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Toyama (city)

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Toyama (富山市, Toyama-shi, Japanese: [toꜜjama]) is the capital city of Toyama Prefecture, Japan, located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in the Chūbu region on central Honshū, about 200 km (120 mi) north of the city of Nagoya and 300 km (190 mi) northwest of Tokyo. As of 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 415,844 in 176,643 households,[2] and a population density of 335 persons per km2. Its total area was 1,241.77 square kilometres (479.45 sq mi).

Toyama
富山市
Core city
(From top, left to right : Kureha Hills •Tomiiwa Canal Kansui Park • Toyama Black• Toyama Glass Museum• Toyama Light Rail • Avile • Toyama Drug Sales • Sogawa Ferio • Tomiiwa Canal)
(From top, left to right : Kureha Hills •Tomiiwa Canal Kansui Park • Toyama Black• Toyama Glass Museum• Toyama Light Rail • Avile • Toyama Drug Sales • Sogawa Ferio • Tomiiwa Canal)
Flag of Toyama
Flag
Official seal of Toyama
Seal
Location of Toyama in Toyama Prefecture
Location of Toyama in Toyama Prefecture
Toyama is located in Japan
Toyama
Toyama
 
Coordinates: 36°41′45.3″N 137°12′49.3″E / 36.695917°N 137.213694°E / 36.695917; 137.213694
Country Japan
RegionChūbu (Hokuriku)
Prefecture Toyama
First official recorded6th century AD
City settledApril 1, 1889
Government
 • MayorHirohisa Fujii
Area
 • Core city1,241.77 km2 (479.45 sq mi)
Population
 (June 1, 2019)
 • Core city415,844
 • Density330/km2 (870/sq mi)
 • Metro
[1] (2015)
1,066,328 (16th)
Time zoneUTC+9 (JST)
Postal code
930-8510
Symbols 
• TreeZelkova serrata
• FlowerHelianthus annuus
• Flowering treeCamellia japonica
Phone number076-431-6111
Address7-38 Shinsakuramachi, Toyama-shi, Toyama-ken
WebsiteOfficial website

Overview

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The city has been designated an environmental model city by the national government for its efforts to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

Cityscapes

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Geography

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Located in the middle of its prefecture, Toyama is a seaside city by the coast of the Sea of Japan. Its municipal territory borders with the Gifu Prefecture and with the municipalities of Imizu, Namerikawa, Tonami, Nanto, Hida and Takayama.[3]

The nearest towns are Imizu (west), and Namerikawa (east), both by the sea and part of the Toyama urban area. The nearest major city is Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, which is 65 km (40 miles) away.

Climate

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Toyama has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot, humid summers and cool winters. Precipitation is abundant throughout the year, particularly in July, September and from November through January. Despite winter in Toyama being relatively mild, its position near the Sea of Japan places it within the heavy snow belt of Japan and on average 3.8 m (12 ft) of snow falls each season, almost all of it from December through March, as well as occasionally experiencing some tremendous amounts of snowfall.

Climate data for Toyama (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1939−present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20.9
(69.6) 		22.5
(72.5) 		25.7
(78.3) 		32.4
(90.3) 		33.3
(91.9) 		36.4
(97.5) 		38.8
(101.8) 		39.5
(103.1) 		38.3
(100.9) 		33.3
(91.9) 		29.2
(84.6) 		24.8
(76.6) 		39.5
(103.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 6.3
(43.3) 		7.4
(45.3) 		11.8
(53.2) 		17.6
(63.7) 		22.7
(72.9) 		25.7
(78.3) 		29.8
(85.6) 		31.4
(88.5) 		27.0
(80.6) 		21.6
(70.9) 		15.7
(60.3) 		9.5
(49.1) 		18.9
(66.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.0
(37.4) 		3.4
(38.1) 		6.9
(44.4) 		12.3
(54.1) 		17.5
(63.5) 		21.4
(70.5) 		25.5
(77.9) 		26.9
(80.4) 		22.8
(73.0) 		17.0
(62.6) 		11.2
(52.2) 		5.7
(42.3) 		14.5
(58.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 0.2
(32.4) 		0.1
(32.2) 		2.6
(36.7) 		7.4
(45.3) 		12.9
(55.2) 		17.7
(63.9) 		22.1
(71.8) 		23.2
(73.8) 		19.1
(66.4) 		13.1
(55.6) 		7.3
(45.1) 		2.5
(36.5) 		10.7
(51.3)
Record low °C (°F) −11.9
(10.6) 		−11.1
(12.0) 		−7.0
(19.4) 		−2.2
(28.0) 		2.3
(36.1) 		7.7
(45.9) 		13.0
(55.4) 		14.1
(57.4) 		8.9
(48.0) 		1.9
(35.4) 		−2.0
(28.4) 		−8.5
(16.7) 		−11.9
(10.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 259.0
(10.20) 		171.7
(6.76) 		164.6
(6.48) 		134.5
(5.30) 		122.8
(4.83) 		172.6
(6.80) 		245.6
(9.67) 		207.0
(8.15) 		218.1
(8.59) 		171.9
(6.77) 		224.8
(8.85) 		281.6
(11.09) 		2,374.2
(93.47)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 104
(41) 		84
(33) 		17
(6.7) 		1
(0.4) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		49
(19) 		253
(100)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.5 mm) 23.7 19.9 18.2 13.5 12.0 12.1 15.3 11.6 13.7 14.2 17.9 23.0 194.9
Average relative humidity (%) 82 78 72 68 70 78 79 77 78 77 77 81 76
Mean monthly sunshine hours 68.1 89.7 135.9 173.6 199.9 154.0 153.3 201.4 144.2 143.1 105.1 70.7 1,647.2
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[4]

Demographics

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Per Japanese census data,[5] the population of Toyama has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1970 350,085—    
1980 391,554+11.8%
1990 408,942+4.4%
2000 420,804+2.9%
2010 421,953+0.3%
2020 413,938−1.9%

Surrounding municipalities

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 Gifu Prefecture
 Nagano Prefecture
 Toyama Prefecture

History

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Early history

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The area of present-day Toyama city was part of ancient Etchū Province. The Toyama Plain is good farmland and historically it was a point of strategic and traffic importance since prehistoric times.

Feudal period

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During the Sengoku period, it was frequently a battlefield, coming under the control of warlord Sassa Narimasa, who built a castle town around Toyama Castle and channeled rivers to bringing about a flourishing agricultural industry.

Early modern ages

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Edo period

The area subsequently became part of Kaga Domain under the Maeda clan during the Edo period, during which time a positive industrial promotion policy was implemented on the production of Chinese medicine and washi (Japanese paper). Also, thanks to the improvement of kitamaebune sea transportation routes, these industries thrived and Toyama became known nationwide as the province of medicine.

Recent history

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Late modern ages

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Meiji period

After the Meiji Restoration, with the creation of the municipalities system, the city of Toyama was established on April 1, 1889, as one of the first 30 cities in Japan. Economically, the area developed heavy and chemical industries based on abundant hydroelectric electricity. Toyama has become one of the most influential cities on the Sea of Japan with its good water supply, drainage system and thriving agricultural, forestry, fishery, commercial and manufacturing industries.

Contemporary ages

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During World War II, Allied Prisoners of War (POWs) were sent to Toyama as forced labor.[6] The city was almost completely destroyed on the night of August 1–2, 1945. At the time of the bombing, the city was a center for aluminum, ball-bearing and special steel production. Left unscathed however, were the war-related factories just outside the city.[7][8] The city during the time had a population of around 150,000 residents. The city also held Kakure Kirishitan, or "Hidden Christians" in Japan, forced from Nagasaki into internment camps after the government tried to punish them for their Christian beliefs.

2005 mergers
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On April 1, 2005, the towns of Ōsawano and Ōyama (both from Kaminiikawa District), the towns of Fuchū and Yatsuo, and the villages of Hosoiri and Yamada (all from Nei District) were merged into Toyama. Kaminiikawa District and Nei District were both dissolved as a result of this merger.

Government

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Toyama city hall

Toyama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 38 members.

Sister cities

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See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Japan
 
Toyama International Conference Center

Toyama is twinned with:[9]

City Country State Since
Mogi das Cruzes  Brazil São Paulo November 8, 1979
Durham  United States North Carolina June 13, 1989
Wellington  Australia New South Wales August 24, 1992
Gwangju  South Korea Special cities 2011
Friendship city
City Country State Since
Qinhuangdao  China Hebei May 8, 1981

Economy

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Hokuriku Electric Power Company (colloquially known as Hokuden), the regional power-supply monopoly, is based in Toyama.[10] Bearing parts and industrial robot company Nachi-Fujikoshi and software company INTEC are also headquartered in Toyama.[11][12]

Regional banks include Hokuriku Bank, First Bank of Toyama, and Toyama Bank.[13]

Education

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University of Toyama

Colleges and universities

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Primary and secondary education

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Toyama has 65 public elementary schools and 26 public middle schools operated by the city government. There is also one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the national government. The city has fourteen public high schools operated by the Toyama Prefectural Board of Education. and one public combined middle/high school operated by the national government. There are also seven private high schools. Toyama Shogyo High School is a commercial high school.

Transportation

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Toyama Airport
 
Toyama Station
 
Toyama Chiho Railroad Linemap
 
Port of Toyama

Airways

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Airports

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Railways

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High-speed rail

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 West Japan Railway Company (JR West)

Conventional lines

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 West Japan Railway Company (JR West)
 Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tōkai)
  Ainokaze Toyama Railway
 Toyama Chihō Railway

Tramways

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 Toyama Chihō Railway

Roads

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Expressway

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Japan National Route

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Seaways

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Seaport

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Local attractions

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Yatsuo Area
 
Gohyaku rakan - five hundred statues depicting arhats, at the Chōkei-ji temple in Toyama

Culture

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Festivals and events

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  • Toyama Chindon Contest (Toyama Band of musical sandwichmen contest) – proposed by the Toyama Chamber of Commerce in 1955 and is held annually in early April. This event has become a festival, and many bands of sandwichmen (men wearing sandwich boards for advertisements) participate, attracting many tourists every year.
  • Kaze No Bon – held annually on September 1 to 3, in the Yatsuo region.[16]

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ "UEA Code Tables". Center for Spatial Information Science, University of Tokyo. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  2. ^ "official city statistics".
  3. ^ 4807827 (x j a h) Toyama on OpenStreetMap
  4. ^ 気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）. Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Toyama (Japan): Cities, Towns and Villages in Prefecture - Population Statistics, Charts and Map". www.citypopulation.de.
  6. ^ Pennington, Matthew (25 April 2015). "'The truth needs to be told' about Japan's war history, some vets say". Stars and Stripes. United States. Associated Press. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  7. ^ Info on att.net Archived 2007-02-28 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Nagaoka Air Raid | Comparison to Other Cities". www.echigonagaoka.com.
  9. ^ "市の国際交流". city.toyama.toyama.jp (in Japanese). Toyama. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  10. ^ "Annual Report 2013". Hokuriku Electric Power Company. Retrieved on August 28, 2014.
  11. ^ "Corporate Info". Nachi-Fujikoshi. Retrieved on August 27, 2014.
  12. ^ "About INTEC". INTEC. Retrieved on August 27, 2014.
  13. ^ "Corporate Data". Hokuhoku Financial Group. Retrieved on August 28, 2014.
  14. ^ "Toyama Glass Art Museum – English Site". toyama-glass-art-museum.jp.
  15. ^ "TOYAMA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTER". TOYAMA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTER. September 13, 2022.
  16. ^ Visit Toyama Archived 2013-05-12 at the Wayback Machine. (2008). Visit Toyama. Retrieved Jan. 6, 2013, from prefectural web site, English version.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Toyama, Toyama.
 
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Toyama.
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