of

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 37.46 ...

Surrounding municipalities

Ibaraki Prefecture * Kashima *

Inashiki is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 39,127 in 14,733 households and a population density of 191 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 37.1%. The total area o ...

Kamisu is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 95,384 in 40,759 households and a population density of 649 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 23.6%. The total area o ...

* Namegata Chiba Prefecture * Katori

Climate

Itako 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 freez ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Itako is 14.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1455 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.3 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Itako population statistics
/ref> the population of Itako peaked around the year 2000 and has declined slightly since.

History

The town of Itako was established within Namegata District with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Itako merged with the neighboring villages of Tsuwa, Nobukata and Ouhara on February 11, 1955. It was raised to city status on April 1, 2001, by absorbing the town of Ushibori.

Government

Itako 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 multi ...

city council of 16 members. Itako contributes one member 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 paral ...

Economy

Education

Itako has six public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education.

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 ar ...

–

Kashima Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Katori Station with Kashima Soccer Stadium Station by crossing and then following the Tone River, at the border between Chiba Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefectur ...

* –

Bus

* Suigō-Itako Bus Terminal

Highway

* – Itako IC * *

Local attractions

*Suigo Itako Iris Gardens *Junikyo Bridges *Kongenyama park *Nihonmatsu-dera Buddhist temple *Inariyama Park *Chōshō-ji Buddhist temple *Suigo Hokusai Park *Road Station Itako *Suigo Dragonfly Park

Notable people from Itako

* Kenji Koyano, professional football player * Keita Sugimoto, professional football player * Tatsuya Kawahara, professional football player * Mitsuo Yanagimachi, movie director

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture Populated places established in 1955 1955 establishments in Japan Itako, Ibaraki