Iizuka, Fukuoka
Iizuka
飯塚市 | |
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 Iizuka City Hall | |
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Camphor Laurel |
Iizuka (飯塚市, Iizuka-shi) is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 29 February 2024[update], the city had an estimated population of 124,757 in 63833 households, and a population density of 580 persons per km².[1] The total area of the city is 213.96 km2 (82.61 sq mi).
Geography
Iizuka is the central city of the Chikuho region located in the center of Fukuoka Prefecture, approximately 35 kilometers east of Fukuoka City and approximately 40 kilometers southwest of the center of Kitakyushu City. The Onga River, a first-class river, flows through the central part of the city, and the area forms an urban area. From the northwestern part of the city to the western and southwestern parts of the city, there are mountains ranging in height from 400 to 900 meters, including Mt. Mikoriyama (935.9 meters) and Mt. Toishi (828 meters). There are also several mountains in the eastern part of the city that are between 200 and 300 meters high, forming a small mountain range. Therefore, the central and northern parts of the city are a basin surrounded by mountains. Yagiyama Pass and Shokegoe on the western edge of the city, and Hiyomizu Pass on the southern edge of the city were difficult areas for transportation until roads were developed.
Neighboring municipalities
Fukuoka Prefecture
Climate
Iizuka has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Iizuka is 15.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1560 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.0 °C.[2] Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is much higher in summer than in winter.
| Climate data for Iizuka, Fukuoka (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1935−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 20.8 (69.4) |
23.7 (74.7) |
25.9 (78.6) |
30.3 (86.5) |
34.2 (93.6) |
35.7 (96.3) |
37.6 (99.7) |
38.3 (100.9) |
36.4 (97.5) |
32.9 (91.2) |
28.1 (82.6) |
25.3 (77.5) |
38.3 (100.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.6 (49.3) |
11.0 (51.8) |
14.5 (58.1) |
20.0 (68.0) |
24.7 (76.5) |
27.3 (81.1) |
31.0 (87.8) |
32.1 (89.8) |
28.2 (82.8) |
23.2 (73.8) |
17.5 (63.5) |
11.9 (53.4) |
20.9 (69.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.3 (41.5) |
6.2 (43.2) |
9.4 (48.9) |
14.3 (57.7) |
19.1 (66.4) |
22.6 (72.7) |
26.6 (79.9) |
27.3 (81.1) |
23.4 (74.1) |
17.8 (64.0) |
12.3 (54.1) |
7.3 (45.1) |
16.0 (60.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.3 (34.3) |
1.7 (35.1) |
4.6 (40.3) |
9.1 (48.4) |
14.0 (57.2) |
18.9 (66.0) |
23.3 (73.9) |
23.8 (74.8) |
19.7 (67.5) |
13.4 (56.1) |
7.7 (45.9) |
2.9 (37.2) |
11.7 (53.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −9.7 (14.5) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
1.1 (34.0) |
7.8 (46.0) |
13.1 (55.6) |
15.0 (59.0) |
7.1 (44.8) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
−9.7 (14.5) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 76.5 (3.01) |
78.6 (3.09) |
115.5 (4.55) |
128.6 (5.06) |
149.0 (5.87) |
281.8 (11.09) |
347.1 (13.67) |
209.6 (8.25) |
178.0 (7.01) |
89.5 (3.52) |
89.1 (3.51) |
70.3 (2.77) |
1,813.6 (71.4) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 4 (1.6) |
3 (1.2) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1 (0.4) |
8 (3.2) |
| Average rainy days | 9.8 | 9.5 | 10.9 | 10.0 | 8.6 | 12.0 | 12.1 | 9.8 | 9.9 | 6.8 | 8.8 | 9.2 | 117.4 |
| Average snowy days | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2.1 |
| Average relative humidity (%)
|
72 | 71 | 70 | 69 | 70 | 78 | 80 | 78 | 79 | 76 | 76 | 73 | 74 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 103.0 | 119.4 | 156.6 | 181.9 | 199.8 | 137.3 | 161.0 | 191.2 | 154.5 | 171.0 | 136.9 | 115.6 | 1,828.2 |
| Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[3][4] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Iizuka is as shown below
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 194,132 | — |
| 1960 | 186,760 | −3.8% |
| 1970 | 126,934 | −32.0% |
| 1980 | 135,852 | +7.0% |
| 1990 | 139,663 | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 136,701 | −2.1% |
| 2010 | 131,492 | −3.8% |
| 2020 | 126,364 | −3.9% |
History
The area of Iizuka was part of ancient
Government
Iizuka has a
Economy
Iizuka was an important post-station on the
Education
Iizuka has 22 public elementary schools and 9 public junior high schools operated by the city government and one private elementary and one private junior high school. There are one public junior high school and two public high schools operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education, and also two private high schools. The prefecture also operates two schools for the handicapped. Kindai University has a junior college in Iizuka.
Transportation
Railways
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JR Kyushu - Chikuhō Main Line (Fukuhoku Yutaka Line)
- JC - Tentō - Iizuka - Shin-Iizuka - Urata - Namazuta
JR Kyushu - Chikuhō Main Line (Haruda Line)
- JG - Chikuzen-Uchino - Kami-Honami
- JC - Chikuzen-Daibu - Kurōbaru
- JJ - Chikuzen-Shōnai - <Shimo-Kamoo> Kami-Mio - Shin-Iizuka
Highways
Sister city relations
- Sunnyvale, California, United States [5]
Local attractions
- Chikuhō Coalfield Sites
- Daibu temple ruins, National Historic Site
Notable people from Iizuka
- Tarō Asō, former prime minister, was born in Iizuka and retains a large house in the city.
- Mari Shirato, actress
- Yumi Yoshino, actress
- Mika Hijii, actress, gravure idol
In popular culture
- Japanese filmmaker Hiroshi Teshigahara chose Iizuka as the setting for his film Pitfall which takes place in the coal mines. The film was a collaboration with the author of Pitfall, Kōbō Abe. Teshigahara stated in an interview that Iizuka closely resembled the landscape depicted in the novel.
See also
- Coto Coto Train, a touristic service
References
- ^ "Iizuka City official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
- ^ Iizuka climate: Average Temperature, weather by month
- ^ 観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）. JMA. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
- ^ 気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）. JMA. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
- ^ Kezra, Victoria (2016-07-07). "Sunnyvale gains a new sister city in Iizuka, Japan". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
External links
- Iizuka City official website (in Japanese)
- Kyushu Institute of Technology Iizuka campus (in English)
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