Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka

Shimizu
清水区
Ward
Shimizu Ward

Port of Shimizu and Mount Fuji from Nihondaira

Flag

Location of Shimizu-ku in Shizuoka
Shimizu

 

Coordinates: 35°0′57″N 138°29′23″E / 35.01583°N 138.48972°E / 35.01583; 138.48972Coordinates: 35°0′57″N 138°29′23″E / 35.01583°N 138.48972°E / 35.01583; 138.48972
Country Japan
Region Chūbu
Prefecture Shizuoka
City Shizuoka
Area
 • Total 265.54 km2 (102.53 sq mi)
Population (July 1, 2012)
 • Total 244,894
 • Density 922/km2 (2,390/sq mi)
Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
Phone number 054-354-2111
Address 6-8 Asahi-cho
424-8701
Website Shimizu-ku home page
Shimizu-ku Ward Office

Shimizu-ku (清水区 Shimizu-ku) is one of three wards of the city of Shizuoka, in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, located in the eastern part of the city.

Geography

Shimizu is located on the coast of Suruga Bay of the Pacific Ocean and covers a wide area from a coastal plain to the hills. The view of Mount Fuji at Shimizu as seen across the bay from the Miho no Matsubara appears in many pictures and paintings.

Neighboring Municipalities

Shizuoka Prefecture

Yamanashi Prefecture

History

Shimizu-ku was created on April 1, 2005 when Shizuoka became a city designated by government ordinance (a "designated city"). Its area is almost identical to former Shimizu city, which merged with Shizuoka city on April 1, 2003. Shizuoka annexed the town of Kanbara from Ihara District on March 31, 2006, and the town of Yui on November 1, 2008, adding these former municipalities to Shimizu-ku.

Since ancient times, Shimizu thrived as a harbor town due to its good natural harbor. In addition, five post stations of Tōkaidō were located in Shimizu: (Kanbara-juku, Okitsu-juku, Ejiri-juku, and Yui-shuku, all of which brought prosperity to the area during the Edo period. After the Meiji Restoration, an Imperial decree in July 1899 established Shimizu as an open port for trading with the United States and the United Kingdom.[1] Shimizu became an international trade port for the export of green tea, as well as housing a major fishery and affiliated industries.

A Japanese manga, Chibi Maruko-chan put Shimizu on the national map. This manga is written by Momoko Sakura, a native of Shimizu. Shimizu is also noted for its enthusiasm with soccer, with the local J. League professional club Shimizu S-Pulse having a strong support base.

Economy

Shimizu was introduced in a Japanese school textbook of geography as a city with all three industries: agriculture, heavy industry and commerce.

Primary industry

Shimizu is known for producing Japanese mandarin oranges, and green tea in the mountainous area and around the Nihondaira. Shimizu Port is a major commercial fishing port. Production of roses used to be the highest in Japan.

Heavy industry

The waterfront area was formerly an industrial area and there were shipyards, iron works, and numerous canneries. Most of the heavy industry has been replaced by commercial venues.

Commerce

At Shimizu Station, the “Shimizu Ekimae Ginza” shopping area used to be the city center of Shimizu. However, there is no longer any department stores. The Seiyu that remained near the station closed in March 2015. Since many large suburban shopping centers have been expanding, the shopping area downtown is not as lively as it used to be. Lately, department stores like Nagasaki-ya, Marui, Seifu and Daiei have closed, one after the another. Moreover, since Shimizu merged with Shizuoka, a plan is being implemented to move fundamental functions to the area around Higashi-Shizuoka Station as the third central area of the city in addition to Shimizu and Shizuoka.

Transport

Highway

Rail

Until 1984, the Shimizukō Line ran 8 km into Miho in the heart of the Shimizu peninsula. Local bus services provide many routes throughout Shimizu-ku.

Leisure

Football

Shimizu is famous as one of the top cities in Japan where football is quite popular. It is well known as the home town of a J. League team, Shimizu S-Pulse. An earlier club, Hagoromo Club (which spun off its parent company Nippon Light Metal) represented Shimizu in the old Japan Soccer League in the 1970s.

The local elementary schools and junior high schools equip fields with night lighting for soccer and Shimizu has maintained this infrastructure for a long time. Since 1987, the national soccer competition “Shimizu Cup” for boys and girls has been held in August.

A famous son of the city is Japan youth international and Glasgow Celtic FC player, Koki Mizuno.

Local attractions

References

  1. ↑ US Department of State. (1906). A digest of international law as embodied in diplomatic discussions, treaties and other international agreements (John Bassett Moore, ed.), Vol. 5, p. 759.
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