Iyo, Ehime

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**Iyo**
**伊予市**
Iyo's location in Ehime, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Shikoku
Prefecture	Ehime
Physical characteristics
Area	194.47 km²
Population (as of February, 2007)
Total	40,399
Density	207.74/km²
Symbols
Tree	Metasequoia
Flower	Rapeseed blossom (Brassica napus)
The seal of the city of Iyo, incorporating the red of the sunset of Futami, the green of Nakayama and the blue of the Iyo Sea
Iyo City Hall
Mayor	Tasuku Nakamura
Address	〒799-3193 820 Kominato, Iyo-shi, Ehime
Phone number	089-982-1111
Official website: Iyo homepage (Japanese)

Iyo (伊予市, Iyo-shi^?) is a city located in Ehime, Japan. Its name is identical to and taken from the name for the former administrative region of what is now Ehime Prefecture, and so in Japanese it is universally refered to as Iyo City (伊予市, Iyo-shi^?) to avoid confusion.

On April 1, 2005, Iyo merged with the towns of Nakayama and Futami from the surrounding Iyo District to form the new city of Iyo, raising its population to over 40,000 and nearly quadrupling its area.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Economy
4 Transportation
- 4.1 Rail
- 4.2 Road
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Iyo is situated in the center of Ehime, approximately 10 kilometers southwest of the prefectural capital of Matsuyama. The western portion of the city, from Gunchū in the north down to Futami's Shimonada in the south, hug the coast of the Inland Sea, nestled in the southwestern section of the Dogo Plain. The southestern portion of the city enters into the mountains in the interior of the prefecture, and the Nakayama area in particular is quite mountainous.

Iyo borders on the town of Masaki to the north, the town of Tobe to the east, and the town of Uchiko and city of Ōzu to the south.

[edit] History

While archaeological artifacts show that the Iyo area has been settled since at least as far back as the Yayoi period (300 BC to 250 AD), the origins of the present city of Iyo can be traced back to the year 1635, when the Matsuyama han ceded the territory including Iyo to the Ōzu han. The port at Gunchū, the heart of present-day Iyo, became the main commercial port for the Ōzu han and the surrounding community flourished.

On January 1, 1955, the town of Gunchū merged with the villages of Kita-yamasaki, Minami-yamasaki and Minami-iyo to form the first incarnation of the city of Iyo. The city grew further on April 1, 2005 when it absorbed the neighboring towns of Nakayama and Futami from the surrounding Iyo District.

[edit] Economy

Iyo houses the national headquarters for Marutomo and Yamaki, food manufacturing companies that specialize in dried Bonito flakes. Other main products include mikan and Nakayama chestnuts and other fruits and vegetables. In addition, Futami has had some success in making its sunset a local tourist draw, creating a seaside park, a sunset museum and an annual sunset concert at its Shimonada Station.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Rail

Iyo is served by the Yosan and Uchiko lines of JR Shikoku and the Gunchū line of the Matsuyama commuter railway system run by the Iyo Railway Company.

The Yosan Line runs follows the coastline, running from Torinoki Station in the north through Iyoshi Station, the main station serving pre-merger Iyo, Mukaibara Station, then Konokawa Station, Iyo-Kaminada Station, Shimonada Station and Kushi Station in Futami before running into Ōzu. Nakayama is served by the Uchiko line, which diverges from the Yosan Line at Mukaibara and continues on Iyo-Ohira Station and Iyo-Nakayama Station before entering Uchiko and eventually rejoining the Yosan Line in Ōzu. Limited express trains stop regularly at Iyoshi Station and occaisionally at Iyo-Nakayama Station.

The stations on Iyo Railway Company's Gunchū line within the city of Iyo are Shinkawa Station, Gunchū Station and the terminal station, Gunchūkõ, which is directly across the street from Iyoshi Station on JR Shikoku's Yosan Line.

[edit] Road

The Matsuyama Expressway, the Iyo exit of which provides access to the Matsuyama International Airport, runs through the center of the city, as does National Route 56 linking Matsuyama to Ōzu. National Route 378, running from downtown Iyo through Futami and towards Nagahama, is a scenic coastal road.