Mito, Ibaraki

Mito 水戸市
Core city
Lake Senba and central Mito Mito Art Center Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of History Kōdōkan Kairaku-en Mito Castle Mito Tōshō-gū
UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree	Prunus mume
- Flower	Bush clover (hagi)
- Bird	White wagtail
Phone number	029-224-1111
Address	1-4-1 Chūō, Mito-shi, Ibaraki-ken 310−8610
Website	Official website

Mito (水戸市, Mito-shi) is the capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. As of 1 January 2024^[update], the city had an estimated population of 268,036 in 126,055 households and a population density of 1,233 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 27.1%.^[1] The total area of the city is 217.32 square kilometres (83.91 sq mi).

Geography

Mito is located in central Ibaraki Prefecture. Mito Station is about 10 km inland from the Pacific Ocean which Naka River, flowing from the north to the east of the city, pours into. Immediately south is Lake Senba, a recreational area. A main street extends from Mito Station to the west, and residential areas to the south and the west in particular.

Surrounding municipalities

Ibaraki Prefecture

• Hitachinaka
• Kasama
• Naka
• Ibaraki
• Ōarai
• Shirosato

Climate

Mito has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Mito is 13.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1353.8 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.0 °C.^[2]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,^[4] the population of Mito has steadily increased over the past century.

History

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The

The city of Mito was formed on April 1, 1889, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. It was one of the first 31 cities to be established in Japan. With a population of 25,000, it was designated as the prefectural capital of Ibaraki Prefecture. By 1900, the Jōban Line connected Mito to Tokyo, and by 1910, telephones and electric lighting were available throughout the city. More than three-quarters of the city was burned to the ground during the Mito air raid of August 2, 1945, just before the end of World War II.

The borders of Mito expanded in 1955 through 1958 through the annexation of the neighboring villages of Kamiono, Watari, Yoshida, Sakedo, Kawawada, Yanagawa, Kunita and Iitomi and Akatsuka. The village of Tsunezumi was annexed in 1992. In 2001, Mito was designated a special city with increased local autonomy. The neighboring town of Uchihara was annexed in 2005. The city suffered from severe damage in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami with 25,982 houses completely or partially destroyed; however, there were only two fatalities.

Mito was designated a core city, with further increases in local autonomy on April 4, 2020.

Government

Mito has a

Economy

Mito is primarily a regional commercial center and administrative city as most industry in Ibaraki is concentrated around the nearby cities of

• Ibaraki University
• Tokiwa University
• Tokiwa Junior College
• Mito has 32 public elementary schools and 15 public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the national government. The city also has one private elementary school and two private middle schools. Mito has seven public high school operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education and seven private high schools, as well as one public and one private high school which offers only night and correspondence courses. The prefecture also operates six special education schools for the handicapped.
• North Korean school
  , is in the city.

Transportation

Railway

• Uchihara - Akatsuka - Kairakuen - Mito

• Mito

• Mito - Higashi-Mito - Tsunezumi

Highway

• Jōban Expressway – Mito Interchange
• Kita-Kantō Expressway – Mito Minami Interchange
• Higashi-Mito Road – Mito-Oarai Interchange
• National Route 6
• National Route 50
• National Route 51
• National Route 118
• National Route 123
• National Route 124
• National Route 245
• National Route 349
• National Route 400

Media

• Ibaraki Shimbun
• Ibaraki Broadcast System

Local attractions

• Mito is the site of the
  ume trees. Many people come to the park in spring to view the blossoms, particularly during the Ume Festival. In summer, Mito also holds the Mito Koumon
  Festival.
• Art Tower Mito
• Ibaraki Museum of Modern Art
• Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of History
• Kōdōkan School
• Lake Senba
• Mito Castle
• Mito Municipal Botanical Park
• Tokiwa Jinja

Professional sports

• J. League
• B. League
• Malva FC,
  F. League

Sister city relations

• – Anaheim, California, United States, since December 21, 1976
• – Chongqing, China, friendship city since June 6, 2000
• – Tsuruga, Fukui, Japan, since October 10, 1964

Notable people

• Tatsuro, musician and singer of Mucc^[6]
• Satochi, musician and drummer of Mucc^[6]
• Ayase Ueda, footballer
• Yuko Suzuhana, musician
• Hiroyuki Watanabe, actor
• Mika Katsumura, actress
• Saya Hiyama, news anchor
• Yokoyama Taikan, artist
• Nakamura Tsune, artist
• Stomu Takeishi, musician
• Aritomo Gotō, IJN admiral
• Takeo Kurita, IJN admiral
• Kinji Fukasaku, movie director
• Takashi Koizumi, movie director
• Teru Shimada, actor
• Yutaka Nakajima, actor
• Shin’ichirō Ikebe
  , musician
• Mayumi Gojo, singer
• Nobuo Tobita, voice actor
• Megumi Nakajima, voice actress, singer
• Azusa Tadokoro, voice actress, singer
• Sekiwake
  )
• Musōyama Masashi, sumo wrestler (Ōzeki)
• Miyabiyama Tetsushi, sumo wrestler (Ōzeki)
• Takashi Yagihashi, chef
• Sugiura Shigemine, World War 2 fighter pilot, worshiped now as a god in Tainan, Taiwan
• Yokozuna
  )
• Hidenori Shoji, video game music composer

Gallery

• 
  Art Tower Mito
• 
  Ume

  Festival at Kairaku-en Park
• 
  Legend of Daidarabotchi
• 
  LakeSenba & Duck
• 
  Lake Senba & Mito city
• 
  Downtown of Mito city

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mito, Ibaraki.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mito.

• Official Website (in Japanese)
• Public Interest Incorporated Foundation The Tokugawa Museum (in English)