Nakama, Fukuoka

Nakama 中間市
—  City  —
Location of Nakama in Fukuoka
Nakama
Coordinates: 33°49′N 130°43′E / 33.817°N 130.717°E / 33.817; 130.717Coordinates: 33°49′N 130°43′E / 33.817°N 130.717°E / 33.817; 130.717
Country	Japan
Region	Kyūshū
Prefecture	Fukuoka
Government
- Mayor	Tadayoshi Ōshima
Area
- Total	15.98 km2 (6.2 sq mi)
Population (2005)
- Total	48,094
- Density	3,010/km2 (7,795.9/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	kusu, kusuganemochi
- Flower	pansy, cosmos
Phone number	093-244-1111
Address	1-1-1 Nakama, Nakama-shi, Fukuoka-ken 809-8501
Website	City of Nakama

Nakama (中間市, Nakama-shi^?) is a city located in Fukuoka, Japan. It was founded in 1958.

Location

It is located along the Onga River, with Mizumaki to the north, Yahatanishi ward to the east, Nogata to the south, and Kutate to the west.

Education

The city currently has 6 elementary schools, 4 junior high-schools, and 2 high schools.

Facilities

The city is located on the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) Fukuhoku Yutaka Line with Nakama (opened on August 30, 1891) and Chikuzen-Habu (opened April 26, 1935) stations. There is also a tram (Chikuhō Electric Railroad Line) with stations at Toritani, Higashi-Nakama, Chikuho-Nakama, and Dotenouchi.

The city is known locally for its 'Shoppers Mall' - a facility with shops, restaurants, a movie theatre (United Cinemas International), and game centres.

Habu Park is the largest park in Nakama, with many cherry blossom trees.

The Roofless Museum (Yane No Nai Hakubutsukan), near the JR Nakama Station, is a small green park area with sculptures by artists from around the world.

Festivals

Chikuzen Nakama Cherry Blossom Festival (end of March - beginning of April) at Habu Park.

Chikuzen Nakama Yatchare Festival, previously held near Onga River, but now at Harmony Hall, Nakama’s biggest festival of the year on the third weekend of October.

Chikuzen Nakamagawa Festival - held in the Obon season every year on August 15. Includes a fireworks festival and food/game stalls as well.

Kisshoji Temple Wisteria Festival (located in Yahatanishi, near Nakama High School, and held on April 27 to 29.

History

The city was involved in the coal mining industry of the Chikuho region from the Edo to Showa eras. During the war, there was a POW camp in the city area, with inmates involved in mining.

The city was incorporated on November 1, 1958.

There were plans for amalgamation, with the city becoming a ward of Kitakyushu. A recent poll (December 2004) stated that 70% of the citizens of Nakama were in favor of the city being absorbed into Kitakyushu.

However, on Christmas Eve 2004 Nakama city councilors rejected the merger plan, despite it having initially been proposed by Nakama. The councilors claim that they are rejecting the merger for the good of the city.^{[citation needed]} The suspected main reason was that only 3 of the 21 councilors would be retained afterwards.

External links

Media related to Nakama, Fukuoka at Wikimedia Commons

• Nakama official website (Japanese)
• Nakama at Wikimapia