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

Fukushima Prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi ...

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 ...

. , Iwaki had a population of 337,765 in 143,500 households, and

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 270 persons per km². The total area of the city is , making it the largest city in the prefecture and the 10th largest city in Japan (2010) in terms of area. Iwaki is a designated core city, and is also one of the growing number of cities written in ''hiragana''. The present Iwaki City started as the merger of 14 smaller municipalities on October 1, 1966. Every year, Iwaki hosts the Taira Tanabata Festival from 6–8 August.

Geography and climate

The city is located at the southeastern end of

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku reta ...

and borders on

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 ...

. The city occupies around 8.9 percent of the total area of Fukushima Prefecture. The eastern part of the city is made up of of coastline which 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 conti ...

and the western part goes through the Abukuma highlands and joins up with the central part of Fukushima Prefecture. The western part is a range of mountains and forests, which occupies about 70 percent of the city. The rivers which flow to the east from the mountains have riverbeds with steep inclines that form the deep valleys of the Natsuigawa Gorge and the Shidokigawa Gorge. The flatter eastern part of the city is where most of the population is located. There are seven beaches on the coastline. Off the coast of Iwaki, the warm Kuroshio Current and the cold Oyashio Current meet and make for an abundant fishing ground. The city's flag and seal depict the meeting of these two currents. The prevailing winds from the ocean are warm and wet.

Neighboring municipalities

*North: Kawauchi, Naraha, Hirono *West: Tamura,

Ono ONO, Ono or Ōno may refer to: Places Fiji * Ono Island (Fiji) Israel * Kiryat Ono * Ono, Benjamin, ancient site Italy * Ono San Pietro Ivory Coast * Ono, Ivory Coast, a village in Comoé District Japan * Ōno Castle, Fukuoka * ...

Hirata Hirata may refer to: Places *Hirata, Fukushima, former village in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan * Hirata, Gifu, former town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan *Hirata, Shimane, former city in Shimane Prefecture, Japan *Hirata, Yamagata was a town located in ...

, Furudono *South: Kitaibaraki (

Ibaraki Ibaraki may refer to any of the following places in Japan: * Ibaraki Prefecture, one of the 47 prefectures of Japan **Ibaraki, Ibaraki, a town in Ibaraki Prefecture **Ibaraki Airport, an airport in Omitama, Ibaraki **Ibaraki dialect, the dialect sp ...

)

Climate

Iwaki is situated in a temperate climate zone (

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, nota ...

''Cfa'' or

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

) and has a moderate climate. The city's average temperature is and its average annual precipitation is . The highest recorded temperature in the city is , and the lowest recorded temperature is . The average year has 14.4 days with a high temperature over and only 3.1 days with a low temperature below , which is smaller compared to other Japanese cities. The city is rarely hit by typhoons, and experiences only 0.7 days with more than of snowfall in the average year. The duration of bright sunshine is 2058.1 hours in average year.

Natural environment

*Rivers: Natsuigawa River, Samegawa River, Yoshimagawa River, Fujiwara River * Gorges: Natsuigawa Gorge, Shidokigawa Gorge *Mountains: Mizuishiyama, Yunodake, Futatsuyasan, Ishimoriyama *

Hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

：

Iwaki Yumoto Onsen is an ''onsen'' resort in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. History Although known since the Nara period, the hot springs at Iwaki developed with borehole drilling in the Jōban Coal Fields in the Meiji period. To the west of the tradition ...

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Iwaki remained relatively steady over the past 60 years.

History

The area of present-day Iwaki was part of ancient

Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the co ...

. The forms いわき, 石城, 岩城, 巖城, 巌城, and 磐城 are all ways of writing "Iwaki", which means "rocky castle". Under the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the c ...

Taika Reform The were a set of doctrines established by Emperor Kōtoku (孝徳天皇 ''Kōtoku tennō'') in the year 645. They were written shortly after the death of Prince Shōtoku and the defeat of the Soga clan (蘇我氏 ''Soga no uji''), uniting Jap ...

of 645 AD, the central government formed "Iwaki district (磐城郡)" in the northern part of the present city and "Kikuta district (菊多郡)" in the southern part.Iwaki's history
pdf In 653, the Iwaki district incorporated part of Taga Province and became Iwaki district (岩城評). In 718, Iwaki Province was formed, which was composed of five districts with

: Iwaki (岩城), Shineha, Namekata, Uta, Watari and Kikuta which was given from Hitachi Province. Shineha was the present Naraha. Namekata and Uta were the present Sōma. Watari was the present

Watari, Miyagi is a town located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 33,459, and a population density of 450 persons per km² in 12,643 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Watari is located in the Tōhoku r ...

. The area of the present Iwaki City was composed of Kikuta and Iwaki (岩城 or 磐城). The Yamato government constructed the Nakoso barrier around 708 AD against possible invasion by the

Emishi The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean " shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contem ...

tribes in the north.Imamukashi kiko of Iwaki
Kofun period - Meiji Period In the late 11th century, the

Iwaki clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Hitachi-Heishi, a cadet branch of the Taira clan. However, this connection is tenuous and not backed by documentary evidence, suggesting that the Iwaki were instead descendants fro ...

(岩城氏) of Hitachi Province invaded Iwaki district (磐城郡) and divided it into four districts of Yoshima, Iwasaki, Iwaki, Naraha. The clan ruled the area from the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle b ...

to the end of the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

. In 1600, Iwaki Sadataka opposed

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

during the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 ( Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

and as a result, the Iwaki clan was deposed. Torii Tadamasa was appointed as ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

'' of Iwakitaira Domain under 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 ...

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

, with an assessed ''

kokudaka refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of ''koku'' of rice. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Koku"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 54 ...

'' of 100,000 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

'' and constructed Iwakitaira Castle. The domain covered only a portion of what is now Iwaki city: other parts of the city were under the control of Izumi Domain (1634) and Yunagaya Domain (1670). All three domains joined the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei during the

Bakumatsu period was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji governm ...

in support of the Tokugawa against the

Satchō Alliance The , or was a powerful military alliance between the feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to restore Imperial rule and overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. History The name ''Satchō'' () i ...

during the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

, but following the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, and the 1871

Abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lord ...

The new

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

created Iwakitaira Prefecture, Yunagaya Prefecture and Izumi Prefecture, which were incorporated to Iwamae (Iwasaki) Prefecture (磐前県) and to the current Fukushima Prefecture (1876). In 1896, Iwaki Bank and Taira Bank were established. In 1897, the

Japanese Government Railway The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways ( ja, 鉄道省, Tetsudō-shō, ) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Ra ...

filled in the inner moat of Iwakidaira Castle and built Taira Station. The Jōban coalfield, the largest coalfield in

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island sepa ...

and the nearest to the Japanese capital

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 ...

, was developed, and the population of Taira increased to support the exploitation of the coalfield. The

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, ...

was made for the haulage of the coal. Iwaki's fishery, forestry and agricultural sectors also developed from this time. After

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the Jōban coalfield was closed. The same natural hot springs that were troublesome to the coal miners were put to good use and a hot springs resort was developed

Spa Resort Hawaiians , located in the city of Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, is a resort and theme park in Japan. It opened on January 15, 1966 as the Joban Hawaiian Center, becoming the first in the country. History The resort was an outgrowth of the mining indus ...

. The present city was incorporated on October 1, 1966, with the merger of 14 municipalities (5 cities, 4 towns and 5 villages). The cities were Taira (平), Uchigō (内郷), Iwaki (磐城), Nakoso (勿来), and Jōban (常磐); the towns, Yotsukura, (四倉) Tōno (遠野), Ogawa (小川) and Hisanohama (久之浜); and the five villages were Yoshima (好間), Miwa (三和), Tabito (田人), Kawamae (川前) and Ōhisa (大久). Taira was chosen as the location for the city hall and other administrative offices and continues to function as the centre of Iwaki. In April 1979, an "Iwaki Number" as an automobile number plate was introduced. On April 1, 1999, the city was designated a core city with increased autonomy from the prefectural government. On 11 March 2011, the city was struck by an earthquake and followed by a tsunami. By 20 May 2011, 303 were dead and 82 still missing.

Government

Iwaki 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 legislature of 37 members. The city contributes 10 members to the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, Iwaki is part of the Fukushima 5th District (along with Futaba District) for a seat in 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 ...

Mayors

*1st 1966– *2nd 1966– *3rd 1974– *4th 1986– *5th 1990– *6th 1997 *7th 2005–

Subdivisions

Iwaki is a decentralised city created the merger of 14 municipalities (5 cities, 4 towns and 5 villages). The cities were , , , , and ; the towns, , , and ; and the five villages were , , , and . The central area of Iwaki is the former city of Taira, which has Iwaki City Hall, Iwaki City Lyceum, Iwaki Station, etc. Onahama and Yumoto were annexed by Iwaki in 1954, prior to the 1966 merger. Yumoto is home to

, one of the oldest ''

onsen In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

'' in Japan, with many ''ryokan'' hotels. It is also home to

, a spa resort which draws 1.5 million visitors per year and was the subject of the 2006 movie '' Hula Girls''. Onahama is a port town where many factories, fisheries and port facilities are located. There is also an aquarium, some beaches and seaside restaurants. There are thirteen zones (hamlets or ) within the city. * Taira * Onahama & Ena & Izumi * Nakoso & Nishiki & Ueda * Jōban & Yumoto * Uchigō * Yotsukura * Tōno * Ogawa * Yoshima * Miwa * Tabito * Kawamae * Hisanohama & Ōhisa As of October 1, 2007

Economy

The main foundations of economy are industry and agriculture. In particular, Iwaki is a centre for manufacturing machinery, wood based products and chemicals. The industrial production of Iwaki City is #1 in

. Iwaki is rich in sightseeing resources and 7.64 million tourists visit annually. Within Fukushima prefecture, the industrial and sightseeing center is Iwaki, while the political center is

Fukushima city is the capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It is located in the northern part of the Nakadōri, central region of the prefecture. , the city has an estimated population of 283,742 in 122,130 households and a population density of . The ...

. The Nakoso Thermal Power Station, a large coal-fired

thermal power station A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a stea ...

is located in Iwaki. Statistics (2006)Statistics of Iwaki
*Employed population: 174,048 *Unemployed population: 121,802 *Gross production: ¥1,293,782 billion *Number of tourists: 7,639,296

Major companies

Major companies with head offices in Iwaki

* Daio Paper Corp.; TYO1TYO1 means a company quoted to the first class of

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed ...

(TSE). Osaka Securities Exchange(OSE),

Nagoya Stock Exchange Nagoya Stock Exchange (名古屋証券取引所 ''Nagoya Shōken Torihikijo'', NSE) is a stock trading market in Nagoya, Japan. It is Japan's second largest exchange, behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange. History The Nagoya Stock Exchange (NSE) is t ...

(NSE) and

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...

(NYSE) similarly follow suit. * Joban Kosan Co., Ltd.;

, TYO1 * Honeys Co., Ltd.; boutique shops, TYO1 * Nippon Kasei Chemical Company Limited, TYO1 *Maruto supermarkets *Tōyō system; secondary battery *Yugetsu

Major companies with factories in Iwaki

Alps Electric Co. is a Japanese multinational corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, producing electronic devices, including switches, potentiometers, sensors, encoders and touchpads. The company was established in 1948 as Kataoka Electric Co., Ltd. and cha ...

Alpine Electronics is a Japanese consumer electronics subsidiary of the Japanese electronics component manufacturer Alps Electric, specializing in car audio and navigation systems. Established in 1967 as Alps-Motorola — a joint venture between Alps Electr ...

; TYO1 * Arakawa Chemical Industries, Ltd; TYO1, OSE1 * S. T. Corporation (old S.T. Chemistry); TYO1 * Okamoto Industries, Inc.; TYO1 * Cleanup Corporation; TYO1 * Kureha Corporation; TYO1, OSE1 *

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one ...

; TYO1 *

Nissan Motors , trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun bran ...

; TYO1 * Organo Corp.; TYO1 * Mitsubishi Materials Corporation; TYO1 * Aska Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; TYO1 * Nichiha Corporation; NSE1, TYO1 * Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. * Merck KGaA; DAX * Merck & Co.;

NYSE The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...

Banks

(As of 2007) *Iwaki Credit Association *Himawari Credit Association *

Toho Bank is a Japanese regional bank headquartered in Fukushima, Fukushima Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshū. Toho Bank provides financial services for individual and corporate customers, including deposits, loans, real estate, sec ...

*Fukushima Bank *Daito Bank * Joyo Bank * The 77 Bank *Tohoku Industrial Bank *Abukuma Trust Bank * Akita Bank *

Mizuho Bank is the integrated retail and corporate banking unit of Mizuho Financial Group (; ), the third largest financial services company in Japan, with total assets of approximately $1.8 trillion in 2017. Mizuho is one of the three so-called Japane ...

* National Life Finance Corporation

Fisheries

:Fishery: 75,628t (2003)

Import and export

Onahama Port (2003) :Import: 5,133,727t :Export: 514,045t

Transportation

Surrounded by the ocean and mountains, Iwaki is more closely connected to

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 ...

in neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture than to the Nakadōri region of Fukushima, including Kōriyama or the prefectural capital of Fukushima). Iwaki is 75 km from Kōriyama, 150 km from

Sendai is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the ''daimyō'' Date M ...

and 95 km from Mito. The

runs north and south in the city. The central station is Iwaki Station, which is also a terminus for the East Ban'etsu Line which links Iwaki to Kōriyama.

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 ...

–

* - - - - - - - - - JR logo (east)

–

Ban'etsu East Line The is a railway line in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Iwaki Station in Iwaki and Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama. The name "Ban'etsu" is taken from the first characters of the names ...

*Iwaki - - - - Fukushima Rinkai Railway Main Line (freight line) *Izumi - Miyashita Freight Terminal - Onahama Freight Terminal :¤This line carries passenger only on the day of Onahama firework festival

Highway

Iwaki-JCT-ban-etsu-expressway,iwaki-city,japan

* - Iwaki Nakoso Interchange - Iwaki Yumoto Interchange - Yunotake Parking Area – Iwaki Junction - Iwaki Chūō Interchange - Iwaki Yotsukura Interchange * - Iwaki Junction - Iwaki-Miwa Interchange * * * * *

Bus operators

City buses

* Shin Jōban Kōtsū

Highway buses

*Shin Jōban Kōtsū * JR Bus Tōhoku * JR Bus Kantō * Tōbu Bus Central *

Fukushima Transportation is a rail and bus transportation company headquartered in Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It operates the Iizaka Line rail line and an extensive bus network, which primarily serves the Nakadōri and northern section of the Ham ...

* Aizu Bus

Ports

* Onahama Port *Nakanosaku Port *Ena Port *Hisanohama Port

Sport

Iwaki-Taira Velodrome is located within the city.

Public institutions

Taira

*Iwaki City Hall (main) * Iwaki Green Stadium *Iwaki athletic field *Iwaki civil pools *Iwaki gymnasium *Iwaki Velodrome *Iwaki Lyceum "Alios" *Iwaki cultural center *Iwaki central library *Iwaki museum *Iwaki central park

Nakoso

*Nakoso branch office *Iwaki Nakoso Lyceum

Uchigō

*Uchigō branch office *Iwaki Uchigō Community Center

Onahama

*Onahama branch office *Iwaki Onahama baseball ground *Onahama civil pools *Iwaki Onahama Lyceum *

Aquamarine Fukushima (officially ) is an aquarium located in Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan. The aquarium opened on 15 July 2000. The public aquarium is the largest in the Tōhoku region, Tohoku region and is focusing on education of Natural environment, environment. 　 H ...

Jōban (Yumoto)

*Jōban branch office *The 21st-century forest park : Iwaki Green Stadium (capacity of 30,000) :Iwaki Green Field (soccer, rugby, football) *Iwaki Jōban Lyceum *Iwaki Coal and Fossils Museum

Others

*Hisanohama and Ōhisa branch office *Yotsukura branch office *Kawamae branch office *Ogawa branch office *Yoshima branch office *Miwa branch office *Toyoma branch office *Ena branch office *Chūōdai service center *Izumi branch office *Ueda branch office *Tabito branch office *Tōno branch office *Iwaki southern forest's sports park *Kurashi no Denshōgō *Kusano Shimpei Memorial *Iwaki Anmonites Center

Education

Universities and Colleges

* Fukushima National College of Technology *

Iwaki Meisei University is a private university, located in the city of Iwaki, Fukushima, 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 ...

Higashi Nippon International University is a private university, located in the city of Iwaki, Fukushima, 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 ...

* Iwaki Junior College

Senior high schools

Iwaki has 14 public high schools operated by the Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education. There is one private high school and three private combined middle/high schools. The prefecture also operates three special education schools within Iwaki. ;Public (prefectural) * Iwaki High School (磐城高等学校) * Iwaki Sakuragaoka High School (磐城桜が丘高等学校) * Iwaki Kōyō High School (いわき光洋高等学校) * Iwaki Nōgyō High School (磐城農業高等学校) * Iwaki Sōgō High School (いわき総合高等学校) * Iwaki Kaisei High School (いわき海星高等学校) * Iwaki Yumoto High School(いわき湯本高等学校) * Taira Kōgyō High School (平工業高等学校) * Taira Shōgyō High School (平商業高等学校) *Nakoso High School (勿来高等学校) *Nakoso Kōgyō High School (勿来工業高等学校) *Onahama High School (小名浜高等学校) *Yoshima High School (好間高等学校) *Yotsukura High School (四倉高等学校) ;Private *Iwaki Shūei High School (いわき秀英高等学校) *Shōhei High School (東日本国際大学附属昌平高等学校) *Iwaki First High School (磐城第一高等学校) *Iwaki Second High School (磐城第二高等学校)

Junior high schools

Iwaki has 39 public junior high schools. There are three private combined junior/senior high schools (listed above). The city also operates 67 public elementary schools. ;Public (municipal) *Taira First Junior High School (平第一中学校) *Taira Second Junior High School (平第二中学校) *Taira Third Junior High School (平第三中学校) *Fujima Junior High School (藤間中学校) *Toyoma Junior High School (豊間中学校) *Kusano Junior High School (草野中学校) *Akai Junior High School (赤井中学校) *Yumoto First Junior High School (湯本第一中学校) *Yumoto Second Junior High School (湯本第二中学校) *Yumoto Third Junior High School (湯本第三中学校) *Iwasaki Junior High School (磐崎中学校) *Onahama First Junior High School (小名浜第一中学校) *Onahama Second Junior High School (小名浜第二中学校) *Izumi Junior High School (泉中学校) *Ena Junior High School (江名中学校) *Uchigō First Junior High School (内郷第一中学校) *Uchigō Second Junior High School (内郷第二中学校) *Uchigō Third Junior High School (内郷第三中学校) *Ueda Junior High School (植田中学校) *Ueda Higashi Junior High School (植田東中学校) *Nishiki Junior High School (錦中学校) *Nakoso First Junior High School (勿来第一中学校) *Nakoso Second Junior High School (勿来第二中学校) *Kawabe Junior High School (川部中学校) *Katōno Junior High School (上遠野中学校) *Iritōno Junior High School (入遠野中学校) *Yotsukura Junior High School (四倉中学校) *Ōno Junior High School (大野中学校) *Ogawa Junior High School (小川中学校) *Tabito Junior High School (田人中学校) *Yoshima Junior High School (好間中学校) *Nagai Junior High School (永井中学校) *Miwa Junior High School (三和中学校) *Misaka Junior High School (三阪中学校) *Saiso Junior High School (差塩中学校) *Kawamae Junior High School (川前中学校) *Okeuri Junior High School (桶売中学校) *Ojiroi Junior High School (小白井中学校) *Hisanohama Junior High School (久之浜中学校) *Tamagawa Junior High School (玉川中学校) *Chūōdai Kita Junior High School (中央台北中学校) *Chūōdai Minami Junior High School (中央台南中学校)

Media

Television

* NHK Fukushima * Fukushima Central Television (by

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed ...

) * Fukushima Broadcasting (by

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...

) * Fukushima Television Broadcasting (by Fuji) * TV-U Fukushima (by TBS)

Newspapers

*Fukushima Mimpō (Fukushima,

Mainichi The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (pr ...

) **Iwaki Mimpō *Fukushima Min-Yū (Fukushima, Yomiuri)

Radio

*Sea Wave (cFM J-Wwave)

Twinnings

Japanese sister cities

* Nobeoka, Miyazaki (since May 30, 1997); a sister city *

Yurihonjō is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 76,077 in 30,639 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Geography Yurihonjō is located in southwest corner of Akita ...

, Akita (since August 10, 1986); a sister city. Yurihonjō City includes old , which has the same name, "Iwaki".

International friendship and sister cities

* Townsville, Queensland, Australia (sister city since August 21, 1991) * Fushun, Liaoning Province, China (friendship city since April 15, 1982) * Kauai County, Hawaii, United States (sister city since 2011)

Local attractions

* Iino Hachimangū Shinto shrine * Iwaki Onahama Minato Oasis **Iwaki Sun Marina **Aquamarine Park ***

, an aquarium ***Iwaki La La Miu ***Iwaki Day Crews *Iwaki Marine Tower *"Iwaki seven beaches" *Shioyazaki lighthouse **Monuments of

Misora Hibari is the debut album of Japanese singer-songwriter Sachiko Kanenobu, released on September 1, 1972 by URC (Underground Record Club) Records. Joni Mitchell, Donovan and Pentangle were among Kanenobu's influences. The songs have been described as ...

*Setogarō, a scenic ravine, named by Kusano Shimpei *

, one of the three old hot springs in Japan *

, hot spring and leisure park. *Iwaki Coal and Fossils Museum * Nakoso Barrier, was built against

in Yamato period. "Nakoso" means "Don't come over here". *Iwaki Ammonites Center * Shiramizu Amidadō, Buddhist temple.

National Treasures of Japan Some of the National Treasures of Japan A is the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (a special body of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science ...

*Kurashi no Denshōgō, historical facility *Iwaki Taira Keirin, cycle racetrack *Kusano Simpei Memorial Hall

Festivals

* Jangara * Iwaki Odori *Onahama Firework Festival *Taira Tanabata Festival

In popular media

* The 2006 film '' Hula Girls'' won five awards in 2007 Japan Academy Prize

Notable people from Iwaki

* Kusano Shimpei, poet; famous as "poet of frogs" *

Denmei Suzuki was a Japanese film actor most famous for starring roles in gendaigeki of the silent era. Career Suzuki was born in Tokyo and was a championship swimmer at Meiji University when he first appeared in '' Souls on the Road'' in 1921 under the ...

, actor * Misaki Ito, actress * Miyuki Komatsu, actress *

Tadashi Suzuki is a Japanese avant-garde theatre director, writer, and philosopher. He is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT), and organizer of Japan’s first international theatre festival (Toga Festival). With American director A ...

, discovered Futabasaurus suzukii * Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi, conductor * Takeo Takagi,

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

Admiral *

Aya Okamoto is a Japanese actress. Filmography * '' School Ghost Stories'' (1995) as Kaori Komuro * '' Ogyā'' (2002) Hana * ''Azumi'' (2003) Yae * '' Munraito jierifisshu'' (2004) Minamida Keiko * '' Metasequoia no ki no shita de'' (2005) Okamoto Sachiko ...

, actress * Noboru Kousaka, member of the

House of Representatives of Japan The is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors is the upper house. The composition of the House is established by and of the Constitution of Japan. The House of Representatives ha ...

for the

Japan Socialist Party The was a socialist and progressive political party in Japan that existed from 1945 to 1996. The party was founded as the Social Democratic Party of Japan by members of several proletarian parties that existed before World War II, including ...

Rena Takeda nicknamed'' Renarena'' (れなれな), is a Japanese actress and model affiliated with Vithmic Co., Ltd. Biography Rena Takeda was born in Iwaki, Fukushima in 1997. In December 2013, she won a competition named "Seeking a second Kumicky" from ...

, actress

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Fukushima Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan