is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in Ibaraki Prefecture,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 98,031 in 39,075 households and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

of 478 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 31.2%. The total area of the city is .

Geography

Located in southwestern Ibaraki Prefecture, Chikusei is located on the west side of Mount Tsukuba and is bordered by Tochigi Prefecture to the north. The Kinugawa River and the Kokaigawa River flow through the city. The city is located about 70 kilometers north of downtown Tokyo. Except for the hills with an altitude of about 200 meters connected to the Abukuma mountains at the northeastern end, almost the entire area is flat land with an elevation of about 20 to 60 meters or extremely gentle hills, and about 95% of the total area of the city is residential or cultivated. rice paddies occupy about 40% of the total area of the city.

Surrounding municipalities

Ibaraki Prefecture * Sakuragawa * Shimotsuma * Tsukuba * Yashiyo * Yūki Tochigi Prefecture * Mooka * Oyama

Climate

Chikusei has a Humid continental climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Chikusei is . The average annual rainfall is with October 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,Chikusei population statistics
/ref> the population of Chikusei peaked around 1990 and has steadily declined since.

History

During the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, parts of the modern city of Chikusei were administered by Shimodate Domain, one of the feudal domains of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. With the creation of the modern municipalities system after 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

on April 1, 1889, the town of Shimodate was established within Makabe District, Ibaraki). Shimodate was raised to city status on March 15, 1954. The city of Chikusei was established on March 28, 2005, from the merger of the city of Shimodate, and towns of Akeno, Kyōwa and Sekijō (all from Makabe District).

Government

Chikusei has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 24 members. Chikusei contributes two members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ibaraki 1st district of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

Chikusei has traditionally had strong agricultural economy, with noted products including ''koshihikari'' rice, nashi pears, small watermelons, cucumbers, strawberries, and tomatoes. Taking advantage of the location near the Tokyo metropolitan area and with abundant wide flat land, multiple

industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

s were created from the 1980s, forming a part of the Kanto inland industrial area. It is also within commuting range for to the cities of southern Tochigi Prefecture.

Education

Chikusei has 20 public elementary schools and seven public middle schools operated by the city government, and four public high schools operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education. These is also one private middle school and one private high school.

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and 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 in ...

–

Mito Line The is a railway line connecting Oyama Station in Tochigi Prefecture and Tomobe Station in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The line is long and is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Joban Line E501 series and E531 ser ...

* - - - Kantō Railway – Jōsō Line * - - Moka Railway logo

Mooka Railway * - - -

Highway

* (nearest interchange is Mooka IC in neighboring Mooka)] * * *

Local attractions

*site of Seki Castle (national historic landmark) *site of Isa Castle *Funatama kofun *site of Kogeta Castle *site of Shimodate Castle *Shimodate Gion Festival

Noted people from Chikusei

* Norihiko Akagi, politician * Hazan Itaya, ceramist * Shingo Katayama, golfer *

Tomoki Nojiri is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes as a Honda factory driver in Super GT for Autobacs Racing Team Aguri, ARTA and in Super Formula Championship, Super Formula for Mugen Motorsports, Team Mugen, where he won the championship titl ...

, racing driver * Yōko Teppōzuka, voice actress

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture Chikusei