Ōita (city)

Coordinates: 33°14′0″N 131°36′24″E / 33.23333°N 131.60667°E / 33.23333; 131.60667
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ōita
大分市
Ōita Stadium
, Old Ōita Bank, Shopping street in central Ōita
Flag of Ōita
Flag
Official seal of Ōita
Seal
Map
Location of Ōita in Ōita Prefecture
Location of Ōita
Ōita is located in Japan
Ōita
Ōita
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 33°14′0″N 131°36′24″E / 33.23333°N 131.60667°E / 33.23333; 131.60667
CountryJapan
RegionKyushu
Prefecture Ōita
Government
 • MayorShinya Adachi (since April 2023)
Area
 • Total502.38 km2 (193.97 sq mi)
Population
 (November 30, 2023)
 • Total474,804
 • Density950/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address2–31 Niage-machi, Ōita-shi, Ōita-ken 870-8504
WebsiteOfficial website
Symbols
FlowerCamellia sasanqua
TreeElaeocarpus sylvestris
Ōita City Hall
Main street of Ōita
City view from city centre

Ōita (大分市, Ōita-shi) is the capital city of Ōita Prefecture, located on the island of Kyushu, Japan. As of 30 November 2023, the city had an estimated population of 474,804 in 230867 households, and a population density of 950 persons per km2. [1] The total area of the city is 502.38 km2 (193.97 sq mi).

Geography

Ōita city is located in east-central Ōita Prefecture, facing Beppu Bay on the

Seto Inland Sea National Park
.

Neighboring municipalities

Ōita Prefecture

  • Beppu
    to the northwest
  • Yufu
    to the west
  • Taketa to the southwest
  • Bungo-Ōno
    to the south
  • Usuki to the southeast

Climate

Ōita has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ōita is 15.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1663 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.1 °C.[2]

Climate data for Oita City Nagahama District、elevation 5 meters
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 24.6
(76.3) 		25.5
(77.9) 		29.3
(84.7) 		31.2
(88.2) 		32.7
(90.9) 		35.4
(95.7) 		37.8
(100.0) 		37.6
(99.7) 		36.5
(97.7) 		33.1
(91.6) 		28.0
(82.4) 		25.0
(77.0) 		37.8
(100.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 10.7
(51.3) 		11.5
(52.7) 		14.6
(58.3) 		19.7
(67.5) 		24.1
(75.4) 		26.5
(79.7) 		30.9
(87.6) 		32.2
(90.0) 		28.2
(82.8) 		23.3
(73.9) 		18.1
(64.6) 		13.0
(55.4) 		21.1
(70.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) 6.5
(43.7) 		7.2
(45.0) 		10.2
(50.4) 		14.8
(58.6) 		19.3
(66.7) 		22.6
(72.7) 		26.8
(80.2) 		27.7
(81.9) 		24.2
(75.6) 		19.1
(66.4) 		13.8
(56.8) 		8.7
(47.7) 		16.8
(62.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 2.6
(36.7) 		3.0
(37.4) 		5.9
(42.6) 		10.3
(50.5) 		15.0
(59.0) 		19.3
(66.7) 		23.5
(74.3) 		24.3
(75.7) 		20.9
(69.6) 		15.2
(59.4) 		9.5
(49.1) 		4.6
(40.3) 		12.8
(55.0)
Record low °C (°F) −7.3
(18.9) 		−7.8
(18.0) 		−5.2
(22.6) 		−2.1
(28.2) 		1.7
(35.1) 		7.2
(45.0) 		14.0
(57.2) 		14.1
(57.4) 		8.8
(47.8) 		2.0
(35.6) 		−2.0
(28.4) 		−6.1
(21.0) 		−7.8
(18.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 49.8
(1.96) 		64.1
(2.52) 		99.2
(3.91) 		119.7
(4.71) 		133.6
(5.26) 		313.6
(12.35) 		261.3
(10.29) 		165.7
(6.52) 		255.2
(10.05) 		144.8
(5.70) 		72.9
(2.87) 		47.1
(1.85) 		1,727
(67.99)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		1
(0.4)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.5 mm) 5.9 7.7 10.0 10.0 9.7 14.0 12.0 10.6 11.1 7.7 6.9 5.5 111.0
Average snowy days 6.4 4.6 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 4.6 17.3
Average
relative humidity
(%) 		62 63 65 65 68 77 77 75 74 70 69 64 69
Mean monthly sunshine hours 149.4 149.1 175.0 190.1 194.6 135.7 180.8 202.8 151.5 164.2 148.2 151.2 1,992.4
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency (Averages：1991-2020, Peaks：1887-present)[3]

Demographics

Ōita is the most populous city in Ōita Prefecture. Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōita is as shown below

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1960 242,001—    
1970 289,951+19.8%
1980 385,635+33.0%
1990 429,927+11.5%
2000 454,424+5.7%
2010 473,955+4.3%
2020 477,393+0.7%

History

The area of Ōita city was part of ancient

Emperor Keiko when he visited this area in the late Kofun period; however, the main urban center was the port of Funai (府内) on the coast. During the Kamakura period, the Ōtomo clan was appointed shugo of the province, and made Funai their jōkamachi. By the Sengoku period, the Ōtomo has conquered most of Kyushu and had embraced Nanban culture, with Funai becoming a stronghold of the Kirishitan religion and western technology. However, the Ōtomo were destroyed by the Shimazu clan and after the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, their territories were divided, with Funai becoming the center of Funai Domain ruled by the Ogyū-Matsudaira clan
.

The town of Ōita was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system, and was raised to city status in 1911. On April 1, 1997, it was designated as a core city with greater local autonomy.

On January 1, 2005, the town of Notsuharu (from Ōita District) and the town of Saganoseki (from Kitaamabe District) were merged into Ōita.

Government

Ōita has a

Diet of Japan
.

Economy

During the 1960s and 1970s, an

industrial region was formed along the Beppu Gulf coast. Among the plants in the region were flagship plants of Nippon Steel and Showa Denko
.

In the 1970s,

Canon built and expanded their plants in inland area. By then, the city emerged as a major production center of electronics products such as LSIs and digital cameras
.

The downtown and shopping districts are located to the north of

Oita Station. However, the area has been gradually declining because the main commercial areas have been dispersed due to the construction of big shopping malls
in the suburbs.

Education

National universities

Prefectural universities

Private universities

Primary and secondary schools

Ōita has 54 public elementary schools, 25 public junior high schools, and two combined elementary/junior high schools operated by the city government. The city has 14 public high schools and one combined middle/high school operated by the Ōita Prefectural Board of Education, six private high schools and three private combined middle/high schools. The city also operates four and the prefecture operates one special education schools for the handicapped.

Transportation

Airports

Railways

The luxury Aru Ressha train was designed by Eiji Mitooka. It runs between Ōita and Hita and is in service to also revive tourism and the local economy.[4] JR Kyushu - Nippō Main Line

JR Kyushu - Hōhi Main Line

JR Kyushu - Kyūdai Main Line

Highways

Japan National Route 10 at Oita, Oita

Ports

Sister city relations

  • - Aveiro, Portugal, sister city since October 1978
  • - Austin, Texas, United States, sister city since October 1990
  • - Wuhan, China, friendship city since September 1979
  • - Guangzhou, China, Exchange promotion city partnership since September 1997

Local attractions

Marine Palace AKA "Umi Tamago"
Takasaki Mountain
  • Takasaki Mountain (高崎山) that borders Beppu is famous for wild monkeys, specifically the Japanese macaque. Facing the entrance to the Takasaki-yama park is the "Oita Marine Palace Aquarium", also known as "Umi-Tamago", or "Sea Egg".[5]
  • Resonac Dome Oita (originally the Ōita Stadium), also known as Big Eye, is situated along the city expressway. It is the home field of the J.League football club Ōita Trinita and is used for large local events.

Sports

Annual sporting events include:

Sporting events held in Oita include:

Sports teams and facilities

Club Sports League Venue Established
Ōita Trinita
Football
 J.League
Division 1 		Resonac Dome Oita 1994 (as Ōita Trinity, changed to current name in 1999)
Vasagey Oita Futsal F.League Oita Prefectural General Gymnasium 2003
Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adler Volleyball V.League Toto Oita factory gymnasium 1996 (as Miyoshi Department of Cardiology EKG, changed to current name in 2006)

Notable people from Ōita

References

  1. ^ "Ōita City official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
  2. ^ Ōita climate: Average Temperature, weather by month
  3. ^ "平年値ダウンロード" (in Japanese). Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  4. ^ "Luxury 'dream train' designed over 100 years ago goes into service in Kyushu". The Japan Times. Tokyo. August 8, 2015. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015.
  5. ^ "大分マリーンパレス水族館「うみたまご」公式サイト". Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  6. ^ Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. ARRS (2009-12-24). Retrieved on 2010-02-08.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Oita.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oita, Oita.
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