Noshiro, Akita

Noshiro 能代市
City
Noshiro City Hall
Flag Seal
Location of Noshiro in Akita Prefecture
Noshiro
Coordinates: 40°12′43.7″N 140°1′35.8″E / 40.212139°N 140.026611°ECoordinates: 40°12′43.7″N 140°1′35.8″E / 40.212139°N 140.026611°E
Country	Japan
Region	Tōhoku
Prefecture	Akita Prefecture
Government
• -Mayor	Saitō Shigenobu
Area
• Total	426.95 km^2 (164.85 sq mi)
Population (February 2016)
• Total	54,576
• Density	128/km^2 (330/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
Phone number	0185-52-2111
Address	1-3 Uemachi, Noshiro-shi, Akita-ken 016-8501
Website	Official website

Noshiro (能代市 Noshiro-shi) is a city located in northern Akita Prefecture, Japan.

As of February 2016, the city had an estimated population of 54,576 and a population density of 128 persons per km². The total area was 526.95 square kilometres (203.46 sq mi).

Geography

Noshiro is located in the flat coastal plains northwestern Akita Prefecture, bordered by the Sea of Japan to the west. The Yoneshiro River flows through the city and empties into the Sea of Japan near Noshiro Port. The highest point is Mount Yakeyama at 963.1 metres (3,160 ft)

Neighboring municipalities

• Akita Prefecture
• Kitaakita
• Yamamoto District: Fujisato, Mitane, Happo
• Kitaakita District: Kamikoani

History

Per the Nihon Shoki and other ancient chronicles, Noshiro is the location where an expedition sent by the Yamato Court led by Abe no Hirafu landed in 658 AD with orders to force the local Emishi tribes into submission. Trade vessels from Balhae were calling at Noshiro Port as late as 771 AD.

The area of present-day Noshiro was part of ancient Dewa Province, dominated by the Satake clan during the Edo period, who ruled Kubota Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate.

The modern city of Noshiro was created on October 1, 1940, by the merger of the town of Noshirominato, and the villages of Shinonome and Sakaki (all formerly from Yamamoto District).

On March 21, 2006, the town of Futatsui (from Yamamoto District) was merged into Noshiro. ^[1]

Economy

The economy of Noshiro is based on agriculture and commercial fishing.

Education

Noshiro has 12 elementary schools, seven middle schools and four high schools, and well as one special education school.

Transportation

Airport

• Odate-Noshiro Airport - opened in 1998

Railway

• JR East - Ōu Main Line
  • Higashi-Noshiro - Tsurugata - Tomine - Futatsui
• JR East - Gonō Line
  • Higashi-Noshiro - Noshiro - Mukai-Noshiro - Kita-Noshiro - Torigata

Highway

• Akita Expressway
• Japan National Route 7
• Japan National Route 101

Seaports

• Port of Noshiro

Sister city relations

• - Wrangell, Alaska, United States, since December 16, 1960

Local attractions

• Kaze no Matsubara - one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment ^[2]
• Noshiro Swimming Beach
• Noshiro Onsen

Festivals

• Noshiro Port Fireworks Festival in 2008 had 150,000 visitors.
• Onagori Festival in Noshiro Kanto matsuri, Aomori Nebuta Matsuri, Samba Carnival and more. In 2008, 250,000 people visited.

Noted people from Noshiro

• Takashi Ono – Olympic gymnast
• Hisashi Yamada – professional baseball player
• Sadatoshi Sugawara – Olympic volleyball player
• Hosei Norota – politician
• Masumi Asano – voice actress

Notes

1. 第1章 地方拠点都市地域にかかる整備の方針に関する事項 (PDF). Noshiro official website (in Japanese). Noshiro city. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
2. "100 Soundscapes of Japan". Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 8 December 2015.

External links

• Noshiro City official website (Japanese)