Kita-ku, Tokyo
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is a special ward in the
Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
in
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 English translation of its Japanese self-designation is City of Kita. The ward was founded on March 15, 1947. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 340,287, and a population density of 16,510 persons per km2. The total area is 20.61 km2.


Districts and neighborhoods

;Akabane-Iwabuchi Area * Akabane * * * * * * * * * * ;Ōji Area * * * * * * * * * * ;Takinogawa Area * * * * * * * * * ;Notes:


History

The area was a collection of rural villages and towns until the 1880s, when it was connected by rail to central Tokyo ( Oji Station opening in 1883). Parts of the area joined
Tokyo City was a Cities of Japan, municipality in Japan and capital of Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943), Tokyo Prefecture (or ''Tokyo-fu'') which existed from 1 May 1889 until the establishment of Tokyo Metropolis on 1 July 1943. The historical boundari ...
in 1932 as the Ōji (former Ōji and Iwabuchi towns) and Takinogawa (former Takinogawa town) Wards. Kita was officially formed in 1947 by the merger of these wards.


Geography

The name ''Kita,'' meaning "north," reflects the location among the wards of Tokyo. To its north lie the cities of Kawaguchi and Toda in
Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...
. To the east, south and west lie other special wards: Adachi, Arakawa,
Itabashi is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. In English, it is called Itabashi City. Itabashi has sister-city relations with Burlington, Ontario, in Canada; Shijingshan District of Beijing in the People's Republic of China; and Bolog ...
,
Bunkyō is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as ...
, and
Toshima is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita in the north and N ...
. Four rivers run through Kita: * Arakawa River *
Shakujii River The is a river which flows through the northwest quadrant of central Tokyo, Japan. Course The Shakujii River is one of the tributaries of the Arakawa River. With a total length of and a drainage basin of , it is categorized as a Class A ri ...
*
Shingashi River The is a long river that flows through Saitama and Tokyo, Japan. It flows from the Musashino Plateau into the Sumida River at Iwabuchi in Kita, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The En ...
*
Sumida River The is a river that flows through central Tokyo, Japan. It branches from the Arakawa River at Iwabuchi (in Kita-ku) and flows into Tokyo Bay. Its tributaries include the Kanda and Shakujii rivers. It passes through the Kita, Adachi, Arak ...


Famous sites

* Asukayama Park * Chūō Park (formerly Camp Oji) * Kyu-Furukawa Gardens, designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty. * Nanushi-no-taki Park *
Oji Shrine Oji, Ōji or OJI may refer to: People * Chibuzor Oji (born 1977), stage name Faze, Nigerian musician and actor * Geoffrey Oji, Nigerian singer and songwriter, winner of the seventh season of ''Project Fame West Africa'' * Megumi Ōji (born 1975), J ...
, one of the . * Oji Inari shrine * Ukima Park


Economy

The head office of
Seiyu Group , or , is a Japanese group of supermarkets, shopping centers and department stores, headquartered in Akabane (赤羽), Kita, Tokyo.
is in Kita.


Education

The city's public elementary and middle schools are operated by the
City of Kita Board of Education. The city's public high schools are operated by the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education (東京都教育委員会 ''Tōkyō-to Kyōiku Iinkai'') is the board of education in Tokyo, Japan. The board directly manages most of the Public school (government funded), public secondary schoo ...
. * (東京都立飛鳥高等学校) * (東京都立赤羽商業高等学校) * (東京都立桐ケ丘高等学校) * (東京都立王子総合高等学校) The following private domestic schools are in the ward: * Joshi Seigakuin Junior & Senior High School (for girls) – NakazatoEnglish
" Joshi Seigakuin Junior & Senior High School. Retrieved on January 10, 2019. "Joshi Seigakuin Junior & Senior High School 3-12-2 Nakazato, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114-8574 JAPAN"
* Seigakuin Junior & Senior High School (for boys) – The following international schools are in the ward: * École Internationale Franco-Japonaise 東京日仏国際学園 EIFJ Tokyo (French-English-Japanese) *
Lycée Français International de Tokyo The Lycée Français International de Tokyo (LFI Tokyo, ''Tōkyō Kokusai Furansu Gakuen'') is a French international school in Tokyo with over 1550 students representing more than 65 nationalities. The school consists of a kindergarten, an elemen ...
(French) * Tokyo Korean Junior and Senior High School (North Korean) The following universities are in the ward: * Tokyo Seitoku University * Tokyo University of Social Welfare


Transportation


Rail

*
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 ...
**
Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line () is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Saitama, Saitama, Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Uts ...
,
Takasaki Line The Takasaki Line () is a Japanese railway line which connects Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture and Takasaki Station in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. It is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). All service ...
,
Utsunomiya Line The Utsunomiya Line () is the name given to a section of the Tōhoku Main Line between Tokyo Station in Tokyo and Kuroiso Station in Nasushiobara, Tochigi, Japan. It is part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) network. Services Serv ...
: Oku, Akabane Stations **
Saikyō Line The Saikyō Line () is a Japanese railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and Ōmiya Station (Saitama), Ōmiya Station in Saitama Prefecture. The line's name is a portmant ...
(
Akabane Line Akabane may refer to: *Akabane virus * Akabane, a neighborhood in Kita, Tokyo *Akabane Station is a railway station in Kita, Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Akabane Station is served by the following l ...
): Itabashi, Jujo, Akabane, Kita Akabane, Ukima Funado Stations ** Keihin-Tōhoku Line: Tabata, Kami Nakazato, Ōji, Higashi Jujo, Akabane Stations **
Yamanote Line The Yamanote Line () is a railway Circle route, loop service in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres ...
: Tabata Station *
Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation The , also known as Toei Transportation, Toei Transport, or simply , is a bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government which operates public transport services in Tokyo. Among its services, the Toei Subway is one of two rapid transit systems wh ...
Tokyo Sakura Tram The , branded as the is a hybrid tram/light rail line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). The line is the sole survivor of Tokyo's once-extensive Tokyo Toden tram system and one of the only two ...
: Nishigahara-yonchome, Takinogawa-ichome, Asukayama, Oji-ekimae, Sakaecho, Kajiwara Stations *
Tokyo Metro Namboku Line The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro in Tokyo, Japan. The line runs between Meguro in Shinagawa and Akabane-Iwabuchi in Kita. The Namboku Line was referred to as Line 7 during the planning stages, thus the seldom-used off ...
: Nishigahara, Ōji, Ōji Kamiya, Shimo, Akabane Iwabuchi Stations *
Saitama Rapid Railway Line The is a mostly underground rapid transit line in Japan operated by the third sector operating company Saitama Railway Corporation. Funded by Saitama Prefecture, local municipal governments, and Tokyo Metro, it forms a continuation of the Toky ...
(Sainokuni Stadium Line): Akabane-Iwabuchi Station


Highways

*
Shuto Expressway The is a network of Toll road, tolled expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the . Most routes are Grade separation, grade separated and have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that require cauti ...
C2 Central Loop (Itabashi JCT – Kasai JCT) * Route 17 (Nakasendō)


Notable people from Kita

*
Kōbō Abe , known by his pen name , was a Japanese writer, playwright and director. His 1962 novel ''The Woman in the Dunes'' was made into an Woman in the Dunes, award-winning film by Hiroshi Teshigahara in 1964. Abe has often been compared to Franz Kaf ...
, Japanese writer, playwright, musician, photographer, inventor and novelist *
Kyoko Fukada is a Japanese actress and singer. She is represented by the agency Horipro. She won the award for Best Actress at the Yokohama Film Festival for '' Kamikaze Girls''. Biography Kyoko Fukada was born and raised in Tokyo, on 2 November 1982. ...
, model, actress, and singer *
Megumi Hayashibara is a Japanese voice actress, singer, lyricist and radio personality from Kita ward in Tokyo and is affiliated with self-founded Woodpark Office. One of the most prominent Japanese voice actresses since the 1990s, Hayashibara is best known for ...
,
seiyuu Voice acting in Japan is an industry where actors provide voice-overs as characters or narrators in media including anime, video games, audio dramas, commercials, and dubbing for non-Japanese films and television programs. In Japan, and ac ...
, musician, singer, writer, radio DJ and TV talk show host, certified nurse * Hikaru Ijuin, radio and television personality * Elephant Kashimashi, rock band *
Kiyoshi Kodama was a Japanese TV personality and actor. He hosted the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation quiz show '' Panel Quiz Attack 25'' continuously for thirty-six years from its start in April 1975 until he was forced to step down due to poor health at the ...
, actor and TV personality * Yuki Chiba, rapper *
Yuichi Nakamaru , is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, television personality and radio host under Starto Entertainment. He joined the talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1998 and then officially debuted as part of KAT-TUN in 2006, group to which he belong ...
, singer-songwriter, actor, television personality, radio host, and a member of
KAT-TUN was a Japanese boy band under Starto Entertainment. Their formation under Johnny & Associates was in 2001. The group's name was originally an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name: Kazuya Kamenashi, Jin Akanishi, Junnos ...
*
Kazuya Yoshii is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band The Yellow Monkey. When they went on hiatus in 2001, before officially disbanding three years later, Yoshii started a solo ca ...
, singer-songwriter and musician (
The Yellow Monkey The Yellow Monkey, sometimes abbreviated as , is a Japanese rock band originally active from 1988 to 2001, before officially disbanding in 2004. They announced their reformation in 2016. The band's name was derived from the ethnic slur that Ja ...
)


International relations

Kita has a
sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...
relationship with
Xuanwu District, Beijing Xuanwu District () was a district of the Municipality of Beijing, China. It was located southwest to the city center, outside of Xuanwu Gate. The district was merged into Xicheng District in July 2010. Located outside the Imperial Inner City a ...
, China. It is also twinned with the following cities in Japan. *
Kanra, Gunma 250px, Old town of Obata in Kanra is a town located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 21,749 in 8311 households, and a population density of 220 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Kanra ...
*
Nakanojō, Gunma file:四万温泉 中之条 2013 (9993444756).jpg, 250px, Shima Onsen is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 15,571 in 6,737 households, and a population density of 35 pers ...
*
Sakata, Yamagata is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 96,777 in 42,600 households, and a population density of 180 people per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Sakata is located ...


See also


References


External links


Kita City Official Website
{{Authority control Wards of Tokyo