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 ...

in Toyama Prefecture, in the

Chūbu region The , Central region, or is a region in the middle of Honshu, Honshū, Japan, Japan's main island. In a wide, classical definition, it encompasses nine prefectures (''ken''): Aichi Prefecture, Aichi, Fukui Prefecture, Fukui, Gifu 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 north ...

. , the city had an estimated population of 41,564 in 15,387 households and a population density of 95.8 persons per km². Its total area was .

Geography

Kurobe is located in northeastern of Toyama Prefecture, with a topography ranging from sea level at

Toyama Bay is a bay located on the northern shores of the Hokuriku region of Honshu, Japan on the Sea of Japan. The bay borders Toyama and Ishikawa prefectures. The bay is known for the mirages on the horizon during the winter months and for being a spaw ...

to the 3000 meter mountains of the Northern Alps on the border with

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 ...

. The Kurobe River flows through the city. Kurobe has a humid continental climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kurobe is 13.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2277 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.6 °C.

Surrounding municipalities

*Toyama Prefecture ** Asahi **

Nyūzen is a town in Shimoniikawa District, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 25,007 in 8970 households and a population density of 350 persons per km2. The total area of the town was . Geography With the Sea of Japan ...

Kamiichi 270px, Panorama of Kamiichi is a town located in Nakaniikawa District, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,827 in 7958 households and a population density of 88 persons per km². The total area of the town wa ...

** Omachi ** Hakuba

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kurobe has remained relatively steady over the past 50 years.

History

The area is home to the Aimotohimesha Shrine and also shares its name with Kurobe River, both of which form a central element in the local legend of a powerful serpent of Kurobe River. The area of present-day Kurobe was part of ancient

Etchū Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today Toyama Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Etchū bordered on Noto and Kaga Provinces to the west, Shinano and Hida Provinces to the south, Echigo Province to the east and the Sea ...

. The towns of Ikuji and Mikkaichi were created on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the municipalities system. On April 1, 1954, the town of Ikuji merged with the town of Sakurai to form the city of Kurobe.Kurobe official city history
/ref> On March 31, 2006 the town of Unazuki (from Shimoniikawa District) was merged into Kurobe.

Government

Kurobe has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members. Kurobe City Hall

Economy

Kurobe is the world headquarters of

YKK The is a Japanese group of manufacturing companies. As the world's largest zipper manufacturer, YKK Group is most known for making zippers. It also manufactures other fastening products, architectural products, plastic hardware and industrial ...

Education

Kurobe has nine public elementary schools and four public junior high schools. The city has one public high school operated by the Toyama Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school.

Transportation

Railway

West Japan Railway Company (JR West) – Hokuriku Shinkansen ** * 22px

Ainokaze Toyama Railway The is a Japanese third-sector railway operating company established in 2012 to operate passenger railway services on the section of the JR West Hokuriku Main Line within Toyama Prefecture when it was separated from the JR West network in Mar ...

** - * 18px

Toyama Chihō Railway The is a transportation company in Toyama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The company is commonly known as . This private company operates railway, tram, and bus services in the eastern part of the prefecture. It also operates as the agency of Al ...

** - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *

Kurobe Gorge Railway The , or for short, is a private, narrow gauge railway company operating the Kurobe Gorge Main Line along the Kurobe River in the Kurobe gorge area of Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The railway was built to serve the construction of the Kurobe dam f ...

Highway

International relations

* - Sneek, Friesland, Netherlands, since September 10, 1970 * - Macon-Bibb, Georgia, United States, since May 10, 1977Kurobe city official home page
/ref> * – Samcheok, Korea, friendship city

Local attractions

Kurobe Gorge is a canyon near Kurobe, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The Kurobe Dam in Kurobe Gorge is one of highlights of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. The area was designated the Chūbu-Sangaku National Park on December 4, 1934. Geography Shimonoroka ...

* Unazuki Onsen

Notable people from Kurobe

* Susumu Kurobe, actor *

Mitsuhiro Miyakoshi is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) and Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs. A native of Kurobe, Toyama and dro ...

, politician

References

External links

* *
Kurobe Unazuki-onsen Tourist Board
{{Authority control Cities in Toyama Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan