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

Kagoshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

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 37,594 in 17477 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 250 people per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Ibusuki is located about 50 kilometers south of Kagoshima City, on the southeastern tip of the

Satsuma Peninsula The Satsuma Peninsula (薩摩半島 ''Satsuma-hantō'') is a peninsula which projects south from the southwest part of Kyūshū Island, Japan. To the west lies the East China Sea, while to the east it faces the Ōsumi Peninsula across Kagoshima ...

, and faces the

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

and

Kagoshima Bay also known as Kinkō Bay, is a deep inlet of the East China Sea on the coast of Japan.''Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Third Edition'', p. 562. Kagoshima Bay is on the south coast of the island of Kyūshū. The port city of Kagoshi ...

from the northeastern to eastern, southern and southwestern parts of the city.

Lake Ikeda is a caldera lake located south of Kagoshima city; Kyūshū island, Japan. It is perhaps best known to tourists as the location of the purported sightings of a monster named Issie, and as the largest lake on Kyūshū island with a surface area o ...

is located in the center of the city, and Unagi Pond is to the east of that.

Mount Kaimon , or Mount Kaimon, is an undissected volcano – consisting of a basal stratovolcano and a small complex central lava dome – which rises to a height of 924 metres above sea level near the city of Ibusuki, Kagoshima, Ibusuki in southern Kyūsh� ...

is located along the East China Sea in the southwestern part of the city. The urban center is mainly formed along the coast, but in the area around Mount Kaimon, the urban area is located inland from Mount Kaimon. Parts of the city are within the borders of the Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park.

Geology

The city has many volcanoes and hot springs of the Ibusuki Volcanic Field. The Yamagawa

Binary Binary may refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * Binary number, a representation of numbers using only two values (0 and 1) for each digit * Binary function, a function that takes two arguments * Binary operation, a mathematical op ...

Power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

Station uses local geothermal power to contribute a maximum of 4990 kilowatts as a "green energy" source.

Neighboring municipalities

Kagoshima Prefecture *

Kagoshima , is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Etymology While the ...

Minamikyūshū file:Minamikyusyu City Hall.jpg, 290px, Minamikyūshū City Hall file:Chiran Fumoto 01.JPG, 290px, Chiran Historical Preservation District file:Route226 ja Ei 01.JPG, 290px, Japan National Route 226 in Ei is a Cities of Japan, city in Kagoshim ...

Climate

Ibusuki has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa'') with hot summers and mild winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, and is heavier in summer, especially the months of June and July. The average annual temperature in Ibusuki is . The average annual rainfall is with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . Its record high is , reached on 18 August 2020, and its record low is , reached on 25 January 2016. Due to its marine subtropical climate, the city is the northern limit in Japan where

cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...

s grow naturally.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ibusuki in 2020 is 39,011 people. Since the census began in Ibusuki in 1950, the town's population has been slowly declining, with no signs of picking up. In March 2012, the city had an estimated

of 43,931, with 19,119

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s and a

of 294.82 persons per km². However the census of 2020 confirmed a population decline to 39,011 and by October 2022 there were only 17,537 households . The census of 2024, showed that the population had declined even further and was at 36,656 people, and 17,317 households.

History

The area of Ibusuki was part of ancient

Satsuma Province was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Satsuma" in . Its abbreviation was . History Satsuma's provincial capital was Satsumasendai. Dur ...

. 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 ...

, the area was under the control of

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a Han system, domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of ...

. 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 ...

, the village of Ibusuki was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Ibusuki was raised to town status on May 1, 1933. Much of the town of destroyed in a fire on February 24, 1938. On April 1, 1954 Ibusuki merged with the village of Imaizumi and was elevated to city status. On January 1, 2006, the towns of Kaimon and Yamagawa (both from Ibusuki District) were merged into Ibusuki.

Government

Ibusuki 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 18 members. Ibusuki contributes one member to the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Kagoshima 2nd 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

The local economy of Ibusuki is reliant on commercial fishing, agriculture, electricity production and tourism.

Education

Ibusuki has nine public elementary schools, five public junior high school and one public high school operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Kagoshima Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates a special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railways

Ibusuki Makurazaki Line The is a railway line in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Kagoshima-Chūō Station in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Kagoshima, to Makurazaki Station in Makurazaki, Kagoshima, Makurazaki, paral ...

: - - - - - - - - - -

Highways

* * *

Sister cities

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Local attractions

Ibusuki is famous for black-sand spas known as ''sunamushi

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

'' and the fine noodle

sōmen , ''somyeon'' (), or ''sùmiàn'' () is a very thin noodle made of wheat flour, less than 1.3 mm in diameter. The noodles are used extensively in East Asian cuisines. Japanese ''sōmen'' is made by stretching the dough with vegetable oil, ...

nagashi. * Chiringashima *

Hirasaki Shrine , also known as Hirakiki-jinja is a Shinto shrine in the Kaimonjuttcho neighborhood of the city of Ibusuki in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Along with the Nitta Shrine, it claims the position of ''ichinomiya'' of former Satsuma Province. The ma ...

* Ibusuki Experimental Botanical Garden *

Ibusuki Onsen is a group of hot springs in the east of Ibusuki, Kagoshima in Japan. It is known for hot spring-heated sand bathing which allegedly has therapeutic effects. 90% of the water is used for industry. Access It takes about an hour from Kagoshim ...

* Iwasaki Art Museum *

* Ryūgū Shrine * Tōsenkyō

References

External links

Ibusuki City official website

Kagoshima Prefectural Visitors Bureau official website
*

{{Authority control Cities in Kagoshima Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan