Iwata, Shizuoka

Iwata 磐田市
—  City  —
Location of Iwata in Shizuoka
Iwata
Coordinates: 34°43′N 137°51′E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu (Tōkai)
Prefecture	Shizuoka
Government
• Mayor	Nozomu Suzuki
Area
• Total	164.08 km2 (63.35 sq mi)
Population (March 2010)
• Total	170,779
• Density	1,050/km2 (2,700/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	Camphor
- Flower	Azalea
Phone number	0538-37-4827
Address	3-1, Kōnodai, Iwata-shi, Shizuoka-ken 438-8650
Website	Iwata City

Iwata City Hall

Iwata (磐田市, Iwata-shi) is a city located in Shizuoka, Japan and is known for being the headquarters of the Yamaha Motor Corporation. Iwata is also home to Júbilo Iwata, a J. League soccer team, as well as Yamaha Jubilo, a rugby team. The population was 170,779 as of March 1, 2010. The total area is 164.08 km².

Geography

Iwata is located in southwestern Shizuoka Prefecture, bordered by the Tenryū River to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the south.

Surrounding municipalities

• Hamamatsu
• Fukuroi
• Mori

History

Iwata is an ancient settlement, and contains the ruins of the Nara period provincial capital and Kokubun-ji of Tōtōmi province. During the Edo period, it developed as a post station on the Tokaidō and contained Mitsuke-juku, one of the 53 stations on the road.

During the cadastral reform of the early Meiji period on October 1, 1889, Mitsuke Village of Iwata District becomes Mitsuke Town. On the same day, Nakaizumi Village and Ninomiya Village merged to from Nakaizumi Town. These two towns merged on November 1, 1940 with Saikai Village and Tenryū Village to form the new town of Iwata. Iwata Town became Iwata City on April 1, 1948.

In April 2005, Iwata City merged with the towns of Fukude, Ryūyō, Toyoda, and Toyooka.

Economy

The economy of Iwata is primarily agricultural and is known for green tea and melons grown in greenhouses, which are called "Iwata melon". The Yamaha Corporation was founded in Iwata and maintains a strong presence in the city. Yamaha Motor's headquarters is in Iwata.

Transportation

Highways

• Tōmei Expressway
• Japan National Route 150

Railroads

• JR Tōkai - Tōkaidō Main Line
  • Iwata Station - Toyodachō Station
• Tenryū Hamanako Railroad Tenryū Hamanako Line
  • Shikiji Station - Toyooka Station - Kaminobe Station

Sister City relations

• - Dagupan City, Philippines from February 19, 1975
• - Mountain View, California, United States from June 4, 1976

Notable people from Iwata

• Masami Nagasawa - actress
• Saori Atsumi - singer-songwriter
• Ryosuke Sasagaki - professional soccer player
• Jun Mizutani - professional table-tennis player
• Noriko Mizoguchi - judoka

External links

Media related to Iwata, Shizuoka at Wikimedia Commons

• City of Iwata (Japanese)