Kitaibaraki, Ibaraki

Kitaibaraki is in northern Ibaraki Prefecture, bounded by Fukushima Prefecture to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the east. As its name implies, it is the northernmost city within Ibaraki. Approximately 80% of the total area is mountainous forest. The eastern region is low ground facing the ocean with spacious open flatland along the Okita and Satone Rivers. It is approximately 57 kilometers to the northeast of Mito, the prefectural capital.

Ibaraki Prefecture

• Takahagi

Fukushima Prefecture

• Iwaki
• Samegawa
• Hanawa

Kitaibaraki has a Humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kitaibaraki is 13.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1435 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.[2]

Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Kitaibaraki peaked around 1960 and has steadily declined since.

Under the ritsuryō system, the area of Kitaibaraki was the northern tip of the Tōkaidō region, and was part of Hitachi Province. The towns of Otsu and Hirakata and the village of Kitanakago were created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The area was part of the Jōban coal fields and coal mines were developed in the early twentieth century. Kitanakago became the town of Isohara on January 1, 1925. On March 31, 1956 the towns of Otsu, Hirakata, Isohara and the villages of Sekinan, Sekimonto and Minaminakago merged to form the city of Kitaibaraki. The city suffered from serious damage caused by the tsunami from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.[4]

Kitaibaraki has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 19 members. Kitaibaraki, together with neighboring Takahagi, contributes two members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ibaraki 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Commerce developed during the Edo period along the Tanagura highway, which was also called the 'Road of Salt'. The area flourished with ports for water transportation and coal mining began at the end of the Edo period. Kitaibaraki is now a regional commercial center with some light manufacturing. JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation, Nichia Steel Works, NOK Corporation and Fuso Pharmaceutical Industries have major factories in the city. The Jōban Coal Field, which was the mainstay of the economy from the Meiji period to the mid-Shōwa period, closed in 1976. Commercial fishing from Otsu fishing port, notably for angler fish is also a factor in the local economy.

Kitaibaraki has 12 public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education.

• – Wairoa District, New Zealand [5]

• The scenic Izura coastline is near Otsu fishing port. This area was famous for Rokkaku-do, a six sided red house built by Tenshin Okakura. The Tenshin Memorial Museum, with regularly updated exhibits, offers visitors a glance at various schools of Japanese art. The sound of the waves of the Izura coast are listed as one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment [6]
• Ujō Noguchi Memorial Museum

• Ujō Noguchi, poet, songwriter
• Atsuko Kurusu, actress
• Takehito Kanazawa, professional baseball player

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kitaibaraki, Ibaraki.

• Official Website (in Japanese)