Utsunomiya (宇都宮市, Utsunomiya-shi) - The
capital and the most populous city of Tochigi Prefecture,
Japan. In 2007, the city had an estimated population of
505,381 and a density of 1,212 persons per km². The total
area is 416.84 km². The Greater Utsunomiya (宇都宮都市圏,
Utsunomiya Toshi-ken?) had a population of 888,005 in the
2000 Census. The nearby city of Oyama, Tochigi is included
in Greater Tokyo, but Greater Utsunomiya is not, despite the
two areas amalgamating somewhat. Utsunomiya is accessed by
the Tohoku Expressway or Utsunomiya Station of the Tohoku
Shinkansen line. Utsunomiya is approximately 100 km north of
Tokyo. The historic town of Nikko is approximately 35 km
west of Utsunomiya.
Utsunomiya is accessible from Tokyo by the Shinkansen, or
the Bullet Train, in approximately 60 minutes. It is also
connected with Narita International Airport by bus or car in
about 3 hours.
The battle of Utsunomiya Castle took place between May
10-14, 1868, during the Boshin war. The city itself was
founded on 1 April 1896. The city added the two towns from
Kawachi District on March 31, 2007.
It is also home to a Canon optical manufacturing plant, a
Japan Tobacco plant, Honda design centers, and various other
industrial concerns in the Kiyohara Industrial Park. In
addition, one of the largest malls in the North Kantō
region, Bell Mall is located near central Utsunomiya.
Utsunomiya is most well known within Japan for gyōza
dumplings. Utsunomiya is also well known for its abundance
and quality of cocktail bars.
Information source: “Utsunomiya, Tochigi.” wikipedia.org. Article
date: 26 Feb. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 4 Mar. 2008 <Utsunomiya, Tochigi>. |
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