Akashi

Akashi City Hall
Akashi-shi ; 明石市
Geographical location in Japan
Region :	Kinki
Prefecture :	Hyogo
Coordinates :	34 ° 39 ' N , 135 ° 0' E Coordinates: 34 ° 38 '35 " N , 134 ° 59' 50" E
Basic data
Surface:	49.24 km²
Residents :	299.094 ; (October 1, 2019)
Population density :	6074 inhabitants per km²
Community key :	28203-1
Symbols
Flag / coat of arms:
Tree :	Osmanthus fragrans var. Aurantiacus
Flower :	Garden chrysanthemum
town hall
Address :	Akashi City Hall ; 1 - 5 - 1 , Nakasaki; Akashi -shi ; Hyogo 673-8686
Website URL:	http://www.city.akashi.lg.jp/
Location Akashis in Hyogo Prefecture

Akashi ( Japanese 明石市 , - shi ) is an old castle town on the south coast of Hyōgo prefecture on Honshū , the main island of Japan . The city connects to the west of Kobe .

Akashi is known throughout Kansai for its fresh fish.

history

The settlement area of the coastal city was mainly created through artificial land reclamation. The daimyo of Akashi ( 明石藩 ), Ogasawara Tadazane , built here in 1618 , the castle of Akashi . All that remains of the building complex is a piece of wall with two watchtowers. The original castle grounds are a sight as a large park next to the train station. In the Meiji restoration , the Akashi prefecture ( 明石県 ) and thus also its capital became part of the Himeji / Shikama prefecture , which in 1876 became part of Hyogo.

The city of Akashi ( 明石町 ) as a political unit was created in 1889 from the districts of Akashi and several villages from Akashi County ( 明石郡 Akashi-gun ) of Hyōgo or for the centuries before the establishment of the province of Harima . The elevation to the urban district Akashi (Akashi-shi) took place on November 11, 1919 .

In 1955, the citizens of Akashi rejected in a referendum a planned incorporation into the city of Kobe as part of the Great Showa territorial reform with 33,498 no to 10,727 yes votes.

The great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 did relatively little damage to the city, even though the epicenter was only a few kilometers away. The direction of impact of the quake ran past the city in the southwest.

Attractions

One of the sights is the Gessho-ji Temple on Hitomani Hill. The 135th degree east longitude (135th meridian east of Greenwich ), which determines Japanese standard time JST ( Akashi time ), runs through the temple . For months after the great Hanshin Awaji earthquake, the clock on the planetarium's tower showed 5:46 a.m. - the time of the earthquake that brought the clock to a standstill.

Culinary

Akashi-yaki is a small warm dish, similar to tako-yaki : a piece of octopus meat is embedded in a dough ball about the size of a plum . In Akashi the food is called Tamago-yaki ( 玉子焼き ).

traffic

Especially the suburb of Nishi-Akashi in the west has developed strongly in recent decades thanks to comparatively low housing costs and very good train connections (15 minutes to Kobe, Shinkansen station). Much of the working population commutes to Kobe.

The city gives the strait ( Kaikyō ) between the Japanese main island Honshū and the smaller island Awaji-shima its name. The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge , which is part of a connection between Honshū and Shikoku Island , is located in the urban area of Kobe . From Akashi there are ferries to Iwaya (10 min.) And Toshima (20 min.) On Awaji-shima.