is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...

in eastern

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the north ...

, Japan. , the city had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using ...

of 245,015 in 106,087 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of 1,000 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Fuji is the third largest city in terms of population in Shizuoka Prefecture, trailing

Hamamatsu is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. the city had an estimated population of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was . Overview ...

and Shizuoka.

Geography

Located on the banks of the Fuji River, most of the city of Fuji enjoys good views of

Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highes ...

, part of whose summit is within the city borders. The city is bordered to the south by

Suruga Bay Suruga Bay (駿河湾, ''Suruga-wan'') is a bay on the Pacific coast of Honshū in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is situated north of a straight line from Omaezaki Point to Irōzaki Point at the tip of the Izu Peninsula and surrounded by Honsh� ...

on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. File:Fuji city from Ashitaka Mountains.jpg, Fuji city and

from Ashitaka Mountains File:Fuji_City_Panorama.jpg, Fuji City and Mount Fuji seen from city hall

Surrounding municipalities

*Shizuoka Prefecture **

Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka is the easternmost of the three wards of the city of Shizuoka in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. History Shimizu-ku was created on April 1, 2005, when Shizuoka became a city designated by government ordinance (a "designated city"). Its area is ...

Fujinomiya is a city located in central Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 132,507 in 56,655 households, and a population density of 340 persons per km². The total area of the city is . History The city name comes from ...

Numazu is a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 189,486 in 91,986 households, and a population density of 1,014 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Numazu is at the no ...

Susono 270px, Susono with Mount Fuji is a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 51,216 in 21,858 households, and a population density of 370 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Mo ...

Gotemba is a Cities of Japan, city on the southeastern flank of Mount Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 88,370 in 36,096 households, and a population density of 450 persons per km². The total area of the cit ...

Nagaizumi 270px, Nagaizumi Town Hall is a town located in Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 43,568 in 18154 households and a population density of 1,600 persons per km². The total area of the town w ...

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Fuji has grown rapidly over the past 50 years.

Climate

The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Fuji is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

History

In the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

, the Tōkaidō passed through the area that is now Fuji, with a post station at

Yoshiwara-juku was the fourteenth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the present-day city of Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The Yoshiwara-juku Festival is held each year in October and November in Fuji, showing visitors the a ...

. During the

, the area was mostly ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedi ...

'' territory under direct control of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system of the early

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

in 1889, the area was reorganized into the town of Yoshiwara (吉原町) and the villages of Shimada (島田村) Denbō (伝法村), Imaizumi (今泉村), Motoyoshiwara (元吉原村), Sudo (須津村), Yoshinaga (吉永村), Harada (原田村), Ōbuchi (大淵村), Kajima (加島村), Tagoura (田子浦村), Iwamatsu (岩松村), and Takaoka (鷹岡村) within Fuji District. Kajima became the town of Fuji on August 1, 1929. Neighboring Takaoka was elevated to town status on January 1, 1933. Shimada merged into Yoshiwara in 1940, Denbō in 1941, and Imaizumi in 1942.

Yoshiwara was a famous (red-light district) in Edo, present-day Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1617, Yoshiwara was one of three licensed and well-known red-light districts created during the early 17th century by the Tokugawa shogunate, alongside Shima ...

was elevated to city status on April 1, 1948, the city expanded through annexation of Motoyoshiwara, Sudo, Yoshinaga, and Harada villages in 1955 and Ōbuchi in 1956. Tagoura and Iwamatsu

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

with Fuji to form the city of Fuji on March 31, 1954. The city expanded through annexation of neighboring Ukijima and San area from Hara, Suntō District in 1956. On November 1, 1966, Fuji and Yoshiwara merged with Takaoka to form the new city of Fuji, which attained the status of a Special City on April 1, 2001 with greater autonomy from the central government. On November 1, 2008, the town of Fujikawa (from Ihara District) was merged with Fuji.

Government

Fuji has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

city legislature of 32 members. The city contributes five members to the Shizuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between Shizuoka 3rd District and Shizuoka 4th District in the lower house of the

Japanese Diet The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a parall ...

Economy

Fuji is one of the major industrial centers of Shizuoka Prefecture, and the city has hosted numerous paper factories including

Nippon Paper Industries is a Japanese paper manufacturing company. The company's stock is listed on the Tokyo and Nagoya Stock Exchange and on the Osaka Securities Exchange. The stock is also constituent of the Nikkei 225 stock index. As of April 2013 the company has 3 ...

(former Daishowa Paper Industries) and

Oji Paper Company is a Japanese manufacturer of paper products. In 2012 the company was the third largest company in the global forest, paper and packaging industry. The company's stock is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the stock is constituent of the ...

since the

. Other industries include food processing, metals and transportation equipment.

Automobile parts This is a list of auto parts, mostly for vehicles using internal combustion engines which are manufactured components of automobiles: Car body and main parts Body components, including trim Doors Windows Low voltage/auxiliary ele ...

manufacturer

Jatco , abbreviated from "Japan Automatic Transmission COmpany", is a company that manufactures automatic transmissions for automobiles. History In August 1943, Nissan established an aircraft engine production plant in the town of Yoshiwara, Shizuok ...

is headquartered in Fuji. Agriculture in the area is concentrated on

green tea Green tea is a type of tea that is made from '' Camellia sinensis'' leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since ...

production and horticulture.

Education

Fuji has 27 public elementary schools and 16 public Junior high school operated by the city government. The city has four public high schools operated by the Shizuoka Prefectural Board of Education and one public high school operated by the city government. The city has one private high school and one private combined middle/high school. In addition, the prefecture operates one special education school for the disabled. The city has one international school (Escola Fuji), a Brazilian primary schoolEscolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão

Archive
. Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015. In addition, Shizuoka-based

Tokoha University is a private university in the Aoi ward of Shizuoka City is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and the prefecture's second-largest city in both population and area. It has been populated since prehistoric times. the city had an ...

has a secondary campus in Fuji. The city has one public and four private vocational education schools, including the privately operated

Fuji Rehabilitation Institute Fuji may refer to: Places China * Fuji, Xiangcheng City (付集镇), town in Xiangcheng City, Henan Japan * Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan * Fuji River * Fuji, Saga, town in Saga Prefecture * Fuji, Shizuoka, city in Shizuoka Prefectur ...

Transport

Railways

Central Japan Railway Company -

Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the Sanyo Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opened in 196 ...

** *

Central Japan Railway Company -

Tōkaidō Main Line The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parall ...

** - - - * JR logo (central)

Central Japan Railway Company -

Minobu Line The is a railway line in the Tōkai region of Japan operated by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). It connects Fuji Station in Fuji, Shizuoka to Kōfu Station in Kōfu, Yamanashi, and the Tōkaidō Main Line with the Chūō Main ...

** Fuji Station - - - - * Gakunan Logo

Gakunan Railway Line The is Japanese railway line between and , all within the industrial area of Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture. The line does not have any official name. This is the only railway line operates. The operator company was established on April 1, 2013 ...

** - - - - - - - - -

Highways

Tōmei Expressway The is a national expressway on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. The expressway is designated as E1 under the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering", because it parallels Na ...

Shin-Tōmei Expressway The , literally meaning New Tōmei, is a national expressway in Japan running parallel to the Tomei Expressway as an alternate route. It is operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. The expressway is also numbered E1A under the "2016 Proposa ...

Nishi-Fuji Road The (lit. West Fuji Road) is a 4-laned toll road in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is owned and managed by Central Nippon Expressway Company. It is a bypass of National Route 139. Route description Officially, the road is designated as a bypas ...

* * *

Ports

Tagonoura Port Takanotsuru Shinichi (born 18 June 1976 as Shinichi Sekiyama) is a former sumo wrestler from Izumi, Kagoshima, Japan. He made his professional debut in March 1992, and reached the top division in January 2003. His highest rank was ''maegashira' ...

Local attractions

Sengen Kofun The is a Kofun period burial mound located in the Masukawa neighborhood of the city of Fuji, Shizuoka in the Tōkai region of Japan. It was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1957. Overview The Sengen Kofun is located on a gently sl ...

, a National Historic Site

Festivals

* The Bishamonten Festival is one of the three big '' Daruma'' festivals in Japan. * The Yoshiwara Gion Festival is held on the second Saturday and Sunday of June. * The Fuji Festival is held on the fourth Saturday of July. * The Karigane Festival is held on the first Saturday of October. * The Fuji Shibazakura Festival

Notable people from Fuji

* Yoji Totsuka - scientist *

Mitsuru Sugaya , is a Japanese manga artist, novelist, an author of instructional comics, and a racing writer. Sugaya wrote and illustrated ''Game Center Arashi'', a manga series based on video games. He also drew a manga tied to the Japanese ''Spider-Man'' tele ...

- manga artist *

Makoto Oishi is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Dramatic Dream Team (DDT). Oishi started his career in Kaientai Dojo, where he became a Strongest-K Tag Team, Independent World Junior Heavyweight and UWA World Middleweight Champio ...

- professional wrestler *

Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi , sometimes referred to as Yoshi Kawaguchi, is a former Japanese professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is a former captain of the Japan national team. Career Early career Born in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, Kawaguchi studie ...