Hitachi, Ibaraki

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Hitachi**
**日立市**
Hitachi's location in Ibaraki, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Ibaraki
Physical characteristics
Area	225.55 km² (87.09 sq mi)
Population (as of January 2008)
Total	195,844
Density	868 /km² (2,248 /sq mi)
Location	36°36′N, 140°39′E
Symbols
Tree	Japanese zelkova
Flower	Sakura
Bird	Japanese Cormorant
Fish	North Pacific Giant Octopus
Flag
Hitachi Government Office
Mayor	Chiaki Kashimura
Address	〒317-8601 1-1 Sukegawa-chō, Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki-ken
Phone number	0294-22-3111
Official website: Hitachi City

Hitachi (日立市, Hitachi-shi^?) is a city located on the Pacific Ocean in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Its name could be directly translated as "sunrise", but probably more appropriately adapted to "prosperous wealth" (the historical kanji name for the area is 常陸).

1 Demographics
2 History
3 Interesting sites
4 Transportation
5 External links

[edit] Demographics

As of January 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 195,844 and the density of 868 persons per km². The total area is 225.55 km².

[edit] History

Hitachi was officially designated a city on September 1, 1939. On November 1, 2004 the neighboring town of Juou merged into the city.

The name Hitachi is well known throughout the world due to Hitachi company founded in the city in 1910 by Odaira Namihei. Today, Hitachi company is one of the world's largest manufacturing and consumer electronics companies.

[edit] Interesting sites

Heiwa Street with Sakura

Being a predominantly industrial city Hitachi was badly damaged in World War II and very few older buildings now remain in the downtown area. However the city is not without interesting local sites.

Like many Japanese cities, many of the public spaces are dedicated to symbolising the struggle for peace in the post-war world. It is in this spirit that one must consider Heiwa Dori (Peace Street), Hitachi's prettiest street. Every April there is a major procession down the broad tree-lined boulevard to celebrate the arrival of the cherry blossom season (Sakura Matsuri). Giant colourful floats called furyumono are carried by the local people.

Hitachi also has a small zoo on the nearby Mount Kamine.