Hanamaki, Iwate
Hanamaki (花巻市, Hanamaki-shi) is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. As of March 31, 2011, the city has an estimated total population of 102,455, with a household number of 35,831.[1] Hanamaki is most famous as the birthplace of Kenji Miyazawa and for its onsen. The city recently celebrated the 50th anniversary since its consolidation from six smaller towns in 1954. Hanamaki as of 2006 is composed of the old Hanamaki city and three surrounding towns, which merged on January 1.
History
On April 1, 1954 six towns consolidated into the former city of Hanamaki. Those six towns (in rough order of size category) were: Hanamaki-cho, Yuguchi-mura, Yumoto-mura, Miyanome-mura, Yasawa-mura, and Ohta-mura. An additional village, Sasama-mura, joined the following year.
In January 2006 Hanamaki again consolidated with three neighboring towns, Tōwa-chō, Ōhasama-machi, and Ishidoriya-cho to establish a new city also called Hanamaki. With the merger, the population of Hanamaki increased from 72,926 to 106,414 people, and its geographic area expanded from 385.40 km² to encompass 908.32 km².
Geography
Hanamaki is located in the Kitakami River valley where three other rivers empty into the Kitakami; the Sarugaishi-gawa from the east and the Se-gawa and Toyosawa-gawa from the west. In the west the city rises to the foothills of the Ou Mountains with the highest point being Mt. Matsukura at 968 meters. To the east the city rises to the highest peak in the Kitakami Range, Mt Hayachine at 1917 meters. The largest reservoir is Lake Tase on the Sarugaishi River in the former town of Towa. Lake Hayachine on the Hienuki River in the former town of Ohasama is quite spectacular with steep mountains rising above it. Lake Toyosawa is in the western part of the city on the Toyosawa River.
The total city area is 908.32 km²[2].
Demographics
The city has an estimated population of 106,414 as of 2005. The population density of pre-merger Hanamaki as of 2003 was 189.22 persons per km².
Transportation
Regular JR trains, both those going north-south along the Tohoku Main Line as well as those heading east to the coast on the Kamaishi line stop at Hanamaki Station. Shin Hanamaki station, which is on the Kamaishi line and significantly removed from the town center, is a stop on the Tohoku Shinkansen.
Hanamaki Airport has regular flights to Sapporo, Nagoya and Osaka Itami.
A night bus travels between Hanamaki and Tokyo, departing at 22:08 from in front of the station.
Tourist attractions
Hanamaki is known historically for its many onsen. Kenji Miyazawa's various legacies are the old Hanamaki city's other perennial tourist attraction. The city also has a ski slope.
One of Hanamaki's most notable events is the Hanamaki Matsuri, an annual festival which takes place the second weekend of September and dates back to 1593. The three-day festivities include a dance of over one thousand synchronized traditional dancers; the carrying of over one hundred small shrines; and the parading of a dozen or so large, hand-constructed floats depicting historical, fictional, or mythical scenes and accompanied by drummers, flautists, and lantern-carriers. Of these dances, the most famous is Shishi Odori (dance of the deer). This dance involves men dressing as deer and banging drums.
With the city's recent mergers, Hanamaki now lays claim to its absorbed towns' attractions. Ōhasama is famous for local varieties of traditional Kagura dance. Kagura dancers often appear at area festivals or functions. On a hill above the town of Ōhasama proper stands a statue resembling the wolf-like costumes donned by Hayachine Kagura dancers. Mt. Hayachine, which at 1917 m (6289 ft) is the second highest mountain in Iwate Prefecture, lies in the northeast section of Ōhasama. The area is home to the regionally well-known Edel Wine. In September, the Ōhasama Wine House hosts the annual Wine Festival. Around the time of Japan's Girls' Festival, Ōhasama puts on displays of its collection of dolls, many of which are several hundred years old. Local history suggests that the dolls may have been given to residents of Ōhasama by travelers from Kyoto on their way to trade in Hokkaidō. Ishidoriya has a history of brewing sake connected with the Nambu Toji tradition.
City connections
Hanamaki is sister cities with Hot Springs, Arkansas. Within Japan, Hanamaki conducts "friendship city" exchanges with Towada-shi in Aomori and with Hiratsuka-shi in Kanagawa.
Each of the erstwhile towns also conduct exchanges with sister cities of their own, which have been taken up by the new Hanamaki city. Ōhasama has been sister cities with Berndorf, Austria since 1965. Mt. Hayachine is also home to a particular species of edelweiss, called Hayachine Usuyukisou, which grows exclusively on Mt. Hayachine. It was because of this flower that mountain climbers from Ōhasama forged a friendship with those from Berndorf, Austria. Ishidoriya is sister cities with Rutland, Vermont. Tōwa in turn carried on exchanges with many towns and cities while eschewing formal sister city agreements, starting with Clinton, Wisconsin in 1975, and including locations in Athens, Ohio and also in Germany and Scotland (Shetland).
Weather
References
External links
Media related to Hanamaki, Iwate at Wikimedia Commons
