Shizuoka, Shizuoka

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**Shizuoka City**
**静岡市**
Shizuoka City's location in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu
Prefecture	Shizuoka prefecture
Physical characteristics
Area	1,388.74km² km²
Population (as of December 31, 2005)
Total	710,236
Density	517/km²
Location	34°58′N 138°22′E
Symbols
Tree	Flowering Dogwood
Flower	Hollyhocks
Bird	Common Kingfisher
Shizuoka City City Hall
Mayor	Zenkichi Kojima
Address	〒420-8602 Shizuoka-shi, Aoi-ku, Otemachi 5-1
Phone number	+81-54-254-2111
Official website: Shizuoka City

Coordinates: 34°58′N 138°22′E

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

[edit] 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.

[edit] Wards

葵区Aoi-ku (Former Shizuoka north of the Tokaido Main Line excluding Nagata district)
駿河区Suruga-ku (Former Shizuoka south of the Tokaido Main Line and Nagata district)
清水区Shimizu-ku (Former Shimizu city)

[edit] 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 Sengoku 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.

[edit] Economy

Shizuoka has 39,237 businesses as of 2004, placing it first in the prefecture.
Employment by industry: Agriculture 0.1%, Manufacturing: 26.9%, Service 73.0%

[edit] Agriculture

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

[edit] Fishery

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

[edit] Products

Abekawa Mochi (rice cakes in kinako soy flour)

[edit] Cuisine

Oden
Gyoza
Soba noodles
Seafood
Zoni

Rice cakes in a broth cooked with vegetables, popular at New Year's.

Tororo

A grated yam soup. Chojiya, a tororo restaurant founded in 1598 in the Mariko area of Shizuoka, west of the Abe River, was made famous by Hiroshige when he depicted it in his series of ukiyoe prints of the 53 stops along the Tokaido.

[edit] 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.

[1] 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[/b].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. From 2005, it expanded from a 3-day to a 4-day festival.

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

[edit] Transportation

[edit] 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".

[edit] Colleges and universities

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

[edit] Media

[edit] Print media

The Shizuoka Shimbun is the area's primary newspaper.

[edit] Broadcast media

[edit] 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)