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 ...

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 993,848 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

, in the

Chūbu region The , Central region, or is a region in the middle of Honshū, Japan's main island. In a wide, classical definition, it encompasses nine prefectures (''ken''): Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, and Ya ...

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 of 41,564 in 15,387 households and a population density of 95.8 persons per km². Its total area was .

Geography

Kurobe is located in northeastern of Toyama Prefecture, with a topography ranging from sea level at Toyama Bay to the 3000 meter mountains of the Northern Alps on the border with

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

. The Kurobe River flows through the city. Kurobe 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 mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kurobe is 13.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2277 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.6 °C.

Surrounding municipalities

** Hakuba ** Omachi *Toyama Prefecture **

Asahi Asahi (Japanese 朝日, 旭, or あさひ 'morning sun') may refer to: Places in Japan Cities * Asahi, Chiba (旭市; ''Asahi-shi'') Wards * Asahi-ku, Osaka (旭区; ''Asahi-ku'') * Asahi-ku, Yokohama (旭; ''Asahi-ku'') Towns * Asahi, Aichi ...

** Kamiichi **

Nyūzen is a town in Shimoniikawa District, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 25,007 in 8,970 households and a population density of 350 persons per km2. The total area of the town was . Geography With the Sea of Japan ...

** Tateyama ** Uozu

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kurobe has remained relatively steady over the past 50 years.

History

The area is home to the Aimotohimesha

Shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

and also shares its name with

Kurobe River The is a river in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The river is in length and has a watershed of . The river rises from Mount Washiba in the Hida Mountains and carves the deep valley known as the Kurobe Gorge. It comes out of the mountains at Un ...

, both of which form a central element in the local legend of a powerful serpent of Kurobe River. The area of present-day Kurobe was part of ancient Etchū Province. The towns of Ikuji and Mikkaichi were created on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the municipalities system. On April 1, 1954, the town of Ikuji merged with the town of Sakurai to form the city of Kurobe.Kurobe official city history
/ref> On March 31, 2006 the town of Unazuki (from Shimoniikawa District) was merged into Kurobe.

Government

Kurobe 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 legislature of 18 members. Kurobe City Hall

Economy

Kurobe is the world headquarters of YKK.

Education

Kurobe has nine public elementary schools and four public junior high schools. The city has one public high school operated by the Toyama Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school.

Transportation

Railway

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

(JR West) –

Hokuriku Shinkansen The Hokuriku Shinkansen () is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo with Tsuruga, Fukui, Tsuruga in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It is jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR ...

** * 22px

Ainokaze Toyama Railway The is a Japanese third-sector railway operating company established in 2012 to operate passenger railway services on the section of the JR West Hokuriku Main Line within Toyama Prefecture when it was separated from the JR West network in Marc ...

** - * 18px Toyama Chihō Railway ** - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * Kurobe Gorge Railway

Highway

International relations

Sneek Sneek (; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city southwest of Leeuwarden and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdw ...

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

, Netherlands, since September 10, 1970 * Macon-Bibb, Georgia, United States, since May 10, 1977Kurobe city official home page
/ref> *

Samcheok Samcheok (; ) is a city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. To the west are the Taebaek Mountains, which form a high flat plain of more than 1,000 meters, and to the east the coastal plain slopes sharply. Samcheok borders Donghae in the north, ...

, Korea, friendship city

Local attractions

* Kurobe Gorge * Unazuki Onsen

Notable people from Kurobe

Susumu Kurobe (born ; 22 October 1939) is a television, film and stage actor from Kurobe, Toyama, Japan, widely known for his portrayal of Shin Hayata, the first Ultraman in the '' titular character series'', a role he has played since the original series in ...

, actor * Mitsuhiro Miyakoshi, politician

References

External links

* *
Kurobe Unazuki-onsen Tourist Board
{{Authority control Cities in Toyama Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan