250px, Hitachinaka city hall
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
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...
,
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 154,663 in 64,900 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 1547 persons per km
2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 26.1%.
The total area of the city is . It is a "
hiragana city", the place name is written with the ''
hiragana
is a Japanese language, Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''.
It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' means "common" or "plain" kana (originally also "easy", ...
'' syllabary and not the traditional ''
kanji
are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...
''.
Geography
Hitachinaka is located slightly northeast of central Ibaraki Prefecture and east of the capital of
Mito. It consists of a lowland area around the
Naka River in the south and the
Pacific coast
Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean.
Geography Americas North America
Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...
in the east.
Surrounding municipalities
Ibaraki Prefecture
*
Mito
*
Naka
*
Ōarai
*
Tōkai
Climate
Hitachinaka has a
Humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hitachinaka is 13.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1415 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.4 °C.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Hitachinaka has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.
History
The towns of Hiraiso and Minato, as well as the village of Katsuta, were created within
Naka District with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Minato was renamed Nakaminato in 1938. Nakaminato had the commercial fishing industry as its main industry, but the area rapidly developed into a
company town
A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...
of
Hitachi
() is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...
, Katsuta was elevated to town status in 1940. During
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 ...
, the area was subject to air raids and shelling by Allied warships due to its numerous factories producing war-related materials. On March 31, 1954, the towns of Nakaminato and Hiraiso merged, forming the city of Nakaminato. Katsuta was raised to city status on November 1 of the same year. The two cities merged on November 1, 1994, to form the city of Hitachinaka.
Government
Hitachinaka 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 consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
city council of 25 members. Hitachinaka contributes three members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of
Ibaraki's 4th 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
Hitachinaka is a bustling city with a diverse economy. The city's strategic location near Tokyo and its access to major transportation hubs have made it a popular destination for businesses and investors. It developed primarily as a
company town
A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...
for
Hitachi
() is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...
group factories, and Hitachi remains the primary employer. Secondary industries include commercial fishing, agriculture and seasonal tourism.
Education
Hitachinaka has 20 public elementary schools and nine public middle schools operated by the city government, and five public high schools operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education, including
Katsuta High School. The prefecture also operates one technical institute and one special education school for the handicapped.
Transportation
Railway
Hitachinaka is connected through the
Katsuta Station to the railway network with direct connections to Tokyo and Iwaki.
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 ...
-
Tokiwa Line
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 ...
–
Jōban Line
The 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, Miyagi. However, following ...
* –
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 ...
–
Suigun Line
* –
Hitachinaka Seaside Railway –
Minato Line
* – – – – – – – – – –
Highway
*
*
*
Hitachinaka Road
*
Higashi-Mito Road
Local attractions
*Ajigaura Swimming Beach
*Hiraiso Swimming Beach
*
Hitachi Seaside Park
*
Hitachinaka Baseball Stadium
*
Hitachinaka City Stadium
*
Torazuka Kofun, National Historic Site
Sister cities
Hitachinaka is
twinned with:
*
Nasushiobara, Tochigi, Japan, since 1990
*
Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan, since 1996
Notable people
*
Ōuchiyama Heikichi, sumo wrestler
*
Hironobu Sakaguchi
is a Japanese game designer, director, producer, and writer. Originally working for Square (later Square Enix) from 1983 to 2003, he departed the company and founded independent studio Mistwalker in 2004. He is known as the creator of the ''Fi ...
, video game designer and creator of the ''
Final Fantasy
is a Japanese fantasy Anthology series, anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fanta ...
'' series
*
Kentaro Shiga, a professional wrestler
*
Natsuo Yamaguchi, a politician
References
External links
Official Website
{{Authority control
Populated places established in 1994
Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture
Port settlements in Japan
Populated coastal places in Japan
Hitachinaka, Ibaraki