Kōriyama

This article is about the city in Fukushima, Japan. Yamato-Kōriyama is the city in Nara Prefecture, Japan.

Kōriyama (郡山市; -shi, Koriyama) is a city located in the center of Nakadōri region of Fukushima, Tōhoku, Japan. As of 2007, the city an estimated population of 339,118 and the density of 447.94 persons per km². The total area is 757.06 km².

Downtown Kōriyama City looking south.

The city was founded on 1 September 1924. The former of the city was the old Asaka district. Now, the city is designated "core city" and works as a commercial city in Fukushima. The city has the second biggest conurbation in Tōhoku.

History

Kōriyama has thrived as a Shukuba town from of old because of a traffic important point. Kōriyama was fomerly called Asaka(安積). In Meiji period, Meiji government had many samurai antrcedents to reclaim the land for helping the poor them. As a result, Asaka developed into a big food basket and the population had grown.

Kōriyama was incorporated as a city on 1 September 1924.

In 1965, the city merged with some around towns and villages.

In 1997, the city was designated as "core city".

Geography and Climate

File:Localizacion de Koriyama Fukushima Japon.svg

Location of Koriyama

Kōriyama is located centre of Fukushima Prefecture of Tōhoku region (37°24′N 140°23′E). There are Adatara mountains to the north, Inwasiro lake in the west, and Abukuma highlands to the east. Inawashir lake is the forth large and has the cleanest water in Japan.Abukuma river flows through the downtown.

The city is situated in a temperate zone, the dry wind blows through a year.

The downtown is the front area of Kōriyama Station.

Demographics

As of 2007, the populatn is 339,118 and the density is 447.94. The population of the conurbation is about 0.5 million, it is the second biggest in Tōhoku region, following Sendai.

Economy

Kōriyama city is called "commercial capital in Fukushima", the economic bloc is the biggest in Fukushima Prefecture. There are many department stores and shops in front of the Kōriyama Station.

Principal companies

• XEBIO; sports goods maker
• Kourakuen; ramen shops

Banks

• Daito Bank

Transportation

Kōriyama is an important point because it located center of Fukushima and it is linked to many cities like Tokyo, Sendai, Fukushima, Niigata and Iwaki. The city is a hab developed for the railway and the expressways.

Railway

JR Koriyama Station

Central station: Kōriyama Station

JR East Lines

• Tōhoku Shinkansen

Kōriyama Station

Yamabiko, Nasuno, Tsubasa

• Tōhoku Main Line

Asaka-nagamori - Kōriyama Station - Hiwada

• East Ban'etsu Line

Kōriyama Station - Mōgi

• West Ban'etsu Line

Kōriyama Station - Kikuta - Akogashima - Bandai-atami - Nakayamajuku

• Suigun Line

Kōriyama Station - Asaka-ngamori - Yataawa - Iwaki-moriyama

Roads

Koriyama Junction

• Tōhoku Expressway
  • Asaka PA - Kōriyama-minami IC - Kōriyama IC - Kōriyama JCT
• Ban-etsu Expressway
  • Kōriyama-higashi IC - Kōriyama JCT - Gohyakugawa PA - Bandai-atami IC

• National Route 4
• National Route 49
• National Route 228
• National Route 294

Highway buses

• from Kōriyama

to Fukushima, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Iwaki, Sendai, Niigata, Shin-Koshigaya, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Narita Airport, Yokohama, Ōsaka

Ports

• Konan Port

besides the Inawashiro lake

Airports

None in the city. Some available airports are following.

• Fukushima Airport (Sukagawa, Fukushima); domestic lines
• Sendai Airport (Natori, Miyagi); domestic
• Narita Airport (Narita, Chiba); international
• Haneda Airport (Tokyo); domestic

Culture

Festivals

• Kōriyama Uneme Festival

Foods

• rice
• Yubeshi
• Mamadōru
• Usukawa Manjū (means thin-shell manjū)
• Farmed carp
• Japanese Nashi
• Daikon
• Kan-nyapo

Religion

Shinto

Shrines

Buddhism

Temples

Media

Television

analogue

• Fukushima Central Television (Nittele chain)
• Fukushima Broadcasting (TV Asahi chain)

CATY

• Information Network Kōriyama

Newspaper

• Fukushima Mimpō (Fukushima, Mainichi chain)
• Fukushima Min-Yū (Fukushima, Yomiuri chain)
• Kahoku Shimpō (Sendai)

Radio

FM Fukushima (JFN)

Education

Universities and Colleges

• Faculty of engineering, Nihon University
• Ohu University
• Kōriyama Women's Colleges
  • - short College
• The Fukushima learning center, Open University of Japan

Senior high schools

Prefectural Asaka High School Asaka Mitate Branch High School Asaka Reimei High School Kōriyama High School Kōriyama Higashi High School Kōriyama Shōgyō High School Kōriyama Kita Kōgyō High School Asaka Kaisei High School Konan High School Kōriyama Hōsei High School

Private Tohoku High School of Nihon University Shōshi Gakuen Shōshi High School Teikyō Asaka High School High School affiliated with Kōriyama Women's Colleges

Junior high schools

omission

The others

omission

People

Successive mayors

1st Yoshiya Ōmori (大森 吉弥) 1925, 2, 12- 2nd Jun Wada (和田 潤) 1929- 3rd Hachirō Murai (村井 八郎) 1937- 4th Ujirō Seki (関 卯次郎) 1940- 5th ??? Ōshima (大島 破竹郎) 1942- 6th ??? Ito (伊藤 七司) 1947(April 6 - May 2) 7th ??? Honma (本間 善庫) 1947(May 29)- 8th Shigemori Tanji (丹治 盛重) 1951- 9th Hiyoshi Hidese (秀瀬 日吉) 1959- 10th Takashi Takahashi (高橋 堯) 1977-

11th Hisashi Aoki (青木 久) 1985- 12th Eiji Fujimori (藤森　英二) 1993- 13th Masao Hara (原　正夫) 2005-

Notable people

• Toshiyuki Nishida - Actor
• Satoru Saito - Actor
• Joji Yuasa - Composer
• Miki Nagasawa - Seiyū (Japanese voice actor)
• Toru Iwaya - Mezzotint engraver, painter

Twinnings

Domestic sister cities

• Nara, Nara (since 5 August 1971)
• Kurume, Fukuoka (since 3 August 1975)
• Tottori, Tottori (since 25 Novenber 2005)

International sister city

• Brummen, Netherlands (since 25 June 1988)

Neighboring municipalities

Sukagawa Aizu-Wakamatsu Nihonmatsu Tamura Motomiya Otama

Ten-ei Hirata Miharu Ono Inawashiro

Related pages

• Fukushima Prefecture
• Asaka Canal
• Fukushima, Fukushima
• core city

External links

• Koriyama official website in English
• Koriyama official website in Japanese