Kakogawa, Hyōgo Prefecture, Kansai Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Kakogawa is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded in 1950. It is located near the point where the Kako River flows into the Seto Inland Sea.

Geography Kakogawa located in southern Hyōgo prefecture, in the eastern part of the Harima Plain with central city area spreading over the east bank of the Kakogawa River estuary. A large portion of city is reclaimed land from the Seto Inland Sea and is mostly devoted to heavy industry. There is a completely different landscape between the southern part of the city, which has industrial areas and large-scale mass retailers, and the northern part, which is mostly rural.

Neighbouring municipalities Hyōgo Prefecture • Akashi • Takasago • Himeji • Kasai • Miki • Ono • Harima • Inami • Harima.

History The area of Kakogawa is part of ancient Harima Province and is the location of numerous Kofun period burial mounds. During the Sengoku period it developed as a castle town and in the Edo Period as a post station on the San'yōdō highway connecting the Kinai region with western Japan. The town of Kakogawa was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to city status on June 15, 1950. Kakogawa became a Special city on April 1, 2002 with increased local autonomy.

Government Kakogawa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 31 members. Kakogawa contributes four members to the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Hyōgo 10th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan. Akashi is governed by Mayor Fusaho Izumi, an independent.

Economy Kakogawa is located within the Hanshin Industrial Area and Harima Seaside Industrial Area and is a centre for heavy industry, including steel mills, refineries and chemical processing. Kobe Steel's Kakogawa Steel Works is a major employer. Due to its transportation connections and location, with easy access to Himeji (about 10 minutes), Kobe (about 30 minutes) and Osaka (about 50 minutes) by train, numerous bedroom communities have developed for commuters to Kobe and Osaka.

Education Kakogawa has 28 public elementary schools and 12 public middle schools operated by the city government and six public high schools operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education. Hyogo University is located in Kakogawa. The city also operates one special education school for the handicapped. The nursing school of University of Hyogo is located in Akashi. • Hyogo Agricultural College (1951)

Transport: Rail JR West – San'yō Main Line (JR Kobe Line) • Higashi-Kakogawa - Kakogawa

JR West – Kakogawa Line • Kakogawa - Hioka - Kanno - Yakujin

Sanyo Electric Railway - Main Line • Befu - Hamanomiya - Onoenomatsu

Transport: Road • San'yō Expressway • National Route 2 (Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima, Shimonoseki) • National Route 250 (Kobe, Okayama)

Local attractions • Kakurin-ji - Buddhist temple with Taishidō completed in 1112, and Main Hall in 1397. Both are National Treasures of Japan. • Saijō Kofun Cluster, National Historic Site

Special Dishes Katsumeshi is a specialty of Kakogawa. The dish is essentially a beef cutlet served on top of plate of rice with demi-glace sauce.