| Ōtsu 大津 |
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| — Core city — | |||
| 大津市 · Ōtsu City | |||
| Enryaku-ji, Ishiyama-dera Otsu Festival and the tram, Mangetsu-ji Ukimido City view and Lake Biwa |
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| Location of Ōtsu in Shiga | |||
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Ōtsu
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Japan | ||
| Region | Kansai | ||
| Prefecture | Shiga | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Makoto Mekata | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 464.10 km2 (179.2 sq mi) | ||
| Population (August 1, 2011) | |||
| • Total | 336,430 | ||
| • Density | 724.9/km2 (1,877.5/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) | ||
| City symbols | |||
| - Tree | Prunus serrulata | ||
| - Flower | Viola eizanensis | ||
| - Bird | Black-headed Gull | ||
| Phone number | 077-523-1234 | ||
| Address | 3-1, Goryō-chō, Ōtsu-shi, Shiga-ken 520-8575 |
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| Website | Ōtsu City | ||
Ōtsu (大津市 Ōtsu-shi) is the capital city of Shiga, Japan. The city was founded on October 1, 1898. As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 338,629 with an average age of 40.7 years (15.42% of whom are under 15 and 16.81% are over 65) and a population density of 905.28 persons per km². The total area is 374.06 km².
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In the years 667 to 672, the Ōmi Ōtsu Palace was founded by Emperor Tenji. The Jinshin War devastated Otsu, but a new capital Heian-kyō (now Kyoto) was established the immediate neighborhood in 794, and Otsu was revived as important traffic point and a satellite town of the capital. In the 12th century, the Battle of Awazu occurred in southern Ōtsu, during which Kiso Yoshinaka was killed. In Edo period, Otsu prospered as a port of Lake Biwa and a shukuba of Tokaido (Ōtsu-juku).
On 11 May 1891, the Ōtsu incident, a failed assassination attempt on Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia (later Tsar Nicholas II), occurred.
Built during the 1890s and later expanded during the Taishō period, the Lake Biwa Canal played an important role in connecting Ōtsu and the nearby city of Kyoto, facilitating water and passenger transportation and also providing electrical energy to power Japan's first streetcar railroad services. The city was founded on October 1, 1898.
On March 20, 2006 the town of Shiga, in Shiga District ceased to exist after merging into Ōtsu.
Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, is in the center of the prefecture and is also a site of significant relevance to the Japanese tourism industry. Scenic spots of Otsu have been known as The Eight Views of Omi and attracted literary men such as Matsuo Bashō. Sightseeing tours usually take up to several hours and tourists are given an opportunity to swim and take long strolls around the region. Lake Biwa is also a famous beach spot in the summer. The city has an annual road race named after the lake: the Lake Biwa Marathon.
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