is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Suntō District of

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

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 town 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 32,453 in 14058 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 3,700 persons per km². The total area of the town was .

Geography

Shimizu is located at the northern end of

Izu Peninsula The is a mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan, the largest of the four main islands of Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsu ...

. Both the Kakita River and the

Kano River The is an A class river in Shizuoka Prefecture of central Japan. It is long and has a watershed of . The Kano River originates from Mount Amagi in central Izu Peninsula and follows a generally northern path into Suruga Bay at Numazu is a ci ...

flow through the town. The area has a temperate

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring ...

with hot, humid summers and mild, cool winters.

Neighboring municipalities

*Shizuoka Prefecture **

Numazu is a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 189,486 in 91,986 households, and a population density of 1,014 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Numazu is at the n ...

Mishima Mishima may refer to: Places * Mishima, Fukushima, a town in Fukushima Prefecture * Mishima, Kagoshima, a village in Kagoshima Prefecture * Mishima, Niigata, a town in Niigata Prefecture * Mishima, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japa ...

Nagaizumi 270px, Nagaizumi Town Hall is a town located in Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 43,568 in 18154 households and a population density of 1,600 persons per km2. The total area of the town was ...

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Shimizu has been increasing over the past 70 years.

Climate

The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Shimizu is 15.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1925 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.8 °C.

History

Shimizu is located in the far eastern portion of former

Suruga Province was an Provinces of Japan, old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu Province, Izu, Kai Province, Kai, Sagami Province, Sagami, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Province, Tōtōm ...

, and was largely ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil war ...

'' territory under direct control of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

in the

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 ...

. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system of the early

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

in 1889, the area was reorganized into the village of Shimizu within

Suntō District, Shizuoka is a rural district located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of July 2012, the district has an estimated population of 94,229 and a population density of 550 persons per km2. The total area was 171.4856 km2. Towns and villages Suntō Distr ...

through the merger of 11 small hamlets. Shimizu attained town status in 1963. There have been numerous unsuccessful attempts to

merge Merge, merging, or merger may refer to: Concepts * Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road * Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program * Merger (politics), the comb ...

Shimizu into neighboring Numazu (1966, 1967, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007).

Economy

The economy of Shimizu is largely based on agriculture. The town also serves as a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for the industrial zones in neighboring Numazu and Mishima.

Education

Shimizu has three public elementary schools and two public junior high schools operated by the town government. The town has one public high school operated by the Shizuoka Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

Shimizu does not have any passenger railway service.

Highway

Mascot

Shimizu's mascot is . He is a elf who lives in the Kakita River. He wears a

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

-like hat and a cape with Kakita River and Mishimabaikamo flower motifs. His uniform has a pocket that can store green rice (a special kind of rice) and several books. Depending on the season, he changes his hat (white and green for spring, green for summer, white and brown for fall and white for winter) and his gloves and boots (red for spring, blue for summer, brown for fall and white for winter). His job is a park ranger. As a park ranger, he must protect the Kakita River (and nature in general) while making everyone's dreams come true. Because of his handsome looks as a park ranger, he is nicknamed the . He is unveiled on 11 May 2013.

Sister cities

Miaoli City Miaoli City (Wade–Giles: ''Miao²-li⁴-shih⁴''; Hakka Chinese, Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ, PFS: ''Mèu-li̍t-sṳ''; Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Biâu-le̍k-chhī'' or ''Miâu-le̍k-chhī''; Japanese language, Japanese Byōritsushi) is a cou ...

, Taiwan, since 2003 *

Squamish, British Columbia Squamish (; , ; 2021 census population 23,819) is a community and a district municipality in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, located at the north end of Howe Sound on the British Columbia Highway 99 ...

, Canada

Notable people from Shimizu, Shizuoka

Nagasawa Katsutate (September 14, 1858 – October 10, 1940) was a Japanese Shinto priest and spiritual teacher. He was the spiritual teacher of Deguchi Onisaburo, Tomokiyo Yoshisane, and Nakano Yonosuke, all of whom were founders of notable Japanese new religi ...

(1858–1940) – Shinto priest and spiritual teacher * Yuki Sato –

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

* Takehiro Ishikawa – played in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. * Suguru Iwazaki – 4-time NPB All Star for the Hanshin Tigers