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 de ...

in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 377,453 in 160,516 households and a population density of 1,400 persons per km². The total area of the city was . By area, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-largest city until March 31, 2005 when it was surpassed by the city of

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, which had merged with six peripheral municipalities.

Geography

Toyohashi is located in southeastern Aichi Prefecture, and is the capital of the informal "Higashi-Mikawa Region" of the prefecture. It is bordered by

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 north ...

to the east, and by Mikawa Bay and the headlands of the Atsumi Peninsula to the west. To the south is the Enshu Bay of 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 contine ...

. The presence of the warm

Kuroshio Current The , also known as the Black or or the is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...

offshore gives the city a temperate climate. The in Toyohashi is a

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhe ...

nesting spot.

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, nota ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Toyohashi is . The average annual rainfall is with September 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, the population of Toyohashi has grown steadily over the past 60 years.

Neighboring municipalities

; Aichi Prefecture *

Toyokawa is a city in the eastern part of Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 183,930 in 72,949 households, and a population density of 1,141 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Toyokawa, famous for its Toyok ...

* Shinshiro * Tahara ;

: *

Kita-ku, Hamamatsu is one of seven wards of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan, located in the north of the city. It is bordered by Tenryū-ku to the north, Higashi-ku and Naka-ku to the east, Hamakita-ku Minami-ku and Kosai to the south, and the cities of Toyohas ...

* Kosai

City scape

File:ToyohashiSkyline03.jpg,

Skyline A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skyline ...

of Toyohashi File:聳える市役所と吉田城.JPG, Yoshida Castle File:Toyohashi Aichi - in front of Toyohashi station Jan 3 2022.webm, The street in front of

Toyohashi Station is an interchange railway station in Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan, operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tōkai) and the private railway operator Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu). Lines Toyohashi Station is served by the high-speed Tokaido Sh ...

, 2022 File:豊橋（橋）.jpg,

Toyokawa Bridge The is a bridge over the Toyo River (''Toyo-gawa'') in Japan. It connects the cities of Toyohashi and Toyokawa is a city in the eastern part of Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 183,930 in 72,949 households, ...

and Toyo River File:Playground BotanicalGarden.jpg, Toyohashi Zoo and Botanical Park

History

Origins

The area around present-day Toyohashi has been inhabited for many thousands of years. Archaeologists have found human remains from the

Japanese Paleolithic The is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC; although any date of human presence before 35,000 BC ...

period, which have been carbon dated to more than 10,000 BC along with the bones of Naumann elephants. Numerous remains from the

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a ...

, and especially from the Yayoi and Kofun periods have also been found, including many kofun burial mounds. During 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, Nara, Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remai ...

, the area was assigned to Atsumi, Hoi and Yana Districts of

Mikawa Province was an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mikawa''" in . Its abbreviated form name was . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces. M ...

and prospered during subsequent periods as a

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...

on an important river crossing of the Tōkaidō connecting the capital with the eastern provinces.

Sengoku period

During the

Sengoku period The was a period in 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 feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Variou ...

, the area was a highly contested zone between the

Imagawa clan was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji by way of the Kawachi Genji. It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan. Origins Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji, established himself in ...

based in

Suruga Province was an old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu, Kai, Sagami, Shinano, and Tōtōmi provinces; and was bordered by the Pacific Ocean through Suruga Bay to the south. Its abbrev ...

and various local warlords, who built a number of

fortifications A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in the area, including Yoshida Castle. The rising power of the

Matsudaira clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of t ...

and its alliance with

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese '' daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unif ...

eventually neutralized the threat posed by the Imagawa, and the area became part of the holdings of

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 fel ...

. Following the Battle of Odawara in 1590,

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and '' daimyō'' ( feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the C ...

ordered the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful '' daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this cl ...

to relocate to the Kantō region and assigned the castle to

Ikeda Terumasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. His court title was '' Musashi no Kami''. Terumasa was also known by the nickname ''saigoku no shōgun'', or, "The ''Shōgun'' of Western Japan". Terumasa fought in many of the battles of the ...

. Ikeda developed the surrounding

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

and embarked on a massive and ambitious plan to rebuild Yoshida Castle. However, following 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 ...

, he was relocated to

Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in the city of Himeji which is located in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of ...

Edo period

After the establishment of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

, Yoshida Castle became the center of

Yoshida Domain was a Japanese feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Mikawa Province located in eastern Mikawa Province (modern-day eastern Aichi Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Yoshida Castle in what is now the city o ...

, a clan fief. The domain was assigned to several different '' fudai

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 ...

'' clans until coming into the possession of the Matsudaira (Nagasawa-Ōkōchi) clan in 1752, which remained in residence at Yoshida until 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 r ...

. The final ''daimyō'' of Yoshida,

Matsudaira Nobuhisa The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of ...

, surrendered the domain to the

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 ...

in 1868. In 1869, the name of the domain was formally changed from Yoshida to Toyohashi.

Meiji period

With the establishment of the modern municipalities system under the

in 1879, Toyohashi Town was created within Atsumi District, Aichi Prefecture. Toyohashi Zoo was established in 1899. The town achieved city status in 1906.

Taishō period

A tram system (the present-day Toyohashi Railway Asumadai Main Line) was established in 1925.

Shōwa period

In 1932, Toyohashi expanded its borders by annexing Shimoji Town (Hoi District), Takashi Village, Muroyoshida Village (Atsumi District), and Shimokawa Village (Yana District). Toyohashi suffered considerable damage during the

1944 Tōnankai earthquake The 1944 Tōnankai earthquake occurred at 13:35 local time (04:35 UTC) on 7 December. It had an estimated magnitude of 8.1 on the moment magnitude scale (making it the strongest known earthquake of 1944) and a maximum felt intensity of greater th ...

, and even more damage during the Toyohashi Air Raid, which destroyed more than 60% of the city in June 1945.

Modern Toyohashi

In 1955, Toyohashi's geographic extent was expanded again with the annexation of neighboring Maeshiba Village (Hoi District), Futagawa Village, Takatoyo Village, Oitsu Village (Atsumi District) and Ishimaki Village (Yana District). Toyohashi achieved

core city In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...

status in 1999 with increased autonomy from the prefectural government.

Government

Mayor-council

Toyohashi 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 36 members.

Prefectural Assembly

The city contributes five members to the Aichi Prefectural Assembly.

House of Representatives

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aichi District15 of the lower house 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 ...

List of mayors of Toyohashi (from 1907)

Public

Police

Aichi Prefectural Police The is the prefectural police force responsible, under the control of the Aichi Prefectural Public Safety Commission, for policing Aichi Prefecture. History Its origins date back to 1871 ( Meiji 4), when its predecessor organisation, the Ai ...

**Toyohashi police station

Firefighting

*Toyohashi Fire department **Toyohashi-Minami fire department **Toyohashi-Naka fire department

Health care

*Hospital **Toyohashi City Hospital

Post office

*Toyohashi Post office *Toyohashi-Minami Post office

Library

*Toyohashi City Library **Toyohashi City Central Library **Toyohashi City Mukaiyama Liburary **Toyohashi City Oshimizu Liburary（Minakuru） File:Toyohashi Police Station 1.jpg, Toyohashi Police Station File:Toyohashi City Hall 3.jpg, Toyohashi Fire Department File:Toyohashi Municipal Hospital.jpg, Toyohashi City Hospital File:Toyohashi Post Office (2017-09-18).jpg, Toyohashi Post Office File:Toyohashi City Central Library in Jan. 2019 ac.jpg, Toyohashi City Central Library

International relations

Twin towns/sister cities

;Sister cities * –

Nantong Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. Nantong is a vital ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...

, China, since May 1987 * –

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and accordin ...

, United States since April 2000 * –

Panevėžys Panevėžys (; Latin: ''Panevezen''; pl, Poniewież; yi, פּאָנעװעזש, ''Ponevezh''; see also other names) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied with 113,653 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the populatio ...

, Lithuania since June 2019 ;Friendship cities * -

Jinju Jinju () is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was the location of the first (1592) and second (1593) Sieges of Jinju by Japanese forces during the Imjin War. The Republic of Korea Air Force Education and Training Command i ...

South Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World H ...

, South Korea, since 1992 * - Paranavaí, Paraná, Brazil, since 2008 * –

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

, Germany since 2011

Economy

Primary sector of the economy

Agriculture

* Cabbage *

Napa cabbage Napa cabbage ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''pekinensis'' or ''Brassica rapa'' Pekinensis Group) is a type of Chinese cabbage originating near the Beijing region of China that is widely used in East Asian cuisine. Since the 20th century, it has a ...

Tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word , ...

* Diospyros kaki *

Pyrus pyrifolia ''Pyrus pyrifolia'' is a species of pear tree native to East Asia. The tree's edible fruit is known by many names, including: Asian pear, Japanese pear, Chinese pear, Korean pear, Taiwanese pear, apple pear, zodiac pear, three-halves pear, p ...

Grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry (botany), berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non-Climacteric (botany), climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of ...

* Chikuwa ; Japan Agricultural Cooperatives * JA Toyohashi

Secondary sector of the economy

Industrial production is centered around the production of automotive-related components for

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 187 ...

, Suzuki Motors, and

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

, all of whom have factories in the region. ;Motors *

* Suzuki Motors *

* VOLKSWAGEN Group Japan

Tertiary sector of the economy

;Worldwide trade Mikawa Port is a major port for worldwide trade, and its presence has made Toyohashi the largest import and export hub in Japan for automobiles, in volume terms. Compared to other ports around the world, Mikawa is roughly on a par with the German port of

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the R ...

. ;Shopping center * APiTA Mukaiyama * Æon Toyohashi-Minami Shopping center * Æon Town Toyohasihashira *Cocola Avenue File:Cabbage field in Oshimizu-cho, Toyohashi city ac (1).jpg, Cabbage field in Oshimizu-cho File:Golden Volkswagen Golf TSI Highline (DBA-AUCPT).jpg,

Volkswagen Golf Mk7 The Volkswagen Golf (Mk7) is a small family car ( C-segment) produced by German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen, as the seventh generation of the Golf and the successor to the Golf Mk6. It was introduced in Berlin on 4 September 2012, before ...

File:花園タウン(Hanazono Town) - panoramio.jpg, Shopping Street File:Cocola Avenue.JPG, Cocola Avenue

Media

Studio

FM Toyohashi (JOZZ6AA-FM, 84.3 MHz) is a community FM radio station in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is the third "community FM radio station" opened in Japan. Its broadcast reach an area roughly bounded by Hamamatsu, Shizuoka in the east, a ...

(''JOZZ6AA-FM, 84.30 MHz'')

Newspaper

*Higashi Aichi Newspaper *Tonichi Shimbun Newspaper

Education

University

;National university * Toyohashi University of Technology ;Private university * Aichi University *

Toyohashi Sozo College is a private university in Toyohashi, Aichi, 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 Japa ...

Primary and secondary schools

*Toyohashi has 52 public elementary schools and 22 public middle schools operated by the city government, and eight public high schools operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education. The city also has one private middle school and three private high schools. The prefecture also operated three special education schools for the handicapped.

International schools

* - Brazilian schoolEscolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão

Archive
. Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015. * - Brazilian primary school * EJA Interativo – Educação de Jovens e Adultos - Brazilian institution * - North Korean school

Transportation

Railway

is on the

Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the Sanyo Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opened in 196 ...

and the

Tōkaidō Main Line The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parall ...

. '' Hikari'' shinkansen services stop at Toyohashi Station approximately once every two hours, and '' Kodama'' services stop twice an hour. Toyohashi Station is also the terminus of the

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 Pre ...

Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line {{BS-map , title=Nagoya Main Line , title-bg=red , top= *Subway: Nagoya Municipal Subway *Lines are Meitetsu unless otherwise noted , collapse=yes , map= {{BS, STR, , , Tokaido Main Line} {{BS3, , STR, hSTR, , , Tokaido Shinkansen} {{BS5, ...

, Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line, and the Toyohashi Railroad Azumada Main Line, making it an important transportation hub.

Highspeed rail

;

Central Japan Railway Company *

：

Conventional lines

;

Central Japan Railway Company *

： *

： ;

Meitetsu , referred to as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the '' Panorama Car'' and the '' Panorama Car Super'', both of which ...

* Meitetsu Nagoya Line： ; Toyotetsu logomark

Toyotetsu * Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line：

Tramway

;

Toyotetsu * Toyohashi Railroad Azumada Main Line：Ekimae-ōdōriShinkawaFudagiShiyakushomaeToyohashi-kōenmaeHigashi-hatchōMaehataAzumada-sakaueAzumadaKeirinjōmaeIharaAkaiwaguchi *IharaUndōkōen-mae

Bus

Almost all services are operated by Toyotetsu Bus, a subsidiary of Toyohashi Railroad.

Roads

Highway

Tomei Expressway Tomei may refer to: People with the surname Tomei, which is an Italian version of Thomas * Concetta Tomei, (born 1945), American actress * Louis Tomei (1910–1955), American racecar driver *Marisa Tomei, (born 1964), American actress Other: *Tōm ...

Japan National Route

* * * * * *

Sea port

*Port of Toyohashi（Port of Mikawa） File:160321 Toyohashi Station Toyohashi Aichi pref Japan05n.jpg,

File:160321 Toyohashi Station Toyohashi Aichi pref Japan13n.jpg, Ekimae-Ôdôri Main street File:T1000 toyohashi.jpg, Toyohashi Railroad File:豊鉄バス KK-MK27HM.JPG, Toyotetsu Bus File:Toyohashi Tollgate1.jpg, Toyohashi Tollgate File:港湾技能研修センター遠景.jpg, Port of Toyohashi

Local attractions

Places of interest

*Toyohashi Park, which includes the site of , and the

Toyohashi City Museum Art and History is a purpose-built municipal art museum and local cultural museum in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It opened in 1979. The permanent collections of the museum are concentrated around five themes: # Archaeological finds from local shell m ...

. *Site of

Nirengi Castle was a Japanese castle in what is now the city of Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, during the Sengoku period. There are no extant structures left; however, a park was built on the site where the castle once stood, and a stone monument and some explan ...

*, a National Important Cultural Property .Toyohashi Culture Map
/ref> *, a National Important Cultural Property * Futagawa-juku ''

honjin The ''honjin'' at Ōhara-shuku.html" ;"title="Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku">Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku. is the Japanese word for an inn for government officials, generally located in post stations (''shukuba'') during the later part of the Edo ...

'' museum * Toyohashi Zoo * Toyohashi Natural History Museum *Toyohashi Museum of Natural Resources

Facilities and parks

Toyohashi has many parks, including the Natural History Museum and Zoological Park, the Imou swamp, Mikawa Seaside Forest, Kamo Iris Garden, and the Mukaiyama ''

Ume ''Prunus mume'' is an East Asian and Southeast Asian tree species classified in the ''Armeniaca'' section of the genus ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Prunus''. Its common names include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long ...

'' Garden. It also has what is considered one of the best surfing beaches in Aichi and the surrounding region.

Culture

Festivals

Toyohashi Festival, Spring Festival, Iris Flower Festival, Gion Festival, Demon Festival (February), and traditional marionette performances (Akumi joruri). At some of these festivals, especially the summer festivals, the use of traditionally handcrafted

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

is showcased, and include hand-held bamboo-tube fireworks known as ''tezutsu hanabi''.

Special products

Chikuwa (a type of baked sausage roll made from fish), , beach fermented

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu ...

s, food boiled in

goby Goby is a common name for many species of small to medium sized ray-finned fish, normally with large heads and tapered bodies, which are found in marine, brackish and freshwater environments. Traditionally most of the species called gobies have b ...

fish and soy, top producer of quail eggs in Japan, .

In popular culture

In the fictional

Harry Potter universe The Wizarding World (previously known as J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World) is a fantasy media franchise and shared fictional universe centred on the ''Harry Potter'' novel series by J. K. Rowling. A series of films have been in production sin ...

, Toyohashi is the hometown of the professional

Quidditch Quidditch is a fictional sport invented by author J.K. Rowling for her fantasy book series ''Harry Potter''. It first appeared in the novel '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997). It is a dangerous but popular sport played by wi ...

team, the Toyohashi

Tengu are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion (Shinto). They are considered a type of ''yōkai'' (supernatural beings) or Shinto ''kami'' (gods). The ''Tengu'' were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey and a ...

. In the

Takeshi Kitano is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

movie '' Kikujiro'', the story revolves around the characters' trip from

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

to Toyohashi.

Sports

Basketball

San-en NeoPhoenix is a B.League professional basketball team, based in the eastern Mikawa and Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture region of central Japan. The team was founded in 1965 as the company team of the OSG Corporation, a Toyokawa-based machine parts man ...

（ Toyohashi City General Gymnasium）

Baseball

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in ...

（Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium）

Gallery

File:Cocola Avenue.JPG, Cocola Avenue File:松葉公園 - panoramio - Roman Suzuki.jpg, Matsuba Park File:Hotel Seapalace Resort, In Toyohashi.jpg, Seapalace Resort File:Aquarena Toyohashi 2.jpg, Aquarena Toyohashi File:Mukaiyama-Oike.JPG, Mukaiyama-Oike Ponds File:Toyohashi Orthodox Church 1.jpg, Toyohashi Orthodox Church File:手筒花火(Tezutsu Fireworks) (10421329123).jpg, Tezutsu Fireworks File:Toyohasioni3.jpg, Toyohashi Oni Festival File:Yoshida at Tokaido.jpg,

Hokusai , known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for the woodblock print series '' Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'', which includes the iconic print ''The Great ...

Notable people from Toyohashi

Katsuhito Asano is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). He represents the 14th District of Aichi prefecture, which includes the cities of Toyokawa, Gamagori, and Shinshi ...

, Japanese politician * Buyūzan Takeyoshi, sumo wrestler *

Daniel (Nushiro) of Japan Metropolitan is a Japanese clergyman and monk of the Japanese Orthodox Church. He has been the primate of the Japanese Orthodox Church since 2000, by virtue of the office of the Archbishop of Tokyo. He is thus the spiritual leader of approxima ...

, primate of Japanese Orthodox Church *

Atsushi Fujii Atsushi Fujii (藤井淳志, born May 20, 1981) is a retired Japanese professional outfielder. He spent his career playing for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. ...

, professional baseball player * Emi Fujino,

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gener ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

* Mizuki Inoue,

and

* Yoshitaka Iwamizu, Olympic long-distance runner * Kitaro, musician *

Aya Kitō was a Japanese diarist. She wrote about her personal experiences living with spinocerebellar ataxia which was later published in the book '' 1 ...

, writer *

Masaji Kiyokawa was a Japanese businessman, sports administrator and backstroke swimmer who won two medals at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. During his swimming career Kiyokawa set one world record, in the 400-metre backstroke. Kiyokawa was born in Toyohashi, Aic ...

, Olympic gold-medalist swimmer * Masatoshi Koshiba, Nobel Prize winner * Ken Matsudaira, actor * Rena Matsui, actress, former member of SKE48 * Yūji Mitsuya, actor, voice actor *

Masahiko Morifuku is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ' ...

, professional baseball player * Sakura Nogawa, voice actress * Kenichi Ogawa, boxer * Yoshio Sawai, manga artist * Akiko Suzuki, professional figure skater * Sakon Yamamoto, professional race car driver * Yua Aida,

AV idol An or is a type of pornographic film actress in Japan. It is a sub-category of the idol culture in Japanese pop entertainment. AV idols work in the pornographic business, often both as an actress as well as a model as the video performance ...

and model

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Cities in Aichi Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan