Hitachi, Ibaraki

Infobox City Japan
Name= Hitachi
JapaneseName= 日立市
Map

Region= Kantō
Prefecture= Ibaraki
District=
Area_km2= 225.55
PopDate= January 2008
Population= 195,844
Density_km2= 868
Coords=
LatitudeDegrees= 36
LatitudeMinutes= 36
LatitudeSeconds=
LongtitudeDegrees= 140
LongtitudeMinutes= 39
LongtitudeSeconds=
Tree=Japanese zelkova
Flower= Sakura
Bird= Japanese Cormorant
Fish= North Pacific Giant Octopus
Symbol
!border
SymbolDescription= Flag
Mayor= Chiaki Kashimura
CityHallPostalCode=317-8601
CityHallAddress= 1-1 Sukegawa-chō, Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki-ken
CityHallPhone= 0294-22-3111
CityHallLink= [http://www.city.hitachi.ibaraki.jp/ Hitachi City] nihongo|Hitachi|日立市|Hitachi-shi is a city located on the Pacific Ocean in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Its name could be directly translated as "sunrise", but probably more appropriately adapted to "prosperous wealth" (the historical kanji name for the area is 常陸).

Demographics

As of January 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 195,844 and the density of 868 persons per km². The total area is 225.55 km².

History

Hitachi was officially designated a city on September 1, 1939. On November 1, 2004 the neighboring town of Juou merged into the city.

The name Hitachi is well known throughout the world due to Hitachi company founded in the city in 1910 by Odaira Namihei. Today, Hitachi company is one of the world's largest manufacturing and consumer electronics companies.

Interesting sites

Being a predominantly industrial city Hitachi was badly damaged in World War II and very few older buildings now remain in the downtown area. However the city is not without interesting local sites.

Like many Japanese cities, many of the public spaces are dedicated to symbolising the struggle for peace in the post-war world. It is in this spirit that one must consider Heiwa Dori (Peace Street), Hitachi's prettiest street. Every April there is a major procession down the broad tree-lined boulevard to celebrate the arrival of the cherry blossom season (Sakura Matsuri). Giant colourful floats called furyumono are carried by the local people.

Hitachi also has a small zoo on the nearby Mount Kamine.

Transportation

Hitachi is located on the Joban Line and Joban Expressway which connect it to Tokyo, Mito and Iwaki. The closest airport is Fukushima Airport.

External links

* Official website in [http://www.city.hitachi.ibaraki.jp/upload/english/ English] or [http://www.city.hitachi.ibaraki.jp/ Japanese]