Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Tōhoku Region, Japan

History | Geography | Neighboring municipalities | Economy | Major companies | Banks | Fisheries | Onahama Port | Transport : Rail : Road | Bus operators | Ports | Sport | Taira | Nakoso | Uchigō | Onahama | Jōban (Yumoto) | Other Public Institutions | Universities and Colleges

🇯🇵 Iwaki (いわき市, Iwaki-shi) is a city located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The total area of the city is 1,232.02 square km (475.69 sq mi), making it the largest city in the prefecture and the 10th largest city in Japan (2010) in terms of area. Iwaki is a designated core city, and is also one of the growing number of cities written in hiragana. The present Iwaki City started as the merger of 14 smaller municipalities on October 1, 1966. Every year, Iwaki hosts the Taira Tanabata Festival from 6–8 August.

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History The area of present-day Iwaki was part of ancient Mutsu Province. The forms いわき, 石城, 岩城, 巖城, 巌城, and 磐城 are all ways of writing "Iwaki", which means "rocky castle". Under the Nara period Taika Reform of 645 AD, the central government formed "Iwaki district (磐城郡)" in the northern part of the present city and "Kikuta district (菊多郡)" in the southern part. In 653, the Iwaki district incorporated part of Taga Province and became Iwaki district (岩城評). In 718, Iwaki Province was formed, which was composed of five districts with Mutsu Province: Iwaki (岩城), Shineha, Namekata, Uta, Watari and Kikuta which was given from Hitachi Province. Shineha was the present Naraha. Namekata and Uta were the present Sōma. Watari was the present Watari, Miyagi. The area of the present Iwaki City was composed of Kikuta and Iwaki (岩城 or 磐城). The Yamato government constructed the Nakoso barrier around 708 AD against possible invasion by the Emishi tribes in the north.

In the late 11th century, the Iwaki clan (岩城氏) of Hitachi Province invaded Iwaki district (磐城郡) and divided it into four districts of Yoshima, Iwasaki, Iwaki, Naraha. The clan ruled the area from the Kamakura period to the end of the Sengoku period. In 1600, Iwaki Sadataka opposed Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Battle of Sekigahara and as a result, the Iwaki clan was deposed. Torii Tadamasa was appointed as daimyō of Iwakitaira Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate, with an assessed kokudaka of 100,000 koku and constructed Iwakitaira Castle. The domain covered only a portion of what is now Iwaki city: other parts of the city were under the control of Izumi Domain (1634) and Yunagaya Domain (1670). All three domains joined the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei during the Bakumatsu period in support of the Tokugawa against the Satchō Alliance during the Boshin War, but following the Meiji Restoration, and the 1871 Abolition of the han system The new Meiji government created Iwakitaira Prefecture, Yunagaya Prefecture and Izumi Prefecture, which were incorporated to Iwamae (Iwasaki) Prefecture (磐前県) and to the current Fukushima Prefecture (1876). In 1896, Iwaki Bank and Taira Bank were established.

In 1897, the Japanese Government Railway filled in the inner moat of Iwakidaira Castle and built Taira Station. The Jōban coalfield, the largest coalfield in Honshū and the nearest to the Japanese capital Tokyo, was developed, and the population of Taira increased to support the exploitation of the coalfield. The Jōban Line was made for the haulage of the coal. Iwaki's fishery, forestry and agricultural sectors also developed from this time. After World War II, the Jōban coalfield was closed. The same natural hot springs that were troublesome to the coal miners were put to good use and a hot springs resort was developed Spa Resort Hawaiians.

The present city was incorporated on October 1, 1966, with the merger of 14 municipalities (5 cities, 4 towns and 5 villages). The cities were Taira (平), Uchigō (内郷), Iwaki (磐城), Nakoso (勿来), and Jōban (常磐); the towns, Yotsukura, (四倉) Tōno (遠野), Ogawa (小川) and Hisanohama (久之浜); and the five villages were Yoshima (好間), Miwa (三和), Tabito (田人), Kawamae (川前) and Ōhisa (大久). Taira was chosen as the location for the city hall and other administrative offices and continues to function as the centre of Iwaki. In April 1979, an "Iwaki Number" as an automobile number plate was introduced.

On April 1, 1999, the city was designated a core city with increased autonomy from the prefectural government.

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Geography The city is located at the south-eastern end of Tōhoku region and borders on Ibaraki Prefecture. The city occupies around 8.9 percent of the total area of Fukushima Prefecture. The eastern part of the city is made up of 60 km (37 mi) of coastline which faces the Pacific Ocean and the western part goes through the Abukuma highlands and joins up with the central part of Fukushima Prefecture. The western part is a range of mountains and forests, which occupies about 70 percent of the city. The rivers which flow to the east from the mountains have riverbeds with steep inclines that form the deep valleys of the Natsuigawa Gorge and the Shidokigawa Gorge. The flatter eastern part of the city is where most of the population is located. There are seven beaches on the coastline. Off the coast of Iwaki, the warm Kuroshio Current and the cold Oyashio Current meet and make for an abundant fishing ground. The city's flag and seal depict the meeting of these two currents. The prevailing winds from the ocean are warm and wet.

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Neighboring municipalities • North: Kawauchi, Naraha, Hirono • West: Tamura, Ono, Hirata, Furudono • South: Kitaibaraki (Ibaraki).

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Economy The main foundations of economy are industry and agriculture. In particular, Iwaki is a centre for manufacturing machinery, wood based products and chemicals. The industrial production of Iwaki City is #1 in Tōhoku region. Iwaki is rich in sightseeing resources and 7.64 million tourists visit annually. Within Fukushima prefecture, the industrial and sightseeing centre is Iwaki, while the political centre is Fukushima city. The Nakoso Thermal Power Station, a large coal-fired thermal power station is located in Iwaki.

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Major companies Major companies with head offices in Iwaki: • Daio Paper Corp.; TYO1 • Joban Kosan Co., Ltd.; Spa Resort Hawaiians, TYO1 • Honeys Co., Ltd.; boutique shops, TYO1 • Nippon Kasei Chemical Company Limited, TYO1 • Maruto supermarkets • Tōyō system; secondary battery • Yugetsu.

Major companies with factories in Iwaki: • Alps Electric Co. & Alpine Electronics; TYO1 • Arakawa Chemical Industries, Ltd; TYO1, OSE1 • S. T. Corporation (old S.T. Chemistry); TYO1 • Okamoto Industries, Inc.; TYO1 • Cleanup Corporation; TYO1 • Kureha Corporation; TYO1, OSE1 • Mazda; TYO1 • Nissan Motors; TYO1 • Organo Corp.; TYO1 • Mitsubishi Materials Corporation; TYO1 • Aska Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; TYO1 • Nichiha Corporation; NSE1, TYO1 • Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. • Merck KGaA; DAX • Merck & Co.; NYSE.

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Banks • Iwaki Credit Association • Himawari Credit Association • Toho Bank • Fukushima Bank • Daito Bank • Joyo Bank • The 77 Bank • Tohoku Industrial Bank • Abukuma Trust Bank • Akita Bank • Mizuho Bank • National Life Finance Corporation.

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Fisheries Fishery: 75,628t (2003)

Import and export

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Onahama Port (2003)

Import: 5,133,727t

Export: 514,045t

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Transport Surrounded by the ocean and mountains, Iwaki is more closely connected to Mito in neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture than to the Nakadōri region of Fukushima, including Kōriyama or the prefectural capital of Fukushima). Iwaki is 75 km from Kōriyama, 150 km from Sendai and 95 km from Mito. The Jōban Line runs north and south in the city. The central station is Iwaki Station, which is also a terminus for the East Ban'etsu Line which links Iwaki to Kōriyama.

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Transport: Rail JR East – Jōban Line • Nakoso - Ueda - Izumi - Yumoto - Uchigō - Iwaki - Kusano - Yotsukura - Hisanohama - Suetsugi; JR East – Ban'etsu East Line • Iwaki - Akai - Ogawagō - Eda - Kawamae; Fukushima Rinkai Railway Main Line (freight line) • Izumi - Miyashita Freight Terminal - Onahama Freight Terminal.

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Transport: Road • Jōban Expressway - Iwaki Nakoso Interchange - Iwaki Yumoto Interchange - Yunotake Parking Area – Iwaki Junction - Iwaki Chūō Interchange - Iwaki Yotsukura Interchange • Ban-etsu Expressway - Iwaki Junction - Iwaki-Miwa Interchange • National Route 6 • National Route 49 • National Route 289 • National Route 349 • National Route 399.

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Bus operators City buses: • Shin Jōban Kōtsū; Highway buses: • Shin Jōban Kōtsū • JR Bus Tōhoku • JR Bus Kantō • Tōbu Bus Central • Fukushima Transportation • Aizu Bus.

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Ports • Onahama Port • Nakanosaku Port • Ena Port • Hisanohama Port.

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Sport Iwaki-Taira Velodrome is located within the city.

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Taira • Iwaki City Hall (main) • Iwaki Green Stadium • Iwaki athletic field • Iwaki civil pools • Iwaki gymnasium • Iwaki Velodrome • Iwaki Lyceum "Alios" • Iwaki cultural center • Iwaki central library • Iwaki museum • Iwaki central park.

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Nakoso • Nakoso branch office • Iwaki Nakoso Lyceum.

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Uchigō • Uchigō branch office • Iwaki Uchigō Community Center.

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Onahama • Onahama branch office • Iwaki Onahama baseball ground • Onahama civil pools • Iwaki Onahama Lyceum • Aquamarine Fukushima.

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Jōban (Yumoto) • Jōban branch office • The 21st-century forest park

Iwaki Green Stadium (capacity of 30,000)

Iwaki Green Field (soccer, rugby, football) • Iwaki Jōban Lyceum • Iwaki Coal and Fossils Museum.

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Other Public Institutions • Hisanohama and Ōhisa branch office • Yotsukura branch office • Kawamae branch office • Ogawa branch office • Yoshima branch office • Miwa branch office • Toyoma branch office • Ena branch office • Chūōdai service center • Izumi branch office • Ueda branch office • Tabito branch office • Tōno branch office • Iwaki southern forest's sports park • Kurashi no Denshōgō • Kusano Shimpei Memorial • Iwaki Anmonites Center.

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Universities and Colleges • Fukushima National College of Technology • Iryo Sosei University • Higashi Nippon International University • Iwaki Junior College.

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Tokyo Time 
Tokyo Time
Image: Adobe Stock Phattana #70928059

Iwaki has a population of over 337,765 people. Iwaki also forms one of the centres of the wider Fukushima Prefecture which has a population of over 1,810,286 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Iwaki see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Iwaki has links with:

🇨🇳 Fushun, China 🇺🇸 Kapa‘a, USA 🇺🇸 Līhuʻe, USA 🇯🇵 Nobeoka, Japan 🇦🇺 Townsville, Australia 🇯🇵 Yurihonjō, Japan
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

East of: 140.883

🇯🇵 Iwaki City 140.883

🇯🇵 Natori 140.913

🇯🇵 Sōma 140.917

🇯🇵 Osaki 140.962

🇯🇵 Muroran 140.972

🇯🇵 Otaru 141

🇯🇵 Tagajō 141.004

🇯🇵 Kurihara 141.017

🇯🇵 Shiogama 141.029

🇯🇵 Noboribetsu 141.105

West of: 140.883

🇯🇵 Tomiya 140.874

🇯🇵 Sendai 140.869

🇯🇵 Watari 140.85

🇯🇵 Chōshi 140.817

🇦🇺 Mount Gambier 140.781

🇯🇵 Aomori 140.753

🇯🇵 Hakodate 140.744

🇮🇩 Jayapura 140.72

🇯🇵 Hitachi 140.65

🇯🇵 Asahi 140.65

Antipodal to Iwaki is: -39.117,-37.05

Locations Near: Iwaki 140.883,37.05

🇯🇵 Iwaki City 140.883,37.05 d: 0  

🇯🇵 Hitachi 140.65,36.583 d: 55.9  

🇯🇵 Sukagawa 140.367,37.283 d: 52.6  

🇯🇵 Kōriyama 140.35,37.4 d: 61.2  

🇯🇵 Shirakawa 140.2,37.117 d: 61  

🇯🇵 Nihonmatsu 140.417,37.583 d: 72.2  

🇯🇵 Naka 140.483,36.45 d: 75.6  

🇯🇵 Sōma 140.917,37.783 d: 81.6  

🇯🇵 Hitachinaka 140.533,36.383 d: 80.4  

🇯🇵 Mito 140.471,36.372 d: 83.9  

Antipodal to: Iwaki -39.117,-37.05

🇨🇱 La Reina -33.45,-33.45 d: 19363.3  

🇧🇷 Tubarão -49,-28.467 d: 18688.1  

🇧🇷 Criciúma -49.372,-28.678 d: 18681.1  

🇧🇷 São José -48.617,-27.6 d: 18638  

🇧🇷 Palhoça -48.667,-27.633 d: 18637.9  

🇧🇷 Biguaçu -48.667,-27.5 d: 18626.2  

🇧🇷 Itapema -48.612,-27.091 d: 18593.2  

🇧🇷 Viamão -51.023,-30.088 d: 18669.3  

🇧🇷 Gravataí -50.983,-29.933 d: 18661.5  

🇧🇷 Balneário Camboriú -48.633,-26.983 d: 18582.3  

Bing Map

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