Atami, Shizuoka
| Atami 熱海市 |
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 Atami
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| Coordinates: 35°6′N 139°4′E / 35.1°N 139.067°ECoordinates: 35°6′N 139°4′E / 35.1°N 139.067°E | |||
| Country | Japan | ||
| Region | Chūbu | ||
| Prefecture | Shizuoka | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Sakae Saitō | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 61.56 km2 (23.77 sq mi) | ||
| Population (February 2010) | |||
| • Total | 39,755 | ||
| • Density | 645/km2 (1,670/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) | ||
| City symbols | |||
| - Tree | Sakura | ||
| - Flower | ume | ||
| - Bird | Common Gull | ||
| Phone number | 557-86-6000 | ||
| Address | 1-1 Chūō-chō, Atami-shi, Shizuoka-ken 413-8550 |
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| Website | www.city.atami.shizuoka.jp | ||
Atami (熱海市 Atami-shi) is a city located in the eastern end of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2010, the city has an estimated population of 39,755 and a population density of 645 people per km². The total area is 61.56 km².
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[edit] Geography
Atami is located in the far eastern corner of Shizuoka Prefecture at the northern end of Izu Peninsula. The city is set on the steep slopes of a partially submerged volcanic caldera on the edge of Sagami Bay. The name literally means "hot ocean", a reference to the town's famous onsen hot springs. The city includes the offshore island of Hatsushima. Most of Atami is located within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Warmed by the Kuroshio Current offshore, the area is noted for its moderate martime climate with hot, humid summers, and short winters.
[edit] Surrounding municipalities
Shizuoka Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
[edit] History
Atami has been noted as a resort town centered on its hot springs since the 8th century AD. In the Kamakura period, Minamoto Yoritomo and Hojo Masako were noted visitors. During the Edo period, all of Izu Province was tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the cadastral reform of the early Meiji period in 1889, Atami village was organized within Kamo District, Shizuoka. It was elevated to town status on June 11, 1894, and was transferred to the administrative control of Tagata District, Shizuoka in 1896.
The epicenter of the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923 was deep beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay, close to Atami, which suffered from considerable damage, as did other municipalities throughout the surrounding Kantō region.[1] The tsunami wave height reached 35 feet at Atami, swamping the town and drowning three hundred people.[2]
The modern city of Atami was founded on April 10, 1937 through the merger of Atami Town with neighboring Taga Village. After the proclamation of Atami as an "International Tourism and Culture City" by the Japanese government in 1950, the area experienced rapid growth in large resort hotel development. This was further encouraged by making Atami a stop on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen high-speed train in 1964. Atami experienced a considerable decline in popularity as a vacation destination after the Japanese economic crisis in the 1990s and decline in popularity of large group company-sponsored vacations, but is currently experiencing a revival as a bedroom community due to its proximity to Tokyo and Yokohama.
The 24th Congress of the Japanese Communist Party was held at Atami in January 2006.
[edit] Economy
The economy of Atami is heavily dependent on the tourist industry to its hot spring resorts.[3] Commercial fishing is a major secondary industry.
[edit] Transport
[edit] Rail
[edit] Highway
- Japan National Route 135
- Atami Beach Line
- Izu Skyline
[edit] Sister city relations
Beppu, Ōita, Japan (since August 1966)
Sanremo, Italy (since November 1976)
Cascais, Portugal (since July 1990)
Acapulco, Mexico
[edit] Notable people from Atami
- Yū Hayami - singer, actress
- Yuka Imai - voice actress
- Yuji Ohno - jazz musician
- Mitsuko Uchida - classical pianist
[edit] Culture
Much of the extensive art collection of eccentric multimillionaire and religious leader Mokichi Okada is now housed in the MOA Museum of Art in Atami.
[edit] In films
Atami is the setting of the TV drama Atami no Sousakan.[4]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Hammer, Joshua. (2006). Yokohama Burning: the Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II, p. 278.
- ^ Hammer, p. 114.
- ^ Mansfield, Stephen, "Cultures mingle amid Atami's hot springs", Japan Times, 18 December 2011, p. 12.
- ^ http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-6026
[edit] References
- Hammer, Joshua. (2006). Yokohama Burning: The Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster. 10-ISBN 0-7432-6465-7; 13-ISBN 978-0-7432-6465-5 (cloth).
[edit] External links
Media related to Atami, Shizuoka at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website (Japanese)
- Atami travel guide from Wikitravel
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