Itō, Shizuoka

Itō
Itō; 伊東市
	Aerial View of Itō
	; Flag
	; Flag
	Location of Itō in Shizuoka
	; Itō
	Coordinates: 34°58′N 139°6′E / 34.967°N 139.1°E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu, Tōkai
Prefecture	Shizuoka
	Area
- Total	124.13 km2 (47.9 sq mi)
Population; (February 2009)	71,731
- Density	578/km2 (1,497/sq mi)
	City Symbols
- Tree	Camellia
- Flower	Camellia
- Bird	Blue Rock-thrush
Website	City of Itō
Phone number	0557-36-0111
	Address 2-1-1 Ōhara, Ito-shi, Shizuoka-ken; 414-8555

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Itō (伊東市, Itō-shi^?) is a city located on the eastern shore of the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka, Japan. Itō is one of the well known hot spring resort towns near Tokyo. Its heavily indented coastline facing Sagami Bay is a scenic area, and much of the city is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.

As of 2009, the city has an estimated population of 71,731 and the density of 578 persons per km². The total area is 124.13 km² (47.93 sq mi). The local economy is dominated by tourism (primarily hot spring resorts and ocean sports activities) and fishing.

[edit] History

At the end of the Edo period, the area now comprising Itō was occupied by 15 small farming and fishing hamlets. These were organized into four villages (Tsushima, Itō, Komuro and Usami) within Kamo District in 1889, and were transferred to Tagata District in 1896.

January 1, 1906 - The village of Itō becomes a town.
August 10, 1947 - The town of Itō merges with Komuro to become the city of Itō.
1950 - Itō is proclaimed an "International Tourism and Cultural City" by the central government.
April 1, 1955 - Tsushima and Usami merge with Itō.