Shizuoka, Shizuoka

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Shizuoka (静岡市; -shi) is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is a city designated by government ordinance.

Contents

Demographics

As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 710,236 and the density of 511.48 persons per km². The total area is 1,373.85 km².

Wards

Aoi-ku (Former Shizuoka north of the Tokaido Main Line excluding Osada district)
Suruga-ku (Former Shizuoka south of the Tokaido Main Line and Osada district)
Shimizu-ku (Former Shimizu city)

History

The Toro Ruins representative of the Yayoi period (circa 300BC-300BCE) are located within the city and show that the area has been populated since prehistoric times.

Suruga was established as a province of Japan at least as far back as the Heian Era.

Imagawa Yoshimoto placed Sunpu (駿府) (a contraction of Suruga no Kokufu) at the heart of his domains during the [[]]era. Under Imagawa, Tokugawa Ieyasu was brought up from the age of 5 as a hostage in exile. Ieyasu was eventually allowed to return home to Mikawa province, only to return in the 1575 to defeat Takeda Shingen, who had conquered Suruga in 1570.

After abdicating as shogun in 1605 in favour of his son Hidetada, Ieyasu retired to Sunpu and spent the remainder of his life there. Later it was a fief of Tokugawa Tadanaga (a son of Ieyasu), and finally directly administered by the Shogunate.

The city was founded on April 1, 1889.

The 2003 merger with the city of Shimizu (current Shimizu-ku) created the larger Shizuoka to gain government ordinance in 2005. Kanbara merged with Shizuoka on March 31, 2006, when it became a part of Shimizu Ward.

Economy

Agriculture

Green tea
Strawberries
Wasabi
Mandarin Oranges and other citrus fruits
Lotus Roots
Roses

Fishing

Shimizu Port boasts largest the haul of tuna in all Japan.

Products

Abekawa Mochi (rice cakes in kinako soy flour)

Culture

There are three main festivals on Shizuoka's calendar

Shizuoka Matsuri (静岡祭り） The Cities April Festival during the high point of the year for Cherry Blossom, a flower-viewing procession, imitates the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu's custom of taking daimyo (feudal lords) to Sengen Shrine to view the cherry blossoms.

[link]

Abekawa Hanabi (安倍川花火）A gigantic firework display held upstream of Shizuoka's Abe River in late July

Daidogei(大道芸）:Steet Performance World Cup. Probably the biggest event on Shizuoka's Calendar, it is an annual International Busker's Festival,held in [b]November[link].it includes various shows such as juggling, pantomime, magic, etc.,performers gather from Japan and abroad to create wonder and laughter here and there in the town.

The city also has a strong tradition of football. An example of this is its J. League club Shimizu S-Pulse. Shizuoka FestivaApril

Transportation

Railroad

Shizuoka lies on the JR main rail line from Tokyo to Osaka "Tokaido main line" and is well served by the Shinkansen, limited express and regional trains. Central station of Shizuoka is close to the city centre Shizuoka also has a LRT line "Shizuoka Railway".

Colleges and universities

Shizuoka University
University of Shizuoka
Tokai University
Tokoha Gakuen University
Shizuoka Eiwa Gakuin University

Media

Print Media

The Shizuoka Shimbun is the area's primary newspaper.

Broadcast Media

Television

NHK Shizuoka (Analogue Channel 9; Digital Channel 1)

NHK Shizuoka Educational Channel (Analogue Channel 2; Digital Channel 2)

SBS “Shizuoka Broadcasting” (Analogue Channel 11; Digital Channel 6)
Terebi Shizuoka “Television Shizuoka” (Analogue Channel 35; Digital Channel 8)
Shizuoka Dai-ichi Terebi “Shizuoka Number One Television” (Analogue Channel 31; Digital Channel 4)
Shizuoka Asahi Terebi “Shizuoka Asahi Television” (Analogue Channel 33; Digital Channel 5)

Cable Television

Shizuoka Cable Television (Dream Wave Shizuoka)

Radio

NHK1 882kHz
NHK2 639kHz FM88.8MHz
SBS 1404kHz
K-MIX 79.2MHz
FM・Hi！76.9MHz
Marine Pal (FM Shimizu) 76.3MHz

http://guzenradio.com/

A podcast based in Shizuoka, Japan.

Major attractions

Nihondaira

Notable natives

Kazuyoshi Miura (Japanese football Player)
Yoshitaka Amano (World-Famous Japanese Artist)

Sister cities

Omaha-Nebraska,USA April 1, 1965
Cannes-France November 5, 1991
Stockton-California,USA October 16, 1959

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[media]

[Shizuoka official website] in English
[Daidogei World Cup in Shizuoka]

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