Shizuoka, Shizuoka
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is the capital city 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 ...
, and the prefecture's second-largest city in both population and area. It has been populated since prehistoric times. 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 677,867 in 106,087 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 .


Overview

The city's name is made up of two ''
kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...
'', ''shizu'', meaning "still" or "calm"; and ''oka'', meaning "hill(s)". In 1869, Shizuoka Domain was first created out of the older Sunpu Domain, and that name was retained when the city was incorporated in 1885. In 2003, Shizuoka absorbed neighboring Shimizu City (now Shimizu Ward) to create the new and expanded city of Shizuoka, briefly becoming the largest city by land area in Japan. In 2005, it became one of Japan's " designated cities".


Cityscapes

File:Sunpu-castle tatsumi-yagura.JPG, Sunpu Castle (2014) File:Shizuoka Station 201016a.jpg, CBD of Shizuoka City (2020) File:Higashi-Shizuoka Panorama 05.jpg,
Skyline A skyline is the wikt:outline, outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural area, rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the ...
of Shizuoka City (2021) File:Shichikencho Street(3).jpg,
Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...
of Shichikenchō (2021) File:Konyacho Shopping Street (Gofukucho Dori) 2.jpg, Konyachō (2021) File:Ryogae-cho (1).jpg, Ryōgaechō (2021) File:S-pulse dream plaza 201016a.jpg, Port of Shimizu (2020) File:The sunrise over the Shizuoka Plain seen from the Choseniwa.jpg, Sunrise of Shizuoka City (2020)


Geography

Shizuoka City lies in central
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 ...
, about halfway between
Tokyo 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 ...
and
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
along the Tōkaidō Corridor, between Suruga Bay to the south and the Minami Alps in the north. Shizuoka had the largest area of any municipality in Japan after merging with Shimizu City in April 2003, until February 2005, when Takayama in
Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...
superseded it by merging with nine surrounding municipalities. The total area of the city is . Shizuoka is the 5th largest city in Japan in terms of geographic area after Takayama,
Hamamatsu is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the t ...
,
Nikkō is a Cities of Japan, city in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city's population was 80,239, in 36,531 households. The population density was 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Nikkō is a popular destination for Japanese and ...
, and Kitami. It is also the 2nd largest city in Shizuoka Prefecture in terms of both geographic area and population after
Hamamatsu is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the t ...
, but ranks higher as an Urban Employment Area, and leads as a
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
and business region. The fan-like shape of the Shizuoka Plain and Miho Peninsula were formed over the ages by the fast-flowing Abe River, carrying along collapsed sand and earth. These areas form the foundations of the city today. The isolated Mount Kunō separates the Suruga coastline from the Shimizu coastline.


Basic data

* Area of densely populated region ** * Urban planning area ** * Area zoned for urbanization **


Nature


Mountains

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Rivers

* (upstream) * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Lakes

* ( Ikawa Dam) * ( Hatanagi-I Dam) * * * * *


Climate

On the south-central Pacific coast Shizuoka has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(
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''), which is hot and humid in the summer, and rarely snows in the winter. It is close to the warm
Kuroshio Current The , also known as the Black Current or is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...
and is wet even by Japanese standards with only slightly less precipitation than
Kanazawa is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Etymology The name "Kanazaw ...
on the opposite side of Honshū, but it is paradoxically the sunniest of Japan's major cities owing to the absence of summer fog and its sheltered location from the northwesterly winds off 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 ...
. Further north, the mountainous Ikawa area is part of the Japanese snow country, where there are ski areas.


Area


Wards

; :Administrative center, made up of the former Shizuoka north of the Tōkaidō Main Line excluding Osada district ; :Former Shizuoka south of the Tōkaidō Main Line and Osada district ; :Former city of Shimizu and towns of Kanbara and Yui.


Administrative district "image colours"

On 22 December 2006, colours and logos were established for each of the wards.


Demographics

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 704,989 in 286,013 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 .


Historic population

Per Japanese census data, the population of Shizuoka has been declining slowly since 1990.


Bordering municipalities

;
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 ...
* Fuji * Fujieda * Fujinomiya * Kawanehon ( Haibara District) * Shimada * Yaizu ; Yamanashi Prefecture * Hayakawa ( Minamikoma District) * Minami-Alps * Minobu ( Minamikoma District) * Nanbu ( Minamikoma District) ;
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 ...
* Iida * Ina * Ōshika ( Shimoina District)


History


Ancient history

The area that is now the city of Shizuoka has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Numerous kofun have been found within the city limits, and the
Toro Toro may refer to: Places *Toro, Molise, a ''comune'' in the Province of Campobasso, Italy *Toro, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria *Toro, Shizuoka, an archaeological site in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan *Toro, Zamora, a ''m ...
archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...
indicates that a major
Yayoi period The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...
(circa 400 BC–300 AD) settlement existed in what is now part of the central city area. Suruga was established as a province of Japan in the early
Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...
. At some point between the year 701 and 710, the provincial capital was relocated from what is now Numazu, to a more central location on the banks of the Abe River at a location named (a contraction of ) or alternatively .


Pre-modern Shizuoka

During the
Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...
, Sunpu was the capital of the Imagawa clan. The Imagawa were defeated at the Battle of Okehazama, and Sunpu was subsequently ruled by Takeda Shingen, followed by
Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...
. However,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...
relocated Ieyasu, and installed Nakamura Kazutada to rule Sunpu. After the Toyotomi were defeated in the
Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...
, Ieyasu recovered Sunpu, reassigning it to his own retainer, Naitō Nobunari in 1601. This marked the start of Sunpu Domain. In April 1606, Ieyasu officially retired from the post of ''
shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...
'', and retired to Sunpu, where he established a secondary court, from which he could influence ''Shōgun'' Tokugawa Hidetada from behind the scenes. Subsequently, aside for brief periods, Sunpu was '' tenryō'' (territory under direct administration by the Shogunate), ruled by the , an appointed official based in Sunpu.


From the Meiji period to World War II

In 1869, after the fall 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 ...
, the former shogunal line, headed by Tokugawa Iesato was sent to Sunpu and assigned the short-lived Sunpu Domain. The same year, Sunpu was renamed "Shizuoka". Shizuoka Domain became
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 ...
with the abolition of the han system in 1871, which was expanded in 1876 through merger with the former Hamamatsu Prefecture and western portions of Ashigaru Prefecture in 1876. Shizuoka Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line was opened on 1 February 1889. The same day, a fire burned down most of downtown Shizuoka. The modern city was founded on 1 April 1889. At the time, the population was 37,681, and Shizuoka was one of the first 31 cities established in Japan. An electric
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
service began in 1911. In 1914, due to heavy rains caused by a
typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...
, the Abe River flooded, inundating the downtown area. In the national census of 1920, the population of Shizuoka was 74,093. The area of the city continued to expand through the 1920s and 1930s through merger with outlying towns and villages. In 1935, the city was struck by a 6.4 magnitude
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
, resulting in much damage. Although soon rebuilt, a large fire in 1940 again destroyed much of the center of the city. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Shizuoka lacked targets of major military significance, and was initially only lightly bombed during several American air raids. However, in a major firebombing raid of 19 June 1945, the city suffered an extreme amount of damage with high civilian casualties.


Post-war Shizuoka

The area of the city continued to expand through the 1950s and 1960s through merger with outlying towns and villages. On 1 October 1964, the
Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the San'yō Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opening in 19 ...
began services to Shizuoka, and on 25 April 1969 the city was connected to the Tōmei Expressway. On 7 July 1974, the Abe River flooded, and landslides occurred during heavy rains, killing 23 people. On 16 August 1980, a major gas leak in an underground shopping center near Shizuoka Station resulted in an explosion, killing 15 people and seriously injuring 233 others. The Shizuoka City Hall moved to new premises in 1986. On 1 April 1992, Shizuoka was designated a
core city In urban planning, a historic core city or central city is the municipality with the largest 1940 population in the present metropolitan area (metropolitan statistical area). This term was retired by the US census bureau and replaced by the term ...
by the central government, giving it increased autonomy. The 1 April 2003
merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
with Shimizu City (current Shimizu Ward) greatly expanded the area and population of Shizuoka, which then became a designated city on 1 April 2005, and was divided into three wards. Despite being somewhat geographically isolated from the rest of the city, the town of Kanbara (from Ihara District) was merged into Shizuoka on 31 March 2006, becoming part of Shimizu-ku. On 1 November 2008, the town of Yui (also from Ihara District) was also merged into Shimizu-ku, resulting in the dissolution of Ihara District.


Government

Shizuoka 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 48 members. The city contributes 13 members to the Shizuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between Shizuoka 1st district and Shizuoka 4th district in 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 Japanese Diet.


Mayors


Former Shizuoka city from 1889 to 2003


Former Shimizu city from 1924 to 2003


Since 2003 merger


Administration


Ward offices

*Shizuoka City Office/Aoi Ward Office:
5-1 Ōtemachi, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka-shi 420-8602 **Aoi Ward Ikawa Branch Office:
656-2 Ikawa, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka-shi 428-0504 *Suruga Ward Office:
10-40 Minamiyahata-chō, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka-shi 422-8550 **Suruga Ward Osada Branch Office:
13-1 Kami-Kawahara Suruga-ku, Shizuoka-shi 421-0132 *Shimizu City Office/Shimizu Ward Office:
6-9 Asahi-chō, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka-shi 424-8701 **Shimizu Ward Kanbara Branch Office:
1-21-1 Kanbara Shinden, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka-shi 421-3211


Sister cities

Shizuoka has twin and friendship relationships with several cities.


International

;Sister cities ;Friendship cities


National

;Sister cities ;Friendship cities


Economy

Shizuoka has 35,579 businesses as of 2012. Employment by industry: Agriculture 0.1%, Manufacturing: 26.9%, Service 73.0% Greater Shizuoka, Shizuoka Metropolitan Employment Area, has a GDP of US$45.8 billion as of 2010. Shizuoka's GDP per capita (PPP) 2014 was US$41,472. Fuji Dream Airlines is headquartered in Aoi-ku, Shizuoka.


Agriculture

;
Green tea Green tea is a type of tea made from the leaves and buds of the '' Camellia sinensis'' that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process that creates oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China in the late 1st millenn ...
: Varieties such as ''Motoyama'' and ''Yabukita'' are grown in all corners of the city, and the varieties grown especially in the Warashina area in Aoi Ward and the Ryōgōchi area of Shimizu Ward are known for their high quality ; Strawberries: are strawberries that grow in holes on inclined stone walls, grown especially along an stretch of Kunō Kaidō (route 150), also known as "Strawberry Road", along the coast of Suruga Bay. ;
Wasabi Wasabi (Japanese language, Japanese: , , or , ) or Japanese horseradish (''Eutrema japonicum'' syn. ''Wasabia japonica'') is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and Mustard plant, mustard in other genus, genera. ...
:especially in areas such as Utōgi in Aoi Ward ; Mandarin orange and other
citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...
fruits:especially Satsuma, a seedless and easy-peeling citrus mutant, known as or formally ; Lotus roots: especially in the Asahata area of Aoi Ward ;
Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
s: especially in the Ihara and Okitsu areas in Shimizu Ward ;
Peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...
es:especially in the Osada area::: :
Potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...
es :Especially the Sebago potato. Originally exported to Crookwell


Fishery

Shimizu Port boasts the largest haul of tuna in all Japan. Kanbara Harbour enjoys a prosperous haul of ''sakura ebi'', and Mochimune Harbour enjoys a prosperous haul of '' shirasu'' sardines.


Products

''Abekawa Mochi'' is a type of rice cake (or ''
mochi A mochi ( ; Japanese ) is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain Japonica rice, japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The steamed rice is pounded into paste and molded into the ...
'') made with '' kinako'' soy flour that is a specialty of Shizuoka. Shizuoka has a long history of being involved in the craft industries going back over 400 years ago, using trees, including cypress. The model industry goes back to the late 1920s when wood was used to produce model toys, using sashimono woodworking joinery techniques, purely for educational purposes. Craftsmen later moved on to lighter woods including balsa, but following the war, with the importation of US built scale models, many companies either turned to plastic models to compete or went under. The town has since become internationally notable for its plastic
scale model A scale model is a physical model that is geometrically similar to an object (known as the ''prototype''). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small protot ...
kits and is resident to long-established companies such as Aoshima, Fujimi, Hasegawa, and Tamiya. Another model brand,
Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...
, produces its Gundam models exclusively at its Bandai Hobby Center plant in the city. The city hosts the long-running Shizuoka Hobby Show annually in May at Twin Messe Shizuoka.


Media


Print media

The '' Shizuoka Shimbun'' is the area's primary newspaper. The book trilogy “Paper Gods” by Amanda Sun takes place in this city.


Broadcast media


Television

*
NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...
Shizuoka (Analogue Channel 9; Digital Channel 1) * NHK Shizuoka Educational Channel (Analogue Channel 2; Digital Channel 2) * Shizuoka Broadcasting System (SBS) (Analogue Channel 11; Digital Channel 6) * TV Shizuoka (Analogue Channel 35; Digital Channel 8) * Shizuoka Daiichi Television (Analogue Channel 31; Digital Channel 4) * Shizuoka Asahi Television (Analogue Channel 33; Digital Channel 5)


Cable television

Shizuoka Cable Television (Dream Wave Shizuoka)


Radio

* NHK1 882 kHz * NHK2 639 kHz * NHK-FM 88.8 MHz * SBS 1404 kHz / 93.9 MHz * K-MIX 79.2 MHz * FM-Hi!76.9 MHz * Marine Pal (FM Shimizu) 76.3 MHz * Guzen Media Japan—A podcast and vidcast based in Shizuoka, Japan


Education


Colleges and universities

* Shizuoka University :
National university A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...
, founded 1949. Main campus in Suruga Ward. Abbreviated to 静大 (''Shizudai''). * University of Shizuoka ( Shizuoka Prefectural University) :
Public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...
whose main campus is in Suruga Ward, close to Kusanagi Station. * Tokai University : Shimizu campus of the Tokyo-based private university * Tokoha Gakuen University :Private university founded in 1946 * Shizuoka Eiwa Gakuin University :Co-educational
private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...
in Suruga Ward, founded by missionaries from the Methodist Church of Canada with the support of the Shizuoka prefectural government. First institution in Shizuoka Prefecture to offer
secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
for girls, it became a four-year coeducational university in 2002. * University of Shizuoka Junior College :
Junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...
in Suruga Ward, affiliated with University of Shizuoka. * Tokai University Junior College :
Junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...
in Aoi Ward, affiliated with Tokai University. * Tokoha Gakuen Junior College :
Junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...
in Aoi Ward, affiliated with Tokoha Gakuen University.


Primary and secondary education

Shizuoka has 91 elementary schools, 57 middle schools and 27 high schools. In addition there are 29 vocations schools and 12 public libraries.


Transportation


Airways


Airports

The nearest airport is Shizuoka Airport, situated between Makinohara and Shimada.


Railways

Shizuoka lies on the Tōkaidō Main Line, the JR Central main railway line from Tokyo to Osaka, and is well-served by the
Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the San'yō Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opening in 19 ...
, limited express and regional trains. The central station of Shizuoka is in the city centre. Shizuoka also has an LRT line, the Shizuoka Railway, administered by the Shizuoka Railway Co., Ltd. at Shizuoka Station. The under construction Chūō Shinkansen will pass through the mountainous area in the northern tip of the city. However, the line is not planned to have a station in Shizuoka.


High-Speed Rail

;
Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and occasionally as JR Tokai (). The term ''Tōkai'' refers to the southern portion of Central Japan, ...
(JR Tōkai) *
Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the San'yō Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opening in 19 ...
: - -


Conventional lines

;
Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and occasionally as JR Tokai (). The term ''Tōkai'' refers to the southern portion of Central Japan, ...
(JR Tōkai) * Tōkaidō Main Line: - - ; Shizuoka Railway (Shizutetsu) * Shizuoka Railway Shizuoka-Shimizu Line: – – – – – – – – – – – – – – ; Ōigawa Railway (Daitetsu) * Ōigawa Railway Ikawa Line: - – -


Buses


Bus terminal

* Shin-Shizuoka Cenova


Roads


Expressway

* Tōmei Expressway * Shin-Tōmei Expressway * Chūbu-Ōdan Expressway


Japan National Route

* * * * *


Seaways


Sea port

The Port of Shimizu-ku, in Shimizu City (now Shimizu Ward), is a long established mid-size sea port, catering to container ships, dry bulk ships and cruise ships. It is well located, being in between the two major port areas of Japan, i.e. the
Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...
ports of Tokyo, Kawasaki and Yokohama ( Keihin ports) and the Osaka Bay ports of Osaka and Kobe ( Hanshin ports). The Port of Shimizu has a water depth of about ; its attractiveness has been enhanced over the past years by the construction of new road and rail links which contribute to expanding its commercial hinterland. In tonnage, imports (about ) are close to twice export volumes, but in trade value exports are twice as valuable as imports. The Port of Shimizu container traffic is about balanced, with over 250,000 TEU in each direction, with auto parts and chemicals amongst the main cargo types. Major international container lines provide weekly services on major trade routes, including North America, Europe and Asia, with about 110 calls per months on 28 trade routes. The port of Shimizu also includes a terminal to receive LNG tankers and store imported Liquefied natural gas; it is operated by Shimizu LNG, a subsidiary of Shizuoka Gas (Japan is the world's largest importer of LNG). The Port of Shimizu is also connected to other Japan ports. In particular, it is served by a Roll-on/roll-off service serving the port of Ōita, on the north-east coast of the southern island of
Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...
. This service, which sails three times a week and has a transit time of 20 hours, has enabled a modal shift of freight trucks from road to sea, thereby contributing to decreasing congestion and pollution on roads.


Tourism


Local attractions


Museums

* Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art * Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art * Museum of Natural and Environmental History, Shizuoka


Major attractions

* Nihondaira * Miho no Matsubara


Historic spots


In Aoi Ward

; Shizuoka Sengen Shrine :A collection of
Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...
s that was patronised by powerful warrior clans since ancient times, most notably the
Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period. It was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of ...
. ;Sunpu Park/ Sunpu Castle ruins :The castle of the Imagawa and
Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period. It was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of ...
s, originally built in 1599, was destroyed in 1869. Today, only the moats remain. The rest was turned into a park, and is now a popular place for hanami.


In Suruga Ward

;
Toro Toro may refer to: Places *Toro, Molise, a ''comune'' in the Province of Campobasso, Italy *Toro, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria *Toro, Shizuoka, an archaeological site in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan *Toro, Zamora, a ''m ...
: Late Yayoi
archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...
notable as the first archaeological site excavated in Japan in which remains of a 1st-century AD Yayoi-era wet-rice Paddy fields were found. ; Kunōzan Tōshō-gū :
Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...
that was the original burial place of
Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...
Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...
, and the oldest of the Tōshō-gū shrines in Japan. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on 17 April, although its spring festival from 17–18 February is a larger event. ; Mariko-juku :Twentieth of the fifty-three stations of the old Tōkaidō road, an old travel route during 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 ...
.


In Shimizu Ward

; Miho Peninsula :Famous for the scenic , renowned as a seashore with beautiful green pine trees and white sands spanning over seven kilometers, designated as one of . Also known as the scene of the legend of '' Hagoromo'', which is based on the traditional swan maiden motif.


Culture


Festivals

;: The Daidogei World Cup is an annual international street performers' festival, held over various locations around the city in November over four days. It was first held in 1992. ;: The festival, which begun in 1957 but whose origins date back to traditions hundreds of years old, takes place in April, during the high point of the year for cherry blossoms. A flower-viewing procession echoes the
shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...
Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...
's custom of taking ''
daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...
s'' (feudal lords) to Sengen Shrine to view the cherry blossoms in the 17th century. ;: A gigantic fireworks display held upstream on Shizuoka's Abekawa River in late July. It was first held 1953, to remember those who died during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and to pray for a national revival. Today, around 15,000 fireworks are .


Cuisine

; Oden :a Japanese dish consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, '' daikon'' radish, '' konnyaku,'' and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavoured '' dashi'' broth. Oden in Shizuoka uses a dark coloured broth flavoured with beef stock and dark soy sauce. All ingredients are skewered. Dried, ground fish (sardine, mackerel, or '' katsuobushi'') and '' aonori'' powder (edible seaweed) are sprinkled on top before eating. : ; Gyoza : ; Soba noodles : ;
Seafood Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...
: ; Zōni soup :
rice cakes A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten. Common variations include ...
in a broth cooked with vegetables, popular at New Year ; ''Tororo-jiru'' :A grated yam soup. Chojiya, a ''tororo-jiru'' restaurant founded in 1598 in Mariko-juku area of Shizuoka, west of the Abe River, was made famous by Hiroshige when he depicted it in his series of ''
ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...
'' prints of the 53 stops along the Tōkaidō.


Shizuoka Performing Arts Center

The Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC) was founded in 1995 by the Shizuoka Prefecture. The building was designed by architect Arata Isozaki and was opened in 1999 for the second Theatre Olympics. The arts center is the first publicly funded cultural organization in Japan to have its own troupe of actors and other staff to manage its own venues and facilities for artistic purposes. Suzuki Tadashi was the first Artistic Director, appointed in 1997 and staying in the position until March 2007, after which Miyagi Satoshi took up the appointment. SPAC has organised the World Theatre Festival Shizuoka each year since 2011, as well as creating its own theatre productions (some of which tour abroad), having students to learn at the center, and other theatrical activities. The World Theatre Festival Shizuoka was formerly called the Shizuoka Spring Festival (2000-2010), being changed to "World Theater Festival Shizuoka under Mt. Fuji" in 2012 by the artistic director of the centre, Miyagi Satoshi. His intention was "to connect Shizuoka to the world through theater", to have performances from every corner of the world, for "people to see that the world isn't a set and finished quantity and there is still plenty of room for change. I wanted to communicate that theater is a window to the world". The festival includes stage plays, puppetry, film, dance and other performance arts. In 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, it was announced on 3 April that the festival, scheduled to begin from 25 April to 6 May, would be cancelled. Instead, Miyagi staged an online version of the festival.


Sport

With the Shimizu merger,
Shimizu S-Pulse is a Japanese professional association football, football club located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. S-Pulse is going to compete in the J1 League for the 2025 Season, after winning promotio ...
became the major
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club in the city. Recently, however, a new rival club, Fujieda MYFC (from nearby Fujieda), has been rising in the regional league ranks as a contender for a place in the
Japan Football League The , also known as simply the JFL, is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League 100 Year Plan club sta ...
. The city hosted the official Asian Basketball Championship for Women in
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
and
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
. File:静岡県草薙総合運動場野球場.jpg, Kusanagi Stadium File:Churu Stadium Shimizu Ground.jpg, Shizuoka City Shimizu Ihara Stadium File:Nihondaira stadium20090412.jpg, IAI Stadium Nihondaira File:Arena of konohana arena-1.JPG, Konohana Arena


Notable people

* Princess Akishino
princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...
in the Japanese Imperial Family * Yoshitaka Amano – illustrator and animator, designed the characters for the early ''
Final Fantasy is a Japanese fantasy Anthology series, anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi which is owned, developed, and published by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fanta ...
'' video game series * Shoji Endo (George Masa) - Japananese American baseball player and photographer * Kenta Hasegawa – professional football manager and former player, currently managing Nagoya Grampus * Kazuyoshi Hoshino – racecar driver * Daisuke Ichikawa – professional football player * Shohei Ikeda – professional football player * Toru Irie – professional football player * Teruyoshi Ito – professional football player * Yahiro Kazama – professional football player * Naoya Kikuchi – professional football player * Hiroki Kobayashi – professional football player * Tomoaki Kuno – professional football player * Hidetaka Miyazaki – video game director, creator of the '' Dark Souls'' series * Fumitake Miura – professional football player * Kazuyoshi Miura – professional football player * Yasutoshi Miura – professional football player * Koki Mizuno – professional football player * Hisashi Mizutori – Olympic gold medal gymnast * Kazuyori Mochizuki – professional football player * Shigeyoshi Mochizuki – professional football player * Riyo Mori – Miss Universe Japan 2007, Miss Universe 2007 * Yusuke Mori – professional football player * Ushiomaru Motoyasu – sumo wrestler * Jun Muramatsu – professional football player *Fuma Murata - Member and sub-leader of J-pop group &Team * Go Oiwa – professional football manager and former player, currently manager of Japan national under-23 football team * Katsumi Oenoki – professional football player * Takeshi Oki – professional football player *
Ryota Oshima is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Kawasaki Frontale. International career Oshima was a member of the Japan U-23 national team squad which got qualification to 2016 Summer Olympics by winning the AFC ...
– professional football player * Keisuke Ota – professional football player * Toshihide Saito – professional football player *
Momoko Sakura , known professionally as (May 8, 1965 – August 15, 2018) was a Japanese people, Japanese mangaka, manga artist. She was best known as the creator of the long-running manga ''Chibi Maruko-chan''. Biography Sakura was born on May 8, 1965. She ...
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
, creator of '' Chibi Maruko-chan'' * Yuya Sano – professional football player * Masanori Sekiya – racecar driver * Hideaki Sena – novelist and pharmacologist *
Keisuke Serizawa was a Japanese textile designer. In 1956, he was designated as a Living National Treasure (Japan), Living National Treasure by the Japanese government for his ''katazome'' stencil dyeing technique. A leading member of the ''mingei'' movement fou ...
– textile designer * Masatoshi Shima – inventor of the microprocessor * Kotobuki Shiriagari – Manga artist * Tadashi Suzuki – Stage director * Yūichi Suzumoto – novelist * Toranosuke Takagi – racecar driver * Nobuhiro Tanabe – politician * Yoshito Usui – creator of
Crayon Shin-chan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshito Usui. ''Crayon Shin-chan'' made its first appearance in 1990 in a Japanese weekly magazine called ''Weekly Manga Action'', which was published by Futabasha. Due to the death of ...
comics * Takahiro Yamazaki – professional baseball player * Kaito Yamamoto – professional football player * Takahiro Yamanishi – professional football player * Kotaro Yamazaki – professional football player * Takuya Yokoyama – professional football player * Kiyoe Yoshioka – singer, vocalist of Ikimono-gakari


City song

* Written: 13 April 2005 * Lyrics: Citizen competition entry * Music, additions: Kei Ogura * Arranged: Shin Kawabe * Eri Itō sang on the CD release


References


External links

*
Daidogei World Cup in Shizuoka

Know Shizuoka – The independent Guide
(archived website) * {{Authority control Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan