Okaya, Nagano

Okaya 岡谷市
—  City  —
Flag
Location of Okaya in Nagano
Okaya
Coordinates: 36°03′50″N 138°03′09″E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu
Prefecture	Nagano
Government
• Mayor	Ryugo Imai (since September 2007)
Area
• Total	85.19 km2 (32.9 sq mi)
Population (May 1, 2011)
• Total	52,556
• Density	616.93/km2 (1,597.8/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	Taxus cuspidata
- Flower	Rhododendron
Phone number	81-(0)266-23-4811
Address	Saiwaichō 8-1, Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture (長野県岡谷市幸町８番１号) 394-8510

Tenryū River flowing out of Lake Suwa, its source.

Landscape of Okaya

Okaya (岡谷市, Okaya-shi) is a city located in Nagano, Japan. It was founded on 1 April 1936.

As of May 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 52,556, with 19,536 households and a population density of 616.93 persons per km². The total area is 85.19 km².

The city is twinned with Mount Pleasant, Michigan, USA, and in 2005 donated forty trees to it, honoring forty years of association between the two cities.

From the Meiji period through into the start of the Shōwa period (1868-1930), Okaya was one of Japan's largest producers of export-quality silk, thanks to the introduction of a new silk-reeling machine from overseas.^{[citation needed]}

After the second world war, Okaya established itself as a city of precision machinery, focusing on the manufacturing of products such as watches and cameras.

The region's local industry is predominantly made up of medium and small-sized businesses, but also some big-name businesses such as Seiko Epson, Olympus and Kyocera.

In addition, the city is known for its Onbashira and Taiko Festivals, as the birthplace of modern day skating^{[citation needed]}, and unagi (eel) dishes.

See also

• Okaya & Co., Ltd.
• Okaya Station, served by JR East

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Official website (English)
• Official website (Portuguese)