Hakui, Ishikawa

Hakui 羽咋市
City
Running on the beach at Chirihama Nagisa Driveway in Hakui
Symbol
Location of Hakui in Ishikawa Prefecture
Hakui Location in Japan
Coordinates: 36°53′24″N 136°46′54″E / 36.89000°N 136.78167°ECoordinates: 36°53′24″N 136°46′54″E / 36.89000°N 136.78167°E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu (Hokuriku)
Prefecture	Ishikawa Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Yoshinobu Yamabe (since November 2011)
Area
• Total	81.96 km^2 (31.64 sq mi)
Population (June 1, 2011)
• Total	23,682
• Density	288.95/km^2 (748.4/sq mi)
Symbols
• Tree	Pinus thunbergii
• Flower	Zelkova serrata
• Bird	Swan
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City hall address	Asahimachi-A 200, Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture (石川県羽咋市旭町ア200) 925-8501

Hakui (羽咋市 Hakui-shi) is a city located in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on July 1, 1958.

As of June 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 23,682 with 8,368 households and a population density of 288.95 persons per km². The total area is 81.96 km².

Name

The name of the town is made of two Kanji, 羽 (ha), meaning feathers, and 咋(kui) meaning eat or take in your mouth. This name comes from an ancient legend which tells of a royal prince killing a monstrous bird which plagued the area. The Prince's dogs went to the beast's body and pulled away mouthfuls of feathers.^[1]

Business

Hakui is the main city in the Southern Noto district, and the main area for shopping lies along Route 415. This area contains almost all of Hakui's large shops including hardware stores, clothes shops, electronics stores, opticians, restaurants, second hand shops, pharmacists and supermarkets. The biggest shopping center is MaxValu Hakui, a supermarket flanked by Yamaya (a liquor/import food store) and a Hyaku-en plaza (100 yen store). The car park has a capacity for 350 vehicles.

Hakui has a European style high street called Paseo Dori. However, many stores are closed and many of the remainder are too specialist for this street to be considered a main shopping area. It is, however, home to Hakui's only branch of Hokkoku bank.

Transport

All trains going through Hakui stop at the station, including the Thunderbird limited express between Wakura Onsen and Osaka. The train line goes north through Nanao and terminates at Wakura Onsen. The southern terminus is at Kanazawa station.

The main roads are the Noto Yuryo toll road, Route 249, Route 159, Route 415, and Prefectural Road 2. Chirihama Nagisa Driveway is famous for many vehicles running on the beach.

Shrine

Keta Taisha (気多大社 - Keta Big shrine) is the head shrine of Noto district. The deity of this shrine is known as the god of love, and many young women come to wish for good love and marriage.

Dedicated to Oanamuji no mikoto (大己貴命).

Festivals of the shrine: U-matsuri, Hirakuni-matsuri.

Many people have seen UFO flying from the back mountain of this shrine.

UFOs

Hakui has made somewhat of a name for itself as the UFO sighting capital of Japan. This is reflected in a number of places around the city, including a UFO shaped street light at the Western entrance to the train station, plaques depicting UFO's (amongst other things) set in the pavement outside the city hall, and most notably Cosmo Isle Hakui, a spaceship-shaped building in the center of the city. Cosmo Isle is home to a UFO and NASA space research museum, as well as theaters, ceremony halls and conference rooms for business use. The building is also home to the Hakui City Division of Lifelong Learning, a branch of the city's board of education.

Festivals

Hakui's biggest festival is the sumo festival. The ring is set in a natural amphitheatre and is reputed to be the oldest still in use in Japan. The festival features both individual and team competitions. The winner of the individual competition faces a final bout against the organiser, an ex-professional.

References

1. Hakui

1. http://manjirosummit.org/hakui.htm

External links

• Hakui City official website (Japanese)