is one of the eight wards of Niigata City,

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

, in the

Hokuriku region The is located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan and is part of the larger Chūbu region. It is almost equivalent to the former Koshi Province (Japan), Koshi Province and Hokurikudō are ...

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 ...

. It comprises much of the city centre. , the ward 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 183,231 in 87,162 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 4,900 persons per km². The total area of the ward was .

Geography

Chūō-ku is located in the approximate centre of Niigata City, bounded by the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

to the north and the Nihonkai-Tōhoku Expressway to the south. The area comprises the old city as well as the , , and the districts.

Neighboring municipalities/wards

** Higashi-ku, Niigata **

Kōnan-ku, Niigata is one of the eight Wards of Japan, wards of Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. , the ward had an estimated population of 68,413 in 27,027 households and a population density of 913 persons per km². The total ar ...

** Nishi-ku, Niigata

Neighborhoods

Central Business District

Chūō-ku is the heart of Niigata in terms of economic and political importance. The City Office is located here along with several central government and prefectural agencies. Japan's national broadcaster

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

has its prefectural TV station and radio station in Chūō-ku. There are several company head offices based in the district. It is also the site of old Niigata City which extends from

Niigata Station is a major railway station in Chūō-ku, Niigata, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The station is in the center of Niigata City, the largest city on the Sea of Japan coast in Honshu. It forms the central station for the ...

downtown to Bandai Bridge and Furumachi.

Furumachi

Furumachi in Niigata city is located on left bank of Shinano River across Bandai Bridge. It lies on Niigata Island and faces the

. The area has been developed around Masaya-koji, which is a wide six-lane thoroughfare connecting Furumachi with Niigata Station. Furumachi has business districts as well as several historic parts. Narrow alleyways and streets crisscross beneath the modern office buildings. The historic Honcho market is also here. Much of the area contains modern buildings. This is because Furumachi was rebuilt after an earthquake devastated this part of eastern Niigata in 1964. This is in marked contrast with areas on the west side of the river which still retain traditional-looking streets containing older houses.

History

The area of present-day Chūō-ku was part of ancient

Echigo Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen Province, Uzen, Iwashiro Province, Iwashiro, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Etchū Province, ...

, and developed as a port town for

Nagaoka Domain was a '' fudai'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Echigo Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Nagaoka Castle, located in what is now part of the city of Nagaoka in Niigata Prefecture ...

under 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 ...

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 ...

. Niigata was one of the ports opened to foreign trade by the 1858 Harris Treaty. Modern Niigata city was created with the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The Hokuetsu Railway commented Niigata to Tokyo in 1897, and the first Bandai Bridge across the

Shinano River The , known as the in its upper reaches, is the longest and widest river in Japan and the third largest by basin area (behind the Tone River and Ishikari River). It is located in northeastern Honshu, rising in the Japanese Alps and flowing g ...

was completed in 1908, shortly before the city was destroyed by a fire. The city escaped serious damage in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; however, much of the city burned down in a fire in 1955 and again suffered from damage in the

1964 Niigata earthquake The 1964 Niigata earthquake () struck at 13:01 local time (04:01 UTC) on 16 June with a magnitude of either 7.5 or 7.6. The epicenter was on the continental shelf off the northwest coast of Honshu, Japan, in Niigata Prefecture, about north of ...

. Niigata became a government-designated city on April 1, 2007, and was divided into wards, with the new Chūō Ward consisting of much of the central business portion of the city.

Education

Universities

* Niigata University (Asahimachi Campus / Nishi-Ohata Campus) * Niigata Seiryo University * The Nippon Dental University (Niigata)

Secondary education

Chūō-ku has five public high schools operated by the Niigata Prefectural Board of Education, two public high schools operated by the Niigata City Board of Education, three private high schools and one private combined middle school/high school. The ward also has ten public middle schools operated by the city government.

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 ...

–

Jōetsu Shinkansen The is a high-speed shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo and Niigata, Japan, via the Tōhoku Shinkansen, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Despite its name, the line does not pass through the city of Jōetsu or the ...

–

Shin'etsu Main Line The is a railway line, consisting of three geographically separated sections, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was originally one continuous line connecting and via . Since the opening and later extension of ...

–

Hakushin Line The is a Japanese railway line which runs between and stations in the cities of Niigata, Niigata, Niigata and Shibata, Niigata, Shibata in Niigata Prefecture. It is part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) network. Basic data *Operato ...

–

Echigo Line The is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) which connects the cities of Kashiwazaki and Niigata in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The line's name is taken from the name of the ancient Echigo Province, which correspond ...

* - – -

Transit bus

* Niigata City Loop Bus * Transit bus operated by Niigata Kotsu ** BRT " Bandai-bashi Line" : Niigata Sta.— Bandai Bridge— Furumachi—City office— Hakusan Sta.—(Aoyama) ** C* : for Central Niigata ** S* : for South Niigata ** W* : for West Niigata ** E* : for East Niigata ** "Sado-Kisen Line" : Niigata Sta.— Toki Messe—Sado Kisen Ferry Terminal

Highways

* * * * * ] *

Ports

* Sado Steam Ship, Sado Kisen Ferry Terminal

Water Shuttle

Shinanogawa Water Shuttle
MINATOPIA – Toki Messe – Bandai Bridge – Bandai City – Niigata Prefectural office – (FURUSATO VILLAGE)

Local attractions

West side of the Shinano River

* Niigata City History Museum (Minatopia)
The Niigata Saitou Villa
* Hakusan Park * Niigata-City Performing Arts Center (Ryutopia) * Niigata Prefectural Civic Center
Niigata city Aquarium (Marinepia Nihonkai)
* Next21 skyscraper * Furumachi-dori Shopping Mall * Honcho-dori Shopping Mall * Ninjo-Yokocho Shopping Mall File:160716 Niigata City History Museum Main Building Niigata Japan01bs5.jpg, Minatopia File:Hakusan Park1.JPG, Hakusan Park File:Next21 3.JPG, Next21 in Furumachi

East side of the Shinano River

* Sake Museum Ponshu-kan * Bandai City shopping district * LoveLa Shopping Mall * LoveLa2 Shopping Mall * Niigata Manga & Animation Museum * NGT48 Idol unit * Niigata Nippo Media Ship * Toki Messe File:Niigata_Rainbow_tower.JPG, Rainbow Tower, the symbol of Bandai City File:Niigata-Nippo Media ship-2013.JPG, Media Ship File:TOKI MESSE.jpg, Toki Messe (Niigata Convention center)

South side of the Toyanogata Lagoon

* Big Swan Stadium * Niigata Prefectural Baseball Stadium File:BigSwan-1.jpg, Big Swan Stadium and Toyanogata Lagoon

Events

* Niigata Festival (every August) * Niigata Comic Market *

Niigata Manga Competition The Niigata Comic Market, also known as , is a dōjinshi comic book convention held bimonthly in Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The convention venue alternates between Toki Messe and the , attracting a regular attendance of 7,000 to 10,000 ...

References

External links

Niigata official website

Niigata Chūō-ku website

(multilingual)

(multilingual) {{DEFAULTSORT:Chuo-Ku, Niigata Wards of Niigata (city)