Yonago, Tottori

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Yonago**
**米子市**
Yonago's location in Tottori, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Chūgoku
Prefecture	Tottori
Physical characteristics
Area	132.21 km² (51.05 sq mi)
Population (as of February 1, 2007)
Total	150,341
Density	1,137.14 /km² (2,945 /sq mi)
Location	35°26′N, 133°20′E
Symbols
Tree	Pending
Flower	Azalea
Bird	Tundra Swan
Flag
Yonago Government Office
Address	〒683-8686 1-1 Kamo-chō, Yonago-shi, Tottori-ken
Phone number	0859-23-5372
Official website: City of Yonago

Yonago (米子市, Yonago-shi^?) is a city located in the northwest of Tottori, Japan, facing the Sea of Japan, and adjacent to Shimane. It is the prefecture's second largest city after Tottori and therefore a commercial center of the western part of this prefecture.

The current city was administratively founded on April 1, 1927, and merged with Yodoe Town in 2005. It has an art gallery.

The name "Yonago" means "Rice Child", though since the city has begun to develop into a trade center of note, it has acquired the nickname Osaka in San-in.

The Amago family, the daimyo in the Sengoku period, constructed a castle in the area. In the Edo period, the castle was kept by a castellan who served the Ikeda of Tottori.

Yonago has always been an important crossing point of several routes in the area. Currently, it is the crosspoint of three railway lines and has a seaport to the Oki Islands. Miho-Yonago Airport, located in a neighboring city of Sakaiminato, serves the area.