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 ...

in the northwestern end of

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

in the

Kansai region The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropol ...

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 was founded on November 1, 1971. As of September 1, 2023, the city has 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 117,259, with 51,478

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. It has 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 2,300 persons per km², and it has the third largest population in the prefecture. The total area is 53.18 km². The city is known as one of the most affluent suburbs of the Greater Osaka Metropolitan Area (Keihanshin), with a high rate of college graduates, professionals, and company directors amongst its residents. As a result, the city has developed as a

satellite city A satellite city or satellite town is a smaller municipality or settlement that is part of (or on the edge of) a larger metropolitan area and serves as a regional population and employment center. It differs from mere suburbs, Subdivision (la ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, with some 54% of its residents commuting across prefectural borders to Osaka.

Kansai Science City is an unincorporated city located in the , a border region between Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara Prefectures in Kansai region, Japan. The name is commonly shortened to or . The name Keihanna is constructed by extracting a representative kanji from Kyot ...

is partially located in Ikoma, which is also home to the

Nara Institute of Science and Technology , abbreviated as NAIST, is a Japanese national university located in Ikoma, Nara of Kansai Science City. It was founded in 1991 with a focus on research and consists solely of graduate schools in three integrated areas: Biological Sciences, Infor ...

. The city is also famous for chasen.

Notable locations

*Kuragari-toge Pass *Kurondo-ike Pond *

Mount Ikoma is a mountain on the border of Nara Prefecture and Osaka Prefecture in Japan. It is the highest peak in the Ikoma Mountains with a height of 642 meters. Mount Ikoma is a part of Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen Quasi-National Park. It is one of the most fam ...

*Skyland Ikoma (amusement park on top of Mount Ikoma)

Religious institutions

Chikurin-ji } is a Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temple located in the Arisato neighborhood of the city of Ikoma, Nara , Ikoma, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It belongs to the Risshū (Buddhism), Ritsu sect and its ''honzon'' is a statue of Manjushri, Monju ...

*Chofuku-ji *Chokyu-ji * Enpuku-ji * Ikoma Jinja * Hozan-ji *Sekibutsu-Ji

History

The city area is described in the

Nihon shoki The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...

, the second-oldest Chronicles of Japan, and had been a small village outside Heijo-kyo, one of the former capitals of Japan. From

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

, chasen production began in Takayama region, the northern part of the city. Chasen is a tool used to make Japanese tea in the tea ceremony. In

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 ...

, Hozan-ji temple was built on the mountainside in the and the nearby area came to grow as gateway town for the temple. Imperial House and Tokugawa shoguns visited there for worship. After the difficult construction of Ikoma-tunnel, which penetrates Mount Ikoma,

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

to Osaka and Nara service begun operating. Ikoma Cable Line from Toriimae Station, near the Ikoma Station, to Hozanji Station and Ikoma-sanjyō Station opened for business. Also the train bound for foot of Mount Shigi and Oji station from Ikoma station. Thereafter around Hozan-ji and the midtown, which nearby the station have expanded. After municipal incorporation of two towns to Ikoma-town, the town was elevated to city status on 1 November 1971. Takayama region, located in northern area, began to develop as one part of

, then

and many private research and development facilities are built. Higashi Osaka line connecting to Osaka Metro Chūō Line has been extended to Ikoma Station, thereby providing two routes into Osaka City. The northern area has been developing into residential district, as a high-end residential area, and In 2006 Higashi Osaka Line was extended to this area and renamed the

Keihanna Line The is a railway line operated by Kintetsu Railway. There are through trains to the Chūō Line of Osaka Municipal Subway. The line name derives from a kanji acronym formed from , , and , but the name is written in hiragana. The line is the ...

. This city is faced with a declining birthrate and aging population, like most municipalities in Japan and with tendency to return to the big city center like Osaka city, yet it is developing as an environmentally advanced city, as superior residential city.

Transportation

Rail

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as and officially Kinki-Nippon Railway, is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railw ...

Nara Line The is a commuter rail line in the Osaka–Kobe–Kyoto metropolitan area, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Its official termini are Kizu Station in Kizugawa and Kyōto Station in Kyoto, within Kyoto Prefecture; however ...

Ikoma Station Ikoma Station (生駒駅) is a railway station in Ikoma, Nara, Ikoma, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Lines *Kintetsu Railway **Nara Line (Kintetsu), Nara Line (A17) **Ikoma Line (G17) **■Keihanna Line (C27) **Ikoma Cable Line (Y17: Toriimae Station, ...

- Higashi-Ikoma Station **

Ikoma Line The is a railway line of Kintetsu Railway in Nara Prefecture, Japan connecting Ikoma Station in the city of Ikoma and Ōji Station in the town of Ōji. Having a total length of , the entirely electrified standard gauge line is partially dou ...

: Ikoma Station - Nabata Station - Ichibu Station - Minami-Ikoma Station - Haginodai Station - Higashiyama Station **

: Ikoma Station - Shiraniwadai Station - Gakken Kita-Ikoma Station -

Gakken Nara-Tomigaoka Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the private transportation company, Kintetsu Railway. Line Gakken Nara-Tomigaoka Station is the terminus of the Keihanna Line and is 18.8 ki ...

** Ikoma Cable Line: Toriimae Station (Ikoma Station) - Hōzanji Station - Umeyashiki Station - Kasumigaoka Station - Ikoma-Sanjō Station

Roads

Expressways Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road * ''Expressway'' (film), a 2016 Fi ...

Hanshin Expressway The is a network of expressways surrounding Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto, Japan. History Operated by , it opened in 1962. Portions of the Hanshin Expressway about east of Fukae Station collapsed during the Kobe earthquake on 17 January 1995 ...

Dainihanna Route * Japanese National Route Sign 0163

Japan National Route 163 National Route 163 is a national highway of Japan connecting Kita-ku, Osaka and Tsu, Mie is the capital city of Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 274,879 in 127,273 households and a population density of 3 ...

Japan National Route 168 is a national highway of Japan connecting Shingū, Wakayama and Hirakata, Osaka 260px, Hirakata Park is a city in northeastern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 397,681 in 183075 households and a populatio ...

Japan National Route 308 is a national highway of Japan connecting Chūō-ku, Osaka and Nara, with a total length of . Route description *Length: *Origin: Chūō-ku, Osaka (originates at junction with Route 25) *Terminus: Nara city (originates at junction with Ro ...

*Shigi Ikoma Skylin

Gallery

Image:IMG 0001Ikoma Station.JPG, Kintetsu Ikoma Station Image:IMG 0024 Fure Center Ikoma.JPG, Cherry blossoms at Ikoma Fureai Center File:View of Ikoma.jpg, Exiting the train station in Ikoma Image:IMG 0003 Autumn Ikoma.JPG, Mt. Ikoma eastward File:Take no kanboshi 2015.jpg, "Take no Kanboshi" is solar desiccation of bamboo for making " chasen" (tea whisks). File:Habataki Ikoma building.jpg, Habataki Ikoma building

Notable people from Ikoma

Naruki Doi is a Japanese professional wrestler currently performing for Dragon Gate, DDT Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro-Wrestling as a freelancer. He also wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA); in the former promotio ...

, professional wrestler * Kyogo Furuhashi, footballer *

Nao Matsushita is a Japanese actress and singer. Personal life Nao was born in Ikoma, Nara on 8 February 1985 and grew up in Kawanishi, Hyōgo. Winning Japan's Elite Model Look started her modeling career in earnest. She attended the Tokyo College of Mus ...

, singer and actress * Tomihiko Morimi, novelist *

Tetsu Miyagawa is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Saitama Seibu Lions. Career Saitama Seibu Lions On June 20, 2020, Miyagawa made his Nippon ...

, baseball player *

Shiho Niiyama was a Japanese voice actress from Matsuyama, Ehime. She was attached to Aoni Production at the time of her death. Niiyama was most known for the roles of Kou Seiya/Sailor Star Fighter in the '' Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon'' series, Risa Kanzaki i ...

, voice actress * Tsutomu Nishino, footballer * Risa Nishioka, basketball player * Kenji Satō, basketball player and coach * Takumi Shimada, footballer *

Kana Ueda is a Japanese voice actress and singer. Biography Youth and training She is a graduate of Kobe College's department of General Culture. Career She is best known as the voices of Yumi Fukuzawa in ''Maria-sama ga Miteru'', Rin Tōsaka ...

, voice actress

References

External links

Ikoma City official website

NPO of Ikoma
support intellectual disabilities and their families official website {{Authority control Cities in Nara Prefecture