is one of the eight wards of Niigata City,

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

, in the

Hokuriku region The is located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan and is part of the larger Chūbu region. It is almost equivalent to the former Koshi Province (Japan), Koshi Province and Hokurikudō are ...

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 ward 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 55,963 in 20,369 households Niigata city official statistics
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 320 persons per km². The total area of the ward was .

Geography

Nishikan-ku is located in southwestern Niigata City, bordered by the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

to the west. Mount Yahiko is on the border of Nishikan-ku with the neighbouring city of Nagaoka.

Surrounding municipalities

*Niigata Prefecture ** Minami-ku, Niigata ** Nagaoka ** Nishi-ku, Niigata ** Tsubame ** Yahiko

Climate

History

The area of present-day Nishikan-ku was part of ancient

Echigo Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen Province, Uzen, Iwashiro Province, Iwashiro, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Etchū Province, ...

. The town of Sone and the village of Iwamuro were established on April 1, 1889 within Nakakanbara District, Niigata with the establishment of the municipalities system. The town of Maki was created on April 10, 1891 by the merger of 14 hamlets, and expanded on January 1, 1955 by annexing five neighbouring villages. The town of Nishikawa was founded on January 1, 1955 by the merger of Sone with the village of Masugata. The city of Niigata annexed the towns of Maki and Masugata and the villages of Iwamuro, Katahigashi and Nakanokuchi on March 21, 2005. Niigata became a government-designated city on April 1, 2007 and was divided into wards, with the new Nishikan Ward consisting of these areas.

Education

Nishikan-ku has 13 public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the Niigata city government. The ward has three public high schools operated by the Niigata Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates two special education schools.

Transportation

Railway

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 ...

Echigo Line The is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) which connects the cities of Kashiwazaki and Niigata in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The line's name is taken from the name of the ancient Echigo Province, which correspond ...

* - -

Highways

* 20px

Hokuriku Expressway The , (abbreviated as , is a 4-laned national Expressways of Japan, expressway in Japan. It is owned and managed by East Nippon Expressway Company and Central Nippon Expressway Company. Overview The first section was opened in 1972 by Japan ...

* * (Seaside Line) *

Local attractions

Iwamuro Onsen (hot spring) Resort
* Taho Onsen (hot spring) * Mount Kakuda * Uwasekigata Lagoon Park * Maze Sea Circuit File:Echigo-plain.jpg, View from Mount Kakuda (center: Uwasekigata Lagoon Park) Iwamuro-onsen,Niigata-city,Niigata,Japan.jpg, Iwamuro Onsen Old Niigata r2 Ishize April2020.jpg, Hokkoku Kaidō and Taho Onsen Niigata r374 Central Maki March2020.jpg, Maki shopping street

References

Notes

External links

Niigata official website

Niigata Nishikan-ku website

(multilingual)

(multilingual) {{Authority control Wards of Niigata (city)