Ōtawara, Tochigi

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Location of Ōtawara in Tochigi Prefecture

Ōtawara (大田原市, Ōtawara-shi^?) is a city located in eastern Tochigi Prefecture, Japan which is in the northern part of the Kantō region north of Tokyo. Otawara is approximately 40 kilometers north of Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi-ken and approximately 50 km east of the historic town of Nikko. The city's name may also be spelled "Ohtawara" as indicated by the official city website, as well as other websites.

Ōtawara has an estimated population of 78,669 as of 2006, and an area of approximately 354 square kilometers. Ōtawara has an average temperature of 1.2 degrees Celsius in January up to 23.1 degrees Celsius in August. Ōtawara averages approximately 1,460 millimeters of precipitation per year with the wettest months being June through September. About 50% of Ōtawara is covered by rice fields with about 12% being mountains and forests. The elevation of Ōtawara is 217.76 meters. The official flower of Ōtawara is the chrysanthemum. Ōtawara is accessed by the Tohoku Expressway or Nasushiobara Shinkansen Station of the Tohoku Shinkansen line on the westside of the city.

1 History
2 Cultural and Historical Assets
3 Sports and Recreation
4 Shopping and Dining
5 Industries
6 Education
7 Photo gallery
8 External links

[edit] History

The modern city was founded on December 1, 1954. Ōtawara Castle was built in the year 1545 and it prospered during the Edo Period (1603-1867) as Ōtawara Castle Town. Ōtawara Prefecture was born in 1871 and afterwards it was integrated into Tochigi Prefecture. The town was known as Ota Haramachi in 1889. In December of 1954, Ota Haramachi and Kin Tamura combined into Ōtawara City. Later, Nozaki Village and part of Nishi Nasuno Town merged with the City in November 1955. In 2005, Ōtawara merged with Yuzugami Village and Kurobane Town to form the present day Ōtawara City.

[edit] Cultural and Historical Assets

Otawara is home to several historical and cultural assets.

The Shino Kura Hall is a thatched roof style building dating to approximately the late 1850's or early 1860's, the end of the Edo Period. The Hall displays old equipment and other artifacts dating to that time period such as large carts, a foot threshing machine, a packsaddle, and a milk machine. The Hall also serves handmade soba noodles using home-grown buckwheat.

Also located in Otawara are several ancient samurai burial mounds dating to approximately 1692. Little is know specifically of the samurai who are buried there however.

The local performing arts center for Ōtawara and the nearby city of Nasushiobara is called Harmony Hall where concerts and theater performances are held.

There are three libraries in the Otawara City library system, the Tabara Hiroshi Library, Kurobane Library, and the Yudukami Library

[edit] Sports and Recreation

The largest sporting event the city hosts is the Tabara Hiroshi Marathon which is held annually on November 23rd, Labor Day. There are ten golf courses in the Ōtawara area. The golf courses include both public courses and private country clubs such the New St. Andrews Golf Club which is a Jack Nicklaus design course. Otawara has a large sports and recreation complex called the North Tochigi Prefecture Gymnasium. The gymnasium has a main arena for general sports and cultural events and includes two basketball and three volleyball courts, 10 badminton courts, 20 ping-pong tables, one handball court, 10 tennis courts, two wrestling and karate rings. The arena can seat up to 1,500 spectators. In addition, there is a separate smaller arena, martial arts area, and training rooms. Several other gymnasiums, community pools, and sports fields are located throughout the Otawara area.

[edit] Shopping and Dining

Tobu in Otawara

Located in Ōtawara is a Tobu Department Store shopping center which includes a McDonald's and other food stands, a grocery store, and a standard department store selling jewelry, cosmetics, clothing and many other items. The city also has a large variety of other shopping and dining to choose from such as a UNIQLO clothing store, Yamada electronics department store, many home improvement stores, grocery stores and clothing stores, a MOS Burger, a Mister Donut and many other restaurants.

[edit] Industries

The city is home to corporations such as Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation which sells medical equipment worldwide including CT Scans and other medical imaging equipment and Mochida Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. which specializes in the sales of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and skincare products. Tochigi Nikon Corporation is also located in Ōtawara. Tochigi Nikon Corporation is a member of the Nikon Group and specializes in the development, design and manufacture of optical products and electronic imaging equipment; design and manufacture of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and optical lenses.

[edit] Education

The city has 23 municipal elementary schools and 12 municipal junior high schools as well as a common prefectural high school. The International University of Health and Welfare is located in Ōtawara. The university was established in 1995, with the aim of training experts in the field of health and welfare.