NIIGATA, NIIGATA

is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It is on the Sea of Japan coast on Honshū, the largest island of Japan to face Sado Island over the sea.
Following the Meiji Restoration it became a free port.
Niigata was elevated to a city from a town in 1889, and on April 1, 2007 it became the first government-designated city on the Japan Sea coast of Honshū.

Contents

History

Climate

Geography

Wards

Adjoining communities

Sister cities

Sports

Professional

Amateur

Transportation

Railroad

Airport

Sightseeing

Event

Famous people from Niigata

External links

History

People have inhabited the Niigata area since the Jōmon period. According to the Nihonshoki, a fortress was built in the area in AD 647; however, the area did not rise in importance until the 16th century when a port was built there.
Niigata prospered as a port town and became one of the five ports that were open for international trade in the Japan-U.S. Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1868.
In 1929, the Bandai Bridge was built across the Shinano River to connect the settlements of Niigata on the east and Nuttari on the west, turning the Bandai area into the city center that it remains today.
Niigata was one of the four cities besides Hiroshima, Kokura, and Nagasaki picked as a target for the atomic bomb if Japan did not surrender during World War II because of its status as a large port city. However, Niigata was ultimately discounted as a target for the bomb due to its distance from the American forces and its unreliable weather. Kokura was the original target for the second bomb and not Niigata as is sometimes believed.

In 1950 construction of Niigata Station was completed, extending the downtown area from the Bandai Bridge.
On 16 June 1964 1:23pm Japan Standard Time, (0423 UT same day) an earthquake of 7.5 Richter scale struck the city, killing 29 people and causing large-scale property damage, with 1,960 totally destroyed buildings, 6,640 partially destroyed and 15,298 severely inundated by liquefaction^[1].
In 1965 the Agano River running through Niigata was polluted with methylmercury from the chemical plant of the Showa Electrical Company. Upwards of 690 people exhibited symptoms of Minamata disease and the outbreak became known as Niigata Minamata disease.
Big Swan Stadium hosted three games during the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
The 2004 Chūetsu earthquake did not hurt the city itself significantly and it worked as a relief base.
After a series municipal mergers over a four year period between 2001 and 2005, Niigata became a government-designated city on April 1, 2007.
The size and the population of Niigata city increased over a four year period between 2001 and 2005 after three successful mergers. On April 1, 2007, it became first city on the Japan Sea coast on Honshū to become a government-designated city.
In July 2007, another earthquake, measuring 6.9 on Richter scale rocked Niigata prefecture, but the city was not overly affected.

Climate

The most remarkable feature of the climate in Niigata city in winter is its high humidity brought with the Northeast wind along the Sea of Japan. While many other parts of Niigata Prefecture tend to have heavy snow, Niigata city itself usually has somewhat less due to its elevation.
In summer, on the other hand, the south wind makes the weather rather hot. Typhoons usually bring strong Föhn winds to this area, usually causing somewhat higher temperatures than in other parts of Japan.

Geography

Niigata is situated on a fertile coastal plain on the Sea of Japan coast, facing Sado Island. The Shinano River and Agano River flow through the city.
The city is sometimes called the "City of Water"(水の都 ''Mizu-no-miyako'') because of the two rivers that flow through it, its position next to the Japan Sea, and the canals that used to run through the city. It is also sometimes referred to as the "City of Willows"(柳の都 ''Yanagi-no-miyako'' or 柳都 ''Ryuto'') because of the willow trees that lined the old canals.

Wards

Niigata has been made up of wards (''ku'') since 1 April,2007 :Map

★ Kita-ku (北区) ★ Higashi-ku (東区) ★ Chūō-ku (中央区) ★ Kōnan-ku (江南区)

★ Akiha-ku (秋葉区) ★ Minami-ku (南区) ★ Nishi-ku (西区) ★ Nishikan-ku (西蒲区)

Adjoining communities

From the north, following Niigata's border clockwise:

★ Seiro, Kitakanbara District ★ Shibata ★ Agano ★ Gosen ★ Tagami, MinamiKanbara District ★ Kamo

★ Sanjo ★ Tsubame ★ Yahiko, Nishikanbara District ★ Nagaoka ★ In addition Sado Island is connected by sea and air routes.

Sister cities

Niigata maintains sister city ties with five cities:

★ Galveston, Texas, United States (January 28, 1965)

★ Khabarovsk, Russia (April 23, 1965)

★ Harbin, China (December 17, 1979)

★ Vladivostok, Russia (February 28, 1991)

★ Birobidzhan, Russia (Once a sister city of Toyosaka, Niigata assumed the sister city honors on August 30, 2005)
In addition, special exchange agreements have been set up with Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom and Nantes, France.

Sports

Professional

★ J. League (Football/Soccer)

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★ Albirex Niigata play at Big Swan Stadium

★ Bj league (Basketball)

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★ Niigata Albirex BB play at Toki Messe

Amateur

★ Granscena Niigata FC (Football/Soccer)

Transportation

Railroad

East Japan Railway Company runs a number of stations in the Niigata urban area. The largest station in Niigata city is Niigata Station. It is centrally located in the Bandai area, one of the two main shopping districts in downtown Niigata. Approximately 37,000 passengers use the station daily. The Joetsu Shinkansen, whose last stop is Niigata Station, provides daily service to Tokyo. The Shin'etsu Line, Hakushin Line, Echigo Line, Uetsu Line, and Ban'etsu West Line are also serviced by Niigata Station. From there you can reach Kanazawa, Toyama, Aomori, Akita and Sakata.
Niigata Kotsu Dentetsu Line and Kambara Dentetsu trains used to run through the city until the late 1990s; however, they no longer exist.

Airport

Niigata Airport is placed about 15km north of central Niigata. It handles some international destinations as well as many domestic ones. The domestic destinations available are: Osaka (8 times a day), Sapporo (twice a day), Fukuoka (twice a day), Okinawa (once a day), Kobe (3 times a day), Nagoya (7 times a day) and Sado Island (3 times a day).
Niigata airport's international destinations are Khabarovsk (twice a week), Vladivostok (twice a week), Harbin (4 times a week), Seoul (daily), Shanghai (3 times a week) and Guam (twice a week).

Sightseeing

Event

'Cultural relation'

★ Niigata Manga Taisyo

★ Gataket

Famous people from Niigata

★ Aizu Yaichi (Poet, Calligrapher and Historian) ★ Ango Sakaguchi (Author) ★ Fujisawa Shu (Writer) ★ Rumiko Takahashi (Mangaka) ★ Takeshi Obata (Mangaka)'Actor & Seiyu' ★ Bin Shimada (Seiyu) ★ Keiko Yokozawa (Seiyu) ★ Masashi Mikami (Actor) ★ Toshihito Ito (Actor)

'Music relation' ★ Akira Yamaoka (Composer) ★ Double (singer) ★ Yoko Ishida (singer) ★ Közi (Musician)'Others' ★ Kunio Maekawa (Architect) ★ Tadao Sato (Film critic and Film theorist) ★ Megumi Sato (High jumper)

External links

★ Niigata official website in Japanese

★ Niigata official website in English

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