Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture, Chūbu Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Fukuroi (袋井市, Fukuroi-shi) is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city has an estimated population density of 820 persons per km². The total area of the city was 108.33 square km (41.83 sq mi). Fukuroi is a member of the World Health Organization’s Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC).

Geography Fukuroi is on the coastal plain in south-western Shizuoka Prefecture. It has a small coastline on the Pacific Ocean to the south.

Surrounding municipalities Shizuoka Prefecture: • Kakegawa • Iwata • Mori.

History During the Sengoku period, Fukuroi was part of the domain within Tōtōmi Province governed by Yamauchi Kazutoyo from Kakegawa Castle. During the Edo period, the area was tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate. The settlement prospered as Fukuroi-juku on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. After the Meiji Restoration, in with the 1889 establishment of the modern municipalities system, Fukuroi-juku became the town of Yamana within Yamana District, Shizuoka Prefecture. Yamana District was merged into Iwata District in 1896, and the town's name was changed back to Fukuroi in 1909. Fukuroi merged with the neighboring village of Kasai in 1928. It continued to grow in the 1950s, annexing neighboring villages of Kudonishi (from Shuchi District) in 1948, Kudo in 1952, Imai in 1954, Mikawa in 1955, Tahara in 1956, as well as the village of Kasahara from Ogasa District, also in 1956. On November 3, 1958, Fukuroi was elevated to city status. It further expanded through annexation of the town of Yamanashi from Shuchi District in 1963.

On April 1, 2005, the town of Asaba (from Iwata District) was merged into Fukuroi.

Economy Fukuroi has a mixed economy of agriculture and light industry. The principal crops are green tea and melons. Industry includes food processing, cosmetics, pharmaceutical plants, as well as electronics and automotive components.

Education • Shizuoka Institute of Science and Technology

Railway Central Japan Railway Company - Tōkaidō Main Line • Fukuroi - Aino.

Highways • Tōmei Expressway • National Route 1 • National Route 150.