Jōetsu, Niigata
Jōetsu 上越市 | |||
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Special city | |||
Jōetsu City Hall | |||
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Location of Jōetsu in Niigata | |||
Jōetsu
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Coordinates: 37°8′52.3″N 138°14′9.9″E / 37.147861°N 138.236083°ECoordinates: 37°8′52.3″N 138°14′9.9″E / 37.147861°N 138.236083°E | |||
Country | Japan | ||
Region | Chūbu (Kōshin'etsu) (Hokuriku) | ||
Prefecture | NIigata | ||
Government | |||
• - Mayor | Hideyuki Murayama | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 973.81 km2 (375.99 sq mi) | ||
Population (June 2016) | |||
• Total | 195,713 | ||
• Density | 201/km2 (520/sq mi) | ||
Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) | ||
Symbols | |||
• Tree | Sakura | ||
• Flower | Camellia | ||
Phone number | 025-526-5111 | ||
Address | 1-1-3 Kida, Jōetsu-shi, Niigata-ken 943-8601 | ||
Website |
www |
Jōetsu (上越市 Jōetsu-shi) is a city located in southern Niigata Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. As of 1 June 2016, the city has an estimated population of 195,713, with a population density of 201 persons per km². The total area was 973.81 square kilometres (375.99 sq mi).
Geography
Jōetsu in southwest Niigata Prefecture, bordered by the Sea of Japan to the north and Nagano Prefecture to the south. It is approximately 133 kilometers west of Niigata City, and 139 kilometers west of Toyama City.
Surrounding municipalities
Climate
Jōetsu has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). Owing to its location at the foot of Mount Hotaka facing onshore winds from the Sea of Japan, Jōetsu is the wettest low-lying part of the northern hemisphere temperate zone apart from the Owase region of the Kii Peninsula, receiving an average of around 2.8 metres (110.2 in) of precipitation per year. As a comparison, Forks on the windward side of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula receives 110 inches (2.79 m) and Rize on the Black Sea coast of Turkey 2,530 millimetres (100 in). The cold winds from the combined power of the Siberian High and Aleutian Low give Jōetsu an average of 6.3 metres (250 in) of snowfall that however tends to melt significantly even during the winter. On the 26th of February 1945, Jōetsu received as much as 3.77 metres (148 in) of snow in one day. The heaviest annual snowfall, since the beginning of regular snowfall measurements in 1953, was 14.94 metres (590 in) in the 1985/1986 season and the heaviest monthly total precipitation 942 millimetres (37 in) in January 1945, whilst the driest month was August 1985 with 16 millimetres (0.63 in).
- Night view of Takada Castle
- View of central Naoetsu area
- View of Central Takada area
Climate data for Jōetsu, Niigata (Takada) (1981~2010) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 19.4 (66.9) |
21.9 (71.4) |
25.4 (77.7) |
32.3 (90.1) |
33.1 (91.6) |
36.4 (97.5) |
38.9 (102) |
39.5 (103.1) |
37.8 (100) |
33.4 (92.1) |
27.7 (81.9) |
23.7 (74.7) |
39.5 (103.1) |
Average high °C (°F) | 5.9 (42.6) |
6.3 (43.3) |
10.3 (50.5) |
17.5 (63.5) |
22.2 (72) |
25.4 (77.7) |
29.1 (84.4) |
31.3 (88.3) |
26.8 (80.2) |
21.2 (70.2) |
15.3 (59.5) |
9.5 (49.1) |
18.4 (65.1) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 2.4 (36.3) |
2.4 (36.3) |
5.4 (41.7) |
11.5 (52.7) |
16.6 (61.9) |
20.6 (69.1) |
24.6 (76.3) |
26.3 (79.3) |
22.0 (71.6) |
16.0 (60.8) |
10.2 (50.4) |
5.3 (41.5) |
13.6 (56.5) |
Average low °C (°F) | −0.6 (30.9) |
−1 (30) |
1.0 (33.8) |
5.8 (42.4) |
11.2 (52.2) |
16.5 (61.7) |
21.0 (69.8) |
22.4 (72.3) |
18.2 (64.8) |
11.6 (52.9) |
5.9 (42.6) |
1.8 (35.2) |
9.5 (49.1) |
Record low °C (°F) | −10.7 (12.7) |
−13.2 (8.2) |
−10.3 (13.5) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
6.4 (43.5) |
11.6 (52.9) |
13.0 (55.4) |
8.3 (46.9) |
1.2 (34.2) |
−2 (28) |
−7.8 (18) |
−13.2 (8.2) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 419.1 (16.5) |
262.0 (10.315) |
194.2 (7.646) |
96.1 (3.783) |
95.7 (3.768) |
145.3 (5.72) |
210.6 (8.291) |
150.4 (5.921) |
206.2 (8.118) |
210.8 (8.299) |
342.0 (13.465) |
423.1 (16.657) |
2,755.5 (108.483) |
Average snowfall cm (inches) | 247 (97.2) |
193 (76) |
86 (33.9) |
9 (3.5) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
3 (1.2) |
92 (36.2) |
630 (248) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.5 mm) | 25.8 | 22.0 | 20.5 | 12.9 | 12.2 | 13.2 | 14.6 | 11.4 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 19.4 | 23.5 | 207.5 |
Average snowy days | 26.1 | 25.4 | 17.3 | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 12.4 | 84.5 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 78 | 76 | 72 | 67 | 71 | 77 | 80 | 77 | 79 | 77 | 77 | 76 | 75.6 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 65.4 | 79.6 | 120.7 | 181.1 | 196.3 | 150.9 | 153.8 | 195.0 | 129.4 | 134.5 | 104.1 | 80.0 | 1,590.8 |
Source #1: Japan Meteorological Agency[1] | |||||||||||||
Source #2: Japan Meteorological Agency (records)[2] |
History
The area of present-day Jōetsu was part of ancient Echigo Province, and the location of the Nara period kokufu of the province. During the Sengoku period, it was the center of the holdings of the Uesugi clan and notably Kasugayama Castle was a significant base for Uesugi Kenshin. The Uesugi were transferred by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the area was later part of Takada Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa Shogunate. After the Meiji restoration, the towns of Takada and Naoetsu were created with the establishment of the municipalities system. Takada was elevated to city status on September 1, 1911 and Naoetsu on June 1, 1954.
The city of Jōetsu was founded on April 29, 1971 by the merger of Takada and Naoetsu. On January 1, 2005, the town of Yasuzuka, the villages of Maki, Ōshima and Uragawara (all from Higashikubiki District); the towns of Itakura, Kakizaki, Ōgata and Yoshikawa, the villages of Kiyosato, Kubiki, Nakagou and Sanwa (all from Nakakubiki District); and the town of Nadachi (from Nishikubiki District) were merged into Jōetsu. Now Jōetsu has extended into the now-defunct Higashikubiki and Nishikubiki Districts.
Transportation
Railway
- JR East / JR West - Hokuriku Shinkansen
- JR East - Shin'etsu Main Line
- Hokuetsu Express Hokuhoku Line
- Echigo Tokimeki Railway - Myōkō Haneuma Line
- Nihongi -< Arai - Kita-Arai > - Jōetsumyōkō - Minami-Takada - Takada - Kasugayama - Naoetsu
- Echigo Tokimeki Railway - Nihonkai Hisui Line
Highway
- Hokuriku Expressway
- Jōshin-etsu Expressway
- Japan National Route 8
- Japan National Route 18
- Japan National Route 253
- Japan National Route 350
- Japan National Route 403
- Japan National Route 404
- Japan National Route 405
- Japan National Route 460
Sister city relations
- - Lilienfeld, Austria
- - Pohang, North Gyeongsang, Korea
- - Hunchun, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin, China
Noted people from Jōetsu
- Kenkichi Yoshizawa, diplomat
- Maejima Hisoka, statesman, politician, and businessman
- Nana Haruta, manga artist
- Nobutaka Tsutsui, politician
- Ogawa Mimei, children's writer
- Uesugi Kenshin, daimyo
References
- ↑ "平年値(年・月ごとの値)". Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
- ↑ "観測史上1~10位の値(年間を通じての値)". Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
External links
- Media related to Jōetsu, Niigata at Wikimedia Commons
- Jōetsu City official website (Japanese)
- Jōetsu City official website (English)
- Joetsu official travel guide (English)
- The Joetsu goodo Travel Guide Constructed by a former JET Program teacher in the area (in English)