Yamagata, Yamagata
| Yamagata 山形 |
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| 山形市 · Yamagata City | |||
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 Yamagata
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| Coordinates: 38°15′N 140°20′E / 38.25°N 140.333°ECoordinates: 38°15′N 140°20′E / 38.25°N 140.333°E | |||
| Country | Japan | ||
| Region | Tōhoku | ||
| Prefecture | Yamagata Prefecture | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Akio Ichikawa | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 381.34 km2 (147.24 sq mi) | ||
| Population (July 1, 2011) | |||
| • Total | 253,951 | ||
| • Density | 665.94/km2 (1,724.8/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) | ||
| City symbols | |||
| - Tree | Japanese Rowan | ||
| - Flower | Safflower | ||
| Phone number | 023-641-1212 | ||
| Address | 2-3-25 Hatagomachi, Yamagata-shi, Yamagata-ken 990-8540 |
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| Website | www.city.yamagata.yamagata.jp | ||
Yamagata (山形市 Yamagata-shi) is the capital city of Yamagata Prefecture in Japan.
As of July 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 253,951 with 97,457 households and a population density of 665.94 persons per km². The total area is 381.34 km². The city was founded on April 1, 1889.
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[edit] Culture
The Hanagasa festival (花笠祭り Hanagasa Matsuri), one of Tōhoku's major summer festivals, is held in the city every August 5, 6 and 7. Yamagata also hosts the bi-annual Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. An autumn tradition is Imoni-kai (taro potato party). Taro potatoes, thin-sliced meat, and vegetables are cooked in a large pot at picnic spots. The banks of the Mamigasaki River are popular. Once a year, on the first Sunday in September, the city government serves thousands of bowls from its giant iron imoni pot, which is serviced by a building crane. In 2009, 30,000 servings were prepared and served, and still a crowd waited in line.[1]
The temple of Yama-dera (Ryushakuji) lies within the city limits, 15 minutes by train from the center.
In the center of town northwest of the train station is the extensive Kajo park, the grounds of castle keep of feudal warlord Mogami Yoshiaki. While most of the park is athletic fields and public function buildings, the rebuilt walls, eastern main gate, and surrounding moat of the former castle are impressive. The Mogami Yoshiaki Historical Museum nearby features items from Yoshiaki's time like his battle helmet and other swords and armor, and information on these exhibits and the history of the castle town is also available in English. It also contains a small public museum with displays of natural and social history.
Nearby is the Yamagata Museum of Art.
[edit] Transportation
Yamagata City is served by the Yamagata Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo, which detaches from the Tōhoku Shinkansen at Fukushima Station. The train takes just under three hours from Tokyo, and the one-way cost is about 10,000 yen.
[edit] Train stations
[edit] Major roads
- Tōhoku Chūō Expressway: Yamagata-chūō, Yamagata-Kaminoyama interchanges
- Yamagata Expressway: Yamagata-Zaō, Yamagata-kita, Sekizawa interchanges
- Route 13, Route 48, Route 112, Route 286, Route 348, Route 458
[edit] Climate
Yamagata City is located in a wide central valley that can heat up quickly in spring and summer and is often grey and humid, while to the east in Miyagi Prefecture on the Pacific coast it is usually clearer and more temperate. The opposite is the case in winter with the valley seeing frequent snow and the Pacific coast remaining clear and fine.
| Climate data for Yamagata City | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18.1 (64.6) |
17.3 (63.1) |
23.7 (74.7) |
33.3 (91.9) |
33.4 (92.1) |
35.6 (96.1) |
40.8 (105.4) |
38.9 (102.0) |
36.1 (97.0) |
32.3 (90.1) |
26.9 (80.4) |
20.1 (68.2) |
40.8 (105.4) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 2.7 (36.9) |
3.6 (38.5) |
7.6 (45.7) |
15.7 (60.3) |
21.6 (70.9) |
25.1 (77.2) |
28.5 (83.3) |
30.1 (86.2) |
25.0 (77.0) |
18.5 (65.3) |
12.0 (53.6) |
5.6 (42.1) |
16.3 (61.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −4.8 (23.4) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
3.5 (38.3) |
8.9 (48.0) |
14.3 (57.7) |
18.9 (66.0) |
19.9 (67.8) |
15.3 (59.5) |
8.2 (46.8) |
2.4 (36.3) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
6.5 (43.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −20 (−4) |
−19 (−2) |
−15.5 (4.1) |
−7.3 (18.9) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
3.0 (37.4) |
6.7 (44.1) |
8.4 (47.1) |
3.0 (37.4) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−15 (5) |
−20 (−4) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 92.2 (3.63) |
72.6 (2.858) |
71.1 (2.799) |
70.8 (2.787) |
75.9 (2.988) |
103.1 (4.059) |
152.7 (6.012) |
142.4 (5.606) |
132.6 (5.22) |
96.7 (3.807) |
84.3 (3.319) |
105.7 (4.161) |
1,200.1 (47.248) |
| Snowfall cm (inches) | 112.6 (44.33) |
86.8 (34.17) |
36.6 (14.41) |
2.2 (0.87) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
7.1 (2.8) |
62.6 (24.65) |
307.9 (121.22) |
| % humidity | 83 | 80 | 74 | 67 | 67 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 80 | 81 | 80 | 83 | 77.3 |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.5 mm) | 18.8 | 15.6 | 14.9 | 11.1 | 10.4 | 11.3 | 13.9 | 10.8 | 12.6 | 12.3 | 14.3 | 17.0 | 163 |
| Avg. snowy days | 27.8 | 26.0 | 14.4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.4 | 14.8 | 86.4 |
| Sunshine hours | 87.9 | 103.9 | 150.1 | 187.4 | 204.4 | 173.5 | 164.1 | 191.9 | 136.9 | 133.0 | 105.5 | 79.6 | 1,718.2 |
| Source: Japan Meteorological Agency, 平年値（年・月ごとの値） (snow and precipitation days), 観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値） (records) | |||||||||||||
- Yamagata registered the highest temperature ever recorded in Japan (40.8˚C on July 25, 1933) until the record was broken by two cities (40.9˚C in Kumagaya, Saitama and Tajimi, Gifu) on August 16, 2007[2]
[edit] Education
The city is also the home of the Kojirakawa Campus and Iida Campus of Yamagata University. The Kojirakawa Campus houses the Faculty of Literature & Social Science, the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Education, Art & Science. The Iida Campus includes the Faculty of Medicine, which also includes the School of Nursing and the University Hospital.
[edit] Gallery
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This section looks like an image gallery. Wikipedia policy discourages galleries of random images of the article subject; please improve or remove the section accordingly, moving freely licensed images to Wikimedia Commons if not already hosted there. (October 2011) |
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Kajō Central
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Yamagata City Hall
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Yamagata Old Prefecture Office "Bunshokan"
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Yamagata Prefectural Government
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Central Street
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Nonokamachi Street
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Kajō Park
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Yamagata Museum of Art
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Omosiroyama Highland
[edit] Notable people from Yamagata
- Yoshiharu Abe, musician
- Joji Kato, speed skater
- Yuko Oga, basketball player
- Shozo Sasahara, wrestler
- Chihiro Suzuki, voice actor
- Miyuki Takahashi, volleyball player
- Eriko Watanabe, actress
[edit] Sister towns and cities
Yamagata is twinned with the following towns and cities.[3]
Ōshima, Japan (since 1978)- Kami, Miyagi, Japan (since 1989)
Kitzbühel, Tyrol, Austria (since 1963)
Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia (since 1980)
Jilin City, China (since 1983)
Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, Russia (since 1991)
Boulder, Colorado, USA (since 1994)
Khorramabad, Iran (since 2009)[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Yamagata Shinbun Newspaper, Sept.7, 2009
- ^ 河北新報 (Kahoku Shimpō newspaper) page 1; August 17, 2007.
- ^ "山形市の友好姉妹都市 [Yamagata City Twin Cities]" (in Japanese). Japan: Yamagata City. http://www.city.yamagata-yamagata.lg.jp/shiseijoho/torikumi/kokusaikoryu/24c2pd0115103128.html. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
- ^ "لرستان و یاماگاتای ژاپن خواهرخوانده شدند [Kayhan newspaper]" (in Persian). iran. http://www.magiran.com/npview.asp?ID=1850579.
[edit] External links
- Official website (Japanese)
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