Yūki, Ibaraki

Yūki is located in far western Ibaraki Prefecture, bordered by Tochigi Prefecture to the north and west, and separated from the rest of Ibaraki Prefecture by the Kinugawa River. It is closely related to Tochigi Prefecture in terms of culture (dialects, etc.), economy, and transportation due to the close proximity to the city of Oyama.

Ibaraki Prefecture

• Chikusei
• Koga
• Yachiyo

Tochigi Prefecture

• Oyama

Yūki has a Humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Yūki is 14.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1321 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.8 °C.[2]

Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Yūki has remained relatively steady for the past 50 years..

The area of Yūki was an important center for the production of cotton, flax and woven goods from the Nara period. From the Kamakura period onwards, the area was controlled by the Yūki clan, who developed a castle town around Yūki Castle. This subsequently became the center of Yūki Domain which was ruled by 10 generations of a junior branch of the Mizuno clan under the Tokugawa shogunate in the Edo period.

The town of Yūki was created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On March 15, 1954 Yūki merged with the neighboring villages of Yamakawa, Kinugawa, Egawa and Kamiyamakawa and was elevated to city status.

Yūki has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 18 members. Yūki contributes one member to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ibaraki 7th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Yūki has an industrial park, however, the local economy remains based on agriculture and food processing. The main crops include rice, Kanpyō, lettuce, and corn.

Yūki has nine public elementary schools and three public middle schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education. The prefectural also operates a special education school for the handicapped.

• – Mechelen, Belgium, since October 1996 [4]

• site of Yūki Castle
• grave of Mizuno Tadakuni
• Yūki old town with old warehouses

• Katsumi Hirosawa, baseball player
• Yukie Nakayama, sport shooter

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yuki, Ibaraki.

• Official Website (in Japanese)