Tokorozawa (所沢市, Tokorozawa-shi) is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 February 2024, the city had an estimated population of 343,298 in 168,939 households and a population density of 4761 persons per km².[1] The total area of the city is 72.11 square kilometres (27.84 sq mi).

Tokorozawa
所沢市
Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park
Flag of Tokorozawa
Official seal of Tokorozawa
Location of Tokorozawa in Saitama Prefecture
Location of Tokorozawa in Saitama Prefecture
Tokorozawa is located in Japan
Tokorozawa
Tokorozawa
Coordinates: 35°47′58.6″N 139°28′7″E / 35.799611°N 139.46861°E / 35.799611; 139.46861
CountryJapan
RegionKantō
PrefectureSaitama
Government
 • MayorMasatoshi Onozuka (since October 2023)
Area
 • Total72.11 km2 (27.84 sq mi)
Population
 (February 2024)
 • Total343,298
 • Density4,800/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Phone number04-2998-1111
Address1-1-1 Namiki, Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama-ken 359-8501
ClimateCfa
WebsiteOfficial website
Symbols
BirdEurasian skylark
FlowerCamellia sinensis
TreeGinkgo biloba
Tokorozawa City Office

Geography

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Tokorozawa is located in the central part of the Musashino Terrace in southern Saitama, about 30 km west of central Tokyo. Tokorozawa can be considered part of the greater Tokyo area; its proximity to the latter and lower housing costs make it a popular commuter town. The Higashikawa and Yanasegawa rivers that flow from the Sayama Hills flow to the eastern part of the city, and finally reach the Arakawa River. The Yamaguchi Reservoir (commonly known as Lake Sayama) is mostly located within city boundaries; Lake Tama also touches the south-western part of the city.

The area around Tokorozawa Station's west exit is built up as a shopping district with several department stores. Prope Street is a popular shopping arcade.

Surrounding municipalities

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Climate

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Tokorozawa has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tokorozawa is 14.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1647 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.3 °C.[2]

Climate data for Tokorozawa (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1977−present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 19.0
(66.2)
23.3
(73.9)
26.2
(79.2)
32.0
(89.6)
33.8
(92.8)
36.5
(97.7)
39.8
(103.6)
38.7
(101.7)
37.4
(99.3)
32.3
(90.1)
26.0
(78.8)
25.7
(78.3)
39.6
(103.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 9.1
(48.4)
10.0
(50.0)
13.3
(55.9)
18.7
(65.7)
23.2
(73.8)
25.8
(78.4)
29.8
(85.6)
31.3
(88.3)
27.0
(80.6)
21.4
(70.5)
16.2
(61.2)
11.5
(52.7)
19.8
(67.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.7
(38.7)
4.5
(40.1)
7.8
(46.0)
13.1
(55.6)
17.8
(64.0)
21.2
(70.2)
25.0
(77.0)
26.2
(79.2)
22.4
(72.3)
16.8
(62.2)
11.1
(52.0)
6.2
(43.2)
14.7
(58.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −0.6
(30.9)
−0.2
(31.6)
2.9
(37.2)
7.9
(46.2)
13.2
(55.8)
17.5
(63.5)
21.5
(70.7)
22.6
(72.7)
19.0
(66.2)
13.3
(55.9)
7.2
(45.0)
1.9
(35.4)
10.5
(50.9)
Record low °C (°F) −7.8
(18.0)
−6.6
(20.1)
−5.2
(22.6)
−2.1
(28.2)
4.8
(40.6)
10.7
(51.3)
13.6
(56.5)
16.3
(61.3)
9.3
(48.7)
4.5
(40.1)
−0.8
(30.6)
−4.3
(24.3)
−7.8
(18.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 50.9
(2.00)
47.0
(1.85)
98.3
(3.87)
110.1
(4.33)
125.8
(4.95)
166.7
(6.56)
172.4
(6.79)
190.4
(7.50)
233.2
(9.18)
212.6
(8.37)
75.0
(2.95)
47.3
(1.86)
1,529.5
(60.22)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 4.0 5.2 9.0 9.0 10.2 12.4 12.2 10.0 12.0 10.4 7.0 4.9 106.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours 202.8 184.2 179.1 183.8 182.1 120.8 148.2 177.3 132.4 134.4 161.7 183.9 1,985.8
Source: JMA[3][4]

Demographics

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Per Japanese census data,[5] the population of Tokorozawa has recently plateaued after several decades of strong growth.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1920 33,723—    
1930 39,103+16.0%
1940 41,874+7.1%
1950 52,188+24.6%
1960 65,903+26.3%
1970 136,611+107.3%
1980 236,476+73.1%
1990 303,040+28.1%
2000 330,100+8.9%
2010 341,924+3.6%
2020 342,464+0.2%

History

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Archaeological research has shown that the vicinity of Tokorozawa was settled from about 20,000 years ago. Tokorozawa Shinmei Shrine has a traditional establishment of 110 AD. Hatogamine Hachiman Shrine is believed to date from 921 AD. During the Kamakura period, the Kamakura Kaidō ran through the area and the area was host to a series of battles fought in May 1333 that were part of the Genko War that ultimately ended the Kamakura Shogunate. These include the 1333 Battle of Kotesashi and the Battle of Kumegawa. Kotesashi was again the site of another battle nineteen years later. During the Edo period (1603–1867) the area's major industry was sericulture. It was also an important trading center, being located at the intersection of roads connecting Edo with the towns of Hachioji, Chichibu, Kawagoe and Fuchu.

The town of Tokorozawa was created within Iruma District, Saitama with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889.

Tokorozawa became the site of Japan's first air base and air service academy in 1911. The base was used through the end of World War II and fell under the control of the United States Armed Forces after the war. The US returned most of its property in Tokorozawa to Japan in 1971, but retains a communications facility in the city which is operated by the 374th Airlift Wing of the Fifth Air Force, based at Yokota Air Base to the southwest. The facility houses antennas for communications with USAF aircraft in the region. Much of the land returned to Japan has been converted into the public Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park.

Tokorozawa was elevated to city status on November 3, 1950. In 1955, Tokorozawa annexed the neighboring villages of Yanase and Mikajima, and assumed its present boundaries. The development of large scale public housing and railroad development led to a rapid population increase in the 1960s. Tokorozawa was the site of the Clay pigeon shooting event in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.[6]

Tokorozawa was designated as a special city with increased local autonomy in 2002. It currently meets the conditions to be designated as a core city but has yet to receive this designation.

Government

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Tokorozawa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 34 members. Tokorozawa contributes four members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Saitama 8th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

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Seibu department store in central Tokorozawa

Public sector

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Tokorozawa houses the Tokyo Area Control Center, which controls airspace in the Kantō, Jōetsu, Tōhoku, Chūbu, and Hokuriku regions and a portion of the Kansai region.[7]

Private sector

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Tokorozawa is the headquarters of Seibu Holdings, the parent company of Seibu Railway and Tokorozawa Station forms a hub in the Seibu Railway network which serves western Tokyo and southern Saitama. Tokorozawa is at the intersection of Seibu's two main lines, which respectively run to Ikebukuro Station and Seibu Shinjuku Station in central Tokyo. Several Seibu group companies, including its railway and bus divisions, are headquartered in the vicinity of Tokorozawa Station. Seibu owns an amusement park, baseball stadium (Seibu Prince Dome) and velodrome (Seibu-en Velodrome) in the "Seibu-en" district near Lake Tama in the southwestern corner of the city.

Citizen Holdings operates a watch factory in Tokorozawa.

Education

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Prefectural high schools:

Transportation

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Railway

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Map of Seibu Railway

  JR EastMusashino Line

  Seibu Railway - Seibu Ikebukuro Line

  Seibu Railway - Seibu Shinjuku Line

  Seibu Railway - Seibu Sayama Line

  Seibu Railway - Seibu Yamaguchi Line

Highway

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Sister cities

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Tokorozawa is twinned with:

Local attractions

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Professional sports teams

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General points of interest

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Belluna Dome
 
Tokorozawa Aviation Museum

Historical points of interest

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Events

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The Tokorozawa Matsuri is a festival held each year in October and features traditional Japanese parade floats ( mikoshi ), taiko drums, and samba dancers.

A two-day festival featuring music, cultural and sports exhibitions, community group activities and food booths takes place in late October in Kokukoen Park on the grounds of the former airfield. A similar 1-day festival, the Shimin Bunka Fair, takes place in early April in the park.

The city and local business community decorates the west side of Tokorozawa station with holiday lights from early December through mid March, and separate lighting ceremonies featuring local musicians, politicians, and sports figures are conducted for various portions of the lighted areas.

Notable people from Tokorozawa

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References

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  1. ^ "Tokorozawa city official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
  2. ^ Tokorozawa climate data
  3. ^ 観測史上1~10位の値(年間を通じての値). JMA. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  4. ^ 気象庁 / 平年値(年・月ごとの値). JMA. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  5. ^ Tokorozawa population statistics
  6. ^ "Archived copy". www.sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Blame pinned on air traffic controllers," The Japan Times
  8. ^ a b "International Exchange". List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Archived from the original on 4 January 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  9. ^ "TeamLab "Resonating Life in the Acorn Forest" (Musashino Woods Park)".
  10. ^ "Kengo kuma-designed kadokawa culture museum prepares to open in japan". 20 July 2020.
  11. ^ Totoro
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