Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Shimada, Shizuoka

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Country
  
Japan

Prefecture
  
Shizuoka Prefecture

Population
  
97,540 (Dec 2016)

Region
  
Chūbu (Tōkai)

Phone number
  
0547-37-8200

Local time
  
Saturday 10:56 PM

Shimada, Shizuoka httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Time zone
  
Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Address
  
1-1 Chūō-chō, Shimada-shi, Shizuoka-ken 427-8501

Weather
  
7°C, Wind N at 11 km/h, 89% Humidity

Points of interest
  
Hōrai Bridge, Shimadahorai Hot Spring, Ōi Shrine, Makinohara Park, Tashironogoonsen Itawari Hot Spring

Shimada (島田市, Shimada-shi) is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.

Contents

Map of Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

The city, which covers an area of 315.7 square kilometres (121.9 sq mi), had an estimated population in December 2016 of 97,540, giving a population density of 309 persons per km2.

Geography

Shimada is located in the Shida Plains of west-central Shizuoka Prefecture. It is located on both banks of the Ōi River. The area enjoys a warm maritime climate with hot, humid summers and mild, cool winters.

Surrounding municipalities

Shizuoka Prefecture

  • Aoi-ku, Shizuoka
  • Tenryū-ku, Hamamatsu
  • Fujieda
  • Kakegawa
  • Kikugawa
  • Makinohara
  • Yaizu
  • Yoshida, Haibara District
  • Kawanehon, Haibara District
  • Mori, Shuchi District
  • History

    Shimada (Kanaya) began as an outlying fortification to Kakegawa Castle erected by Yamauchi Kazutoyo in the Sengoku period to control the crossing of the Ōi River. In the Edo period, Kanaya-juku and Shimada-juku developed as post towns on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. The area was mostly tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate with a daikansho based at a Jinya located within Shimada-juku. As the Tokugawa shogunate forbade the construction of any bridge or establishment of a ferry service on the Ōi River for defensive purposes, travellers were often detained at either Shimada or Kanaya for days, sometimes weeks, waiting for the river levels to fall to fordable levels. The first bridge (the Hōrai Bridge) across the river connected these two towns in 1879, after the Meiji Restoration.

    During the cadastral reform of the early Meiji period in 1889, Kanaya Town was created within Haibara District, and Shimada Town within Shida District. On April 16, 1889, the two towns were connected by rail, with the opening of Shimada Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line.

    Shimada was elevated to city status on January 1, 1948. On January 1, 1955, it annexed neighboring Rokugo Village, Otsu Village, Daichō Village and a portion of Ikumi Village. On June 1, 1961 it further expanded through annexation of Hatsukura Village.

    On May 1, 2005, the town of Kanaya (from Haibara District) was merged into Shimada.

    On April 1, 2008, the town of Kawane (also from Haibara District) was also merged into Shimada.

    On March 15, 2012, the city became the second municipality, after Tokyo, outside Tōhoku to accept debris from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami for disposal in the town's incinerators. Other cities had been reluctant to accept debris from the disaster, in spite of being asked to help recovery efforts, because of fears that the debris were contaminated by radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

    Economy

    The economy of Shimada is primarily agricultural, with green tea as the main crop. Light industries of Shimada include factories for the production of automobile components.

    Education

    Shimada has 18 elementary schools, nine middle schools and five high schools, as well as one special education school.

    Railway

  • JR Central - Tōkaidō Main Line
  • Rokugo - Shimada- Kanaya
  • Ōigawa Railway Ōigawa Main Line
  • Kanaya • Shin-Kanaya • Daikanchō • Higiri • Goka • Kamio • Fukuyō •
  • Owada • Ieyama • Nukuri • Kawaneonsen-Sasamado

    Highway

  • Japan National Route 1
  • Japan National Route 473
  • International relations

    Shimada is twinned with the following cities.

  • Himi, Toyama, Japan, from April 15, 1987
  • Huzhou, Zhejiang, China, from May 1987
  • Brienz, Switzerland, from August 10, 1986
  • Richmond, California, United States, from December 1961. There is currently a student exchange program between Shimada and Richmond.
  • Local attractions

  • Hōrai Bridge
  • Ōigawa Railway
  • Notable people from Shimada

  • Masafumi Gotō - musician
  • Tarzan Goto - professional wrestler
  • Yukihiro Ikeda - musician
  • Takahiro Kawamura - professional football player
  • Kayoko Kishimoto - actress
  • Sho Naruoka - professional football player
  • Hirotoki Onozawa - professional rugby player
  • Masaki Yamamoto - professional football player
  • References

    Shimada, Shizuoka Wikipedia