Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Kansai Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Suzuka (鈴鹿市) is a city in Mie Prefecture, Japan. The city has an estimated population density of 1,000 persons per km². The total area of the city is 194.46 square km (75.08 square miles).

History Suzuka, as a place name, is mentioned in the Nara period chronicle Nihon Shoki. The ancient Tōkaidō passed through Suzuka, and the Nara-period provincial capital was within its borders. During the Sengoku period, the area was controlled by Oda Nobutaka, the third son of Oda Nobunaga, who ruled from Kanbe Castle. During the Edo period, much of the area was under the control of the 15,000 koku Kanbe Domain, ruled by the Honda clan from 1732 until the Meiji restoration in 1871. During this period, two post stations were within the modern city limits: Ishiyakushi-juku and Shōno-juku, which prospered due to pilgrimage traffic to the Ise Grand Shrine.

After the start of the Meiji period, the area was organized as part of Suzuka District in 1889 and the town of Kanbe was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On December 1, 1942, Kanbe merged with the villages of Shirako, Inau, Iino, Kawano, Ichinomiya, Mida, Tanagaki, Wakamatsu, Ko, Shono, Takatsuse, Makita, and Ishiyakushi to form the city of Suzuka. The city further expanded in 1954 by annexing the villages of Sakae, Amana and Aikawa and portions of neighboring Kameyama.

Geography Suzuka is in north-eastern Mie Prefecture, in northern Kii Peninsula, bordered by Ise Bay to the east. Parts of the city are within the borders of the Ise-no-Umi Prefectural Natural Park and the Suzuka Quasi-National Park.

Neighboring municipalities Mie Prefecture • Yokkaichi • Tsu • Kameyama Shiga Prefecture • Kōka.

Economy Suzuka boasts a significant industrial market, having major factories for Sharp and Honda in its bounds. These companies outsource part of their labor to South American nationals to secure a contract-based workforce.

Although the Japanese government encourages mandatory English-language education across the nation, in Suzuka many courses are offered by private cram schools (juku) and by publicly funded institutions supporting Portuguese and Spanish. In a controversial move, the city's governing body, from April 2004, requires all garbage information and local signage to be in Japanese and Portuguese (but not English).

Education • Suzuka International University • Suzuka University of Medical Science • Suzuka Junior College • Suzuka National College of Technology.

Railway JR Tōkai – Kansai Main Line • Kawano - Kasado Ise Railway – Ise Line • Suzuka – Tamagaki – Suzuka Circuit Inō – Tokuda – Nakaseko Kintetsu Railway - Nagoya Line • Nagonoura - Mida - Ise-Wakamatsu - Chiyozaki - Shiroko - Tsuzumigaura - Isoyama Kintetsu Railway - Suzuka Line • Ise-Wakamatsu - Yanagi - Suzukashi - Mikkaichi - Hiratachō.

Highway • Higashi-Meihan Expressway • Shin-Meishin Expressway • National Route 1 • National Route 23 • National Route 25 • National Route 306.

Local attractions • Ise Kokubun-ji ruins, National Historic Site • Ise Kokufu ruins, National Historic Site • Ōzuka Kofun, National Historic Site

Sports • Honda Heat rugby club • F.C. Suzuka Rampole football club

Motor racing circuit Suzuka Circuit is a Honda-owned racetrack. It has been the home of the Japanese Grand Prix from 1987, except in 2007, 2008, 2020 and 2021. It is the only figure-eight circuit in the championship, and is very popular with the drivers, in spite of its numerous difficult bends. Located next to the circuit is the Honda Safety Riding/Driving School, where thousands of car and motorcycle drivers have been trained, including many police officers and instructors throughout the world.