Shibukawa, Gunma

Shibukawa 渋川市
—  City  —
Location of Shibukawa in Gunma Prefecture
Shibukawa
Coordinates: 36°23′22″N 139°03′48″E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Gunma Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Sadaji Akutsu (since September 2009)
Area
• Total	240.42 km2 (92.83 sq mi)
Population (May 31, 2011)
• Total	84,160
• Density	350.05/km2 (906.6/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
Phone number	0279-22-2111
Address	80 Ishihara, Shibukawa-shi, Gunma-ken 377-8501
Website	http://www.city.shibukawa.gunma.jp/index.html

Shibukawa (渋川市, Shibukawa-shi) is a city located in the extreme northwest of the Kantō Plain, in the center of landlocked Gunma, Japan. Encompassing the juncture of the Tone River and Agatsuma River, it is about 120 km from Tokyo. Due to its location at the geographical center of the nation, Shibukawa is known as the Bellybutton of Japan (日本のおへそ, nihon no oheso).

Shibukawa originally grew to prosperity as an inn town, but even today is in a central location between Numata and Maebashi. Also, anyone going to a number of famous hot spring resorts, such as Kusatsu, Shima, or Ikaho must pass through Shibukawa.

As of May 31, 2011, the city had a population of 84,160 with 31,289 households and a density of 350.05 persons per km². The total land area is 240.42 km².

The city was founded on April 1, 1954.

Geography

Some bars in Shibukawa

Some more bars in Shibukawa

Shibukawa is located at a central point (36°29′ N, 139°00′ E) of the Japanese Archipelago and is thus known as the Bellybutton of Japan (日本のおへそ, nihon no oheso). The city encompasses an area of 240.42 km².

To the west is Mt. Haruna, and to the east is Mt. Akagi. To the north are Mt. Onoko and Mt. Komochi. The Tone River flows from the north (between Mt. Akagi and Mt. Komochi) southward through the city, while the Agatsuma River flows from the west (between Mt. Onoko and Mt. Haruna), merging with the Tone River near the center of the city.

Shibukawa's highest altitude is 1,565m above sea level; its lowest point is 139m above sea level. The majority of the city lies between 200 and 800 meters above sea level.

Farmland covers 49.88 km² (20.8% of the city), housing covers 20.31 km² (8.4%), and mountains and forests cover 77.39 km² (32.2%). The remaining 92.84 km² (38.6%) has other land uses.

Adjacent municipalities

• To the north: Numata, Showa, Takayama
• To the east: Maebashi
• To the south: Maebashi, Shinto, Yoshioka
• To the west: Takasaki, Higashiagatsuma, Nakanojō

History

• Shibukawa developed as an inn town on the old Mikuni Road.
• In 1889, the village of Shibukawa gained town status to become the town of Shibukawa.
• On April 1, 1954, Shibukawa absorbed the villages of Furumaki, Kanashima and Toyoaki to become the city of Shibukawa.
• On February 20, 2006, Shibukawa absorbed the town of Ikaho, the villages of Komochi and Onogami, all from Kitagunma District; and the villages of Akagi and Kitatachibana, both from Seta District.

Demographics

Shibukawa's population, as of April 2008, was 86,395. There were 42,313 males and 44,082 females. The number of households was 30,870. The population density was 359 persons per km².

Sister cities

Foligno in Umbria, Italy is Shibukawa's sister city. Logan City, Queensland, Australia is designated as a Friendship City with Shibukawa.

In the spring of 2008, high school students from Shibukawa visited their counterparts in Chico, California.

Festivals

Shibukawa calls itself "The Bellybutton of Japan" (日本のおへそ) and hosts the Bellybutton Festival (へそ祭り) every year in late July. The festival is based on a traditional Japanese form of entertainment where revelers paint a face on their torsos and stomachs and pretend it is a head.A kimono is then wrapped around the waist and the person's real head is hidden by a large cloth hat. The belly button is traditionally painted into a mouth.These days, modern motifs and Japanese anime designs have crept in to the festival, which city officials said is all about having fun.

Transportation

Rail

• East Japan Railway Company
  • Joetsu Line (Yagihara Station, Shibukawa Station, Shikishima Station, and Tsukuda Station)
  • Agatsuma Line (Shibukawa Station, Kanashima Station, Ubashima Station, Onogami Station, and Onogami-Onsen Station)

Roads

• Expressway
  • Kan-Etsu Expressway (Shibukawa-Ikaho Interchange, Akagi Interchange)
• National Highways
  • National Route 17
  • National Route 353

Schools

Shibukawa has four high schools:

• Shibukawa High School
• Shibukawa Girls' High School
• Shibukawa Kougyou High School
• Shibukawa Seisui High School

There are ten junior high schools:

• Akagi North Junior High School
• Akagi South Junior High School
• Furumaki Junior High School
• Hokkitsu Junior High School
• Ikaho Junior High School
• Kanashima Junior High School
• Komochi Junior High School
• Shibukawa Junior High School
• Shibukawa North Junior High School
• Onogami Junior High School.

Finally, there are seventeen elementary schools:

• Ikaho Elementary School
• Furumaki Elementary School
• Kamishiroi Elementary School
• Kanashima Elementary School
• Miharada Elementary School
• Nagaou Elementary School
• Nagumo Elementary School
• Nakagou Elementary School
• Onogami Elementary School
• Shibukawa North Elementary School
• Shibukawa South Elementary School
• Shibukawa West Elementary School
• Tachibana North Elementary School
• Tachibana South Elementary School
• Tousen Elementary School
• Toyoaki Elementary School
• Tsukuda Elementary School

Attractions

• Shibukawa Skyland Park - an amusement park
• Ikaho Green Bokujou - a farm designed to show its customers various things about farming
• Ikaho Sistina Museum- an op art museum which also has a Sistine Chapel replica
• Japan Chanson Museum- a museum dedicated to the chanson style of music
• Shibukawa Sougou Park- a large park encompassing hiking trails, campsites, tennis courts, a baseball diamond, a running track, and various other recreational facilities
• Onoike Ajisai Park- a hydrangea park with a pond and hiking trails
• Shibukawa Sky Terume - a hot spring in a building which looks something like a spaceship

Trivia

Shibukawa is the home town of Takumi Fujiwara, the main character in Initial D. Many scenes of the live action movie were taped on location in Shibukawa.

References

• "市内小・中学校リンク集". Shibukawa City Official Site. 2006-07. Archived from the original on 2006-08-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20060827044156/http://www.city.shibukawa.gunma.jp/hyakka/link_gakko.html. Retrieved 2006-08-29.  (Japanese)
• "合併の変遷". Shibukawa City Official Site. 2006-06. Archived from the original on 2006-06-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20060615081607/http://www.city.shibukawa.gunma.jp/aramasi/hensen.html. Retrieved 2006-06-16.  (Japanese)
• "渋川市の統計". Shibukawa City Official Site. 2006-06. Archived from the original on 2006-10-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20061006050452/http://www.city.shibukawa.gunma.jp/aramasi/toukei/01toki.html. Retrieved 2006-06-16.  (Japanese)
• "渋川市の地勢と気候". Shibukawa City Official Site. 2006-06. Archived from the original on 2008-04-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20080410052217/http://www.city.shibukawa.gunma.jp/aramasi/tisei_kikou.html. Retrieved 2008-05-28.  (Japanese)
• "MapionBB". MapionBB. 2006-08. http://www.mapion.co.jp/c/f?uc=1&grp=MapionBB&scl=500000&el=139/03/51.236&nl=36/23/16.939. Retrieved 2006-08-29.  (Japanese)
• "渋川市住民基本台帳人口/渋川市". Shibukawa City Official Site. 2008-04. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01. http://web.archive.org/web/20080501110608/http://www.city.shibukawa.gunma.jp/osirase/jinkou/jinkou.html. Retrieved 2008-05-28.  (Japanese)

• Gullick, Chris. "Japanese students say goodbye to Chico students" nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CERB&p_theme=cerb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=allfields(Shibukawa)%20(%20Japan)%20AND%20date(2008)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=2008&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=("Shibukawa")%20("%20Japan")&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no.html. Chico Enterprise Record, April 4, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2008.

External links

• Shibukawa official website in Japanese.