Cherry blossom in Fukuokazeki sakura park

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 ...

located in

Ibaraki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, Tochigi Prefectur ...

, 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 51,035 in 20,030 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 645 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 26.3%. The total area of the city is .

Geography

Tsukubamirai is located in southern Ibaraki Prefecture, in the low-lying marshy flatlands south of Lake Kasumigaura. It is about 40 kilometers from central Tokyo. The elevation of the city is about 5 to 25 meters above sea level. The

Kinugawa River , is a river on the main island of Honshu in Japan. It flows from the north to the south on the Kantō plain, merging with . At 176.7 km in length, it is the longest tributary of Tone-gawa. From ancient times, it has been known to cause flood ...

and Kokaigawa rivers flow through the city. The eastern and western parts are hilly.

Surrounding municipalities

Ibaraki Prefecture * Moriya *

Tsukuba is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 244,528 in 108,669 households and a population density of 862 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 20.3%. The total ar ...

* Ryūgasaki *

Toride 260px, Ohori-no-watashi is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 104,329 in 44,755 households and a population density of 1492 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was ...

Jōsō is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 59,314 in 21,168 households and a population density of 480 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 38.8%. The total area of ...

Climate

Tsukubamirai has a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tsukubamirai is 14.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1299 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.9 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Tsukubamirai population statistics
/ref> the population of Tsukubamirai has increased over the past 50 years.

History

The area of Tsubakimarai was a rural region of Tsukuba District of

Hitachi Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hitachi fudoki''" in . It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Shimōsa (Lower Fusa), Shimotsuke, and Mutsu ( Iwase - ...

noted as a major rice-growing region, with the exception of a small portion in the south, which belonged to Kitasōma District of

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area modern Chiba Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Shimōsa''" in . It lies to the north of the Bōsō Peninsula (房総半島), whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from ...

. The villages of Nagasaki and Kokinu, which were located north of the

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the Kant ...

in Kitasōma District were transferred to the newly created Ibaraki Prefecture in 1875 and the region was organized into 11 villages with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The city of Tsukubamirai was established on March 27, 2006, from the merger of the town of Ina, and the village of

Yawara The ''yawara'' is a Japanese weapon used in various martial arts. Numerous types of jujutsu make use of a small rod, made of wood, that extends somewhat from both ends of a person's fist which is known as a ''yawara''. The ''yawara'' likely o ...

(both from Tsukuba District).

Government

Tsukubamirai 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 council of 18 members. Tsukubamirai contributes one members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Ibaraki 6th district , the House of Representatives of Japan is elected from a combination of multi-member districts and single-member districts, a method called Parallel voting. Currently, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member districts (called proportional r ...

of the lower house of the

Diet of Japan 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 paral ...

Economy

Tsukubamirai was a purely agricultural area until large scale housing development began after the 1960s, and by the 1980s, with the opening of the Joban Expressway and several

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...

s, the area increasingly became a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many ...

for the Tokyo Metropolis. This tend intensified after 2005 with the opening of the

Tsukuba Express The , or TX, is a Japanese railway line operated by the third-sector company Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company, which links Akihabara Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and Tsukuba Station in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. The route was inaugurated on 24 ...

Education

Tsukubamirai has ten public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company -

Kantō Railway is a private railway company, which operates two lines in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan. The company is a subsidiary of Keisei Electric Railway and other companies. Additionally, the company has a bus department in Ibaraki Prefecture and Chiba Pr ...

Jōsō Line The is a railway line in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Kantō Railway. It is a non-electrified line which connects Toride to Shimodate. The Jōsō Line connects with the Tsukuba Express The , or ...

Highway

* – Yawara Interchange * *

Local attractions

Fukuoka Dam Fukuoka Dam (福岡堰, fukuoka seki) is a dam that spans the Kokai River in Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki, Japan. It is one of the three largest dams

* Itabashi Fudouson temple * Warp Station Edo * Tatsunami Sumo Stable * Mamiya Rinzo Museum

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki