280px, Lake Kasumigaura from Omitama
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
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...
,
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 48,776 in 18,311 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 337 persons per km
2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 30.0%.
The total area of the city is .
Geography
Omitama is located in central Ibaraki Prefecture, in the low-lying flatlands north of Lake
Kasumigaura.
Surrounding municipalities
Ibaraki Prefecture
*
Hokota
*
Ibaraki
*
Ishioka
*
Kasama
*
Namegata
Climate
Omitama 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 warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Omitama is 13.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1357 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.8 °C.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Omitama peaked around the year 2000 and has declined slightly since.
History
The city of Omitama was established on March 27, 2006, from the merger of the towns of
Ogawa and
Minori (both from
Higashiibaraki District), and the village of
Tamari (from
Niihari District).
The new city took its name from portions of the three older town and village names from which it was formed, ''Ogawa'', ''Minori'', ''Tamari''.
Government
Omitama 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 20 members. Omitama contributes one member to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of
Ibaraki 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
Agriculture is the mainstay of the local economy, with
cash crops
A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsistence crop") ...
including
chives
Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae.
A perennial plant, ''A. schoenoprasum'' is widespread in nature across much of Eurasia and North America. It is the only spe ...
,
strawberries
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...
, melons, rice and lotus roots.
Omitama is also the home of Ibaraki Airport, which opened in March 2010 after considerable public investment. Its original intention was to attract Low Cost Carriers to an operating centre North of Tokyo. To date it has had some success by attracting Skymark Airlines, Spring Airlines and TigerAir to offer limited domestic and international routes to Xian, Taipei and Shanghai.
Education
Omitama has 11 public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education.
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 ...
–
Jōban Line
The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line officially begins at Nippori Station in Arakawa, Tokyo before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, Miyagi. However, following ...
*
Highway
* – Minori Parking Area
*
*
Airport
*
Ibaraki Airport
Military facilities
*
Hyakuri Air Base
is an airport in the city of Omitama, Ibaraki, Omitama, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. It also serves as an air base for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) under the name Hyakuri Air Base, and is the closest fighter base to Tokyo. The airpo ...
, a
Japan Air Self-Defense Force
The , , also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the Aerial warfare, air and space warfare, space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and ...
base.
Sister cities
*
Abilene, Kansas
Abilene (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,460. It is home of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Libra ...
, United States
Local attractions
Noted people from Omitama
*
Yuya Niwa
is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Niihari District, Ibaraki and graduate of Keio University he was elect ...
, politician
References
External links
Official Website
{{Authority control
Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture
Omitama