Fujisawa, Kanagawa
Fujisawa
藤沢市 | |
---|---|
UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time) | |
Phone number | 0466-25-1111 |
Address | 1 Asahi-cho, Fujisawa-shi, Kanagawa-ken 251-8601 |
Climate | Cfa |
Website | Official website |
Symbols | |
Bird | Common kingfisher |
Flower | Wisteria |
Tree | Japanese black pine |
Fujisawa (藤沢市, Fujisawa-shi) is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 June 2021[update], the city had an estimated population of 439,728 and a population density of 6300 persons per km2.[1] The total area of the city is 69.57 square kilometres (26.86 sq mi).
Geography
Fujisawa is in the south-central part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It faces Sagami Bay of the Pacific Ocean. The northern part of the city is on the Sagamino plateau while the southern part is abutted on the Shonan Beach.
Fujisawa has three major topographical features: the island of
Surrounding municipalities
Kanagawa Prefecture
Climate
Fujisawa has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Fujisawa is 15.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1872 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.4 °C.[2]
Climate data for Tsujido, Fujisawa (1992−2020 normals, extremes 1992−present) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 19.7 (67.5) |
22.1 (71.8) |
23.4 (74.1) |
27.2 (81.0) |
30.6 (87.1) |
32.1 (89.8) |
36.2 (97.2) |
36.9 (98.4) |
36.5 (97.7) |
31.2 (88.2) |
25.2 (77.4) |
22.8 (73.0) |
36.9 (98.4) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 10.8 (51.4) |
11.4 (52.5) |
14.2 (57.6) |
18.5 (65.3) |
22.4 (72.3) |
24.9 (76.8) |
28.2 (82.8) |
30.3 (86.5) |
27.6 (81.7) |
22.7 (72.9) |
17.8 (64.0) |
13.2 (55.8) |
20.2 (68.3) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) |
6.8 (44.2) |
9.8 (49.6) |
14.4 (57.9) |
18.6 (65.5) |
21.6 (70.9) |
25.1 (77.2) |
26.9 (80.4) |
23.9 (75.0) |
18.7 (65.7) |
13.4 (56.1) |
8.5 (47.3) |
16.1 (61.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.5 (34.7) |
2.2 (36.0) |
5.4 (41.7) |
10.2 (50.4) |
15.1 (59.2) |
18.9 (66.0) |
22.8 (73.0) |
24.3 (75.7) |
20.8 (69.4) |
15.3 (59.5) |
9.5 (49.1) |
4.1 (39.4) |
12.5 (54.5) |
Record low °C (°F) | −4.3 (24.3) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
7.0 (44.6) |
12.3 (54.1) |
16.7 (62.1) |
17.7 (63.9) |
12.2 (54.0) |
7.4 (45.3) |
0.8 (33.4) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 60.8 (2.39) |
61.1 (2.41) |
132.6 (5.22) |
134.4 (5.29) |
148.1 (5.83) |
171.9 (6.77) |
159.6 (6.28) |
120.6 (4.75) |
197.3 (7.77) |
191.1 (7.52) |
97.7 (3.85) |
63.7 (2.51) |
1,529.5 (60.22) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 5.6 | 5.9 | 10.1 | 9.4 | 10.2 | 11.9 | 10.3 | 6.8 | 10.8 | 10.2 | 8.0 | 5.8 | 105 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 202.5 | 177.7 | 181.3 | 182.6 | 187.5 | 133.5 | 171.3 | 214.7 | 147.1 | 144.2 | 160.8 | 192.3 | 2,096.9 |
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[3][4] |
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,[5] the population of Fujisawa has grown steadily over the past 70 years.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1950 | 96,880 | — |
1960 | 124,601 | +28.6% |
1970 | 228,789 | +83.6% |
1980 | 300,248 | +31.2% |
1990 | 350,330 | +16.7% |
2000 | 379,185 | +8.2% |
2010 | 409,657 | +8.0% |
2020 | 436,905 | +6.7% |
History
The area around present-day Fujisawa City has been inhabited for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found stone tools and
With the
Following the Meiji Restoration, the area was divided into villages in Kōza District and Kamakura District within Kanagawa Prefecture. The Kōza District office was located in Fujisawa from 1878. The area developed rapidly after the opening of Fujisawa Station of Tōkaidō Main Line in 1887.
During the cadastral reform of April 1, 1889, Fujisawa-Ōsaka Town (in Kōza District) and Fujisawa-Ōtomi Town (in Kamakura District) were created through the merger of local hamlets.
The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake caused severe damage to Fujisawa, with some 4,000 houses destroyed. An Imperial Japanese Navy Artillery School was established in Tsujido in 1926.
The town of Fujisawa was elevated to city status on October 1, 1940. Fujisawa expanded by annexing the village of Muraoka in 1941, the village of Mutsuai in 1942, the town of Katase in 1947, and the villages of Goshomi, Chogo, Takakura and parts of Koide (hamlet of Endo) in 1955. Fujisawa hosted the yachting events of the 1964 Summer Olympics.
These improved transport links, such as the
Government
Fujisawa has a
Economy
Fujisawa has a mixed economy with a strong industrial base. Isuzu retains a large truck factory at Tsuchidana. Kobe Steel has a factory in the east of the city, as does NSK Microprecision, a maker of bearings and precision parts. Sony operates the Shonan Technology Center in Fujisawa.[6] Ebara Corporation, a major manufacturer of pumps and water treatment equipment has a plant in Fujisawa.[7]
Fujisawa has extensive commercial shopping facilities and has the largest commercial city centre on the Shonan coast. Fujisawa is also a
Education
There are four university campuses in Fujisawa: prestigious
Fujisawa has 35 public elementary schools and 19 public middle schools as well as one private elementary school and six private combined middle/high schools, including the Shonan Shirayuri Gakuen Junior High School and High School and Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior and Senior High School. The city has six public high schools operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education, including Shonan High School, one of the leading high schools in Kanagawa with former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara as a graduate. There are three private schools. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.
Hospitals
Transportation
Railway
Odakyu Electric Railway – Odakyū Enoshima Line
- Chōgo – Shōnandai – Mutsuai-Nichidaimae – Zengyō – Fujisawa-Hommachi – Fujisawa – Hon-Kugenuma – Kugenuma-Kaigan – Katase-Enoshima
- Enoshima • Shōnankaigankōen • Kugenuma • Yanagikōji • Ishigami • Fujisawa
Highway
Sister city relations
- Miami Beach, Florida, USA (from March 5, 1959)
- Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan (from July 29, 1961)
- Kunming, Yunnan Province, China (from November 5, 1981) (Friendship city)
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada (from December 2, 1987)
- Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, South Korea (from November 15, 2002)
- Yalta, Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine
Local attractions
Fujisawa remains at the centre of the 'Shōnan lifestyle' image, and its good rail and adequate road connections make it a very popular destination for day trippers from the Kanto region. Surfing and beach volleyball tournaments in summertime attract visitors, especially younger people, and they are also drawn to the seasonal bars and rest houses that are erected along the beach from Kugenuma Kaigan to Enoshima Kaigan.
Fujisawa has two major firework displays in the summer, in late July and early August, usually sandwiched in between similar festivals in Chigasaki, Hiratsuka, Kamakura, and Yokohama.
Enoshima Island has many attractions, including a botanical gardens and the Enoshima Sea Candle which is open to visitors. Its height of 119.6 meters above sea level affords an excellent view of the area and, on a clear day, Mount Fuji. There are a number of famous Shinto shrines, some in caves on the south side of the island.
One of Fujisawa's most popular seasonal products is shirasu, similar to but much smaller and softer than whitebait.
Tourist sights
- Enoshima Island
- Enoshima Aquarium is one of the most famous and popular aquarium in Japan.
- Shirahata Shrine: Benkei were major Japanese historical figures of the late Heian period.
- Shōjōkō-ji ( Yugyo-ji ) : head temple of the Ji-sect of Japanese Buddhism
- Kugenuma Beach
- Tsujido Beach and Tsujido Seaside Park
- Site of Oba Castle ruins: good place for Hanami ( cherry-blossom viewing ), around late March.
Notable people from Fujisawa
- Rika Fujiwara, professional tennis player
- Akira Hatano, politician
- Motohisa Ikeda, politician
- Tsubasa Imai, singer, actor
- Hirokazu Ishihara, professional football/soccer player
- Masahiko Kageyama, racing driver
- Chihiro Kato, professional volleyball player
- Masahiko Kumagai, professional football/soccer player
- Tomoya Miki, professional football/soccer player
- Takahiro Mizushima, voice actor
- Masahiro Nakai, singer, actor
- Tsuneko Nakazato, author
- Hikaru Nishida, singer, actress
- Shinnosuke Ogasawara, professional baseball player
- Yuki Onishi, ramen chef
- Nagisa Oshima, film director
- Ikuzo Sakurai, politician
- Tomoaki Satoh, professional baseball player
- Go Soeda, professional tennis player
- Haruka Suenaga, gravure model
- Kohei Suwama, professional wrestler
- Shun Takagi, professional football/soccer player
- Shuhei Takahashi, professional baseball player
- Saki Takaoka, actress
- Taki (Riki) Takayama, member of Japanese boy-group &Team
- Toshitaka Tsurumi, professional soccer player
- Toko Yasuda, singer, songwriter, keyboardist, guitarist, and bassist
References
- ^ "Fujisawa city official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
- ^ "Fujisawa climate: Weather Fujisawa & temperature by month". en.climate-data.org.
- ^ 観測史上1~10位の値(年間を通じての値). JMA. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ 気象庁 / 平年値(年・月ごとの値). JMA. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ "Chiba (Japan): Cities, Towns and Villages in Prefecture - Population Statistics, Charts and Map". www.citypopulation.de.
- ^ "Access & Map." Sony. Retrieved on January 19, 2009.
- ^ [1] Archived 2016-05-31 at the Wayback Machine Ebara official home page
External links
- Fujisawa travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Official Website (in Japanese)