Kurobe, Toyama
City in Chūbu, Japan
Kurobe (黒部市, Kurobe-shi) is a city in Toyama Prefecture, in the Chūbu region of Japan. As of 1 February 2018, the city had an estimated population of 41,564 in 15,387 households and a population density of 95.8 persons per km2. Its total area was 426.31 square kilometres (164.60 sq mi).
01Geography
Kurobe is located in northeastern of Toyama Prefecture, with a topography ranging from sea level at Toyama Bay to the 3000 meter mountains of the Northern Alps on the border with Nagano Prefecture. The Kurobe River flows through the city. Kurobe has a humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kurobe is 13.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2277 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.6 °C.
Surrounding municipalities
02Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Kurobe has remained relatively steady over the past 50 years.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 41,847 | , |
| 1980 | 43,096 | +3.0% |
| 1990 | 43,754 | +1.5% |
| 2000 | 43,084 | −1.5% |
| 2010 | 41,852 | −2.9% |
| 2020 | 39,638 | −5.3% |
03History
The area is home to the Aimotohimesha Shrine and also shares its name with Kurobe River, both of which form a central element in the local legend of a powerful serpent of Kurobe River.
The area of present-day Kurobe was part of ancient Etchū Province. The towns of Ikuji and Mikkaichi were created on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the municipalities system. On April 1, 1954, the town of Ikuji merged with the town of Sakurai to form the city of Kurobe.
On March 31, 2006 the town of Unazuki (from Shimoniikawa District) was merged into Kurobe.
04Government
Kurobe has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members.
05Economy
Kurobe is the world headquarters of YKK.
06Education
Kurobe has nine public elementary schools and four public junior high schools. The city has one public high school operated by the Toyama Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school.
07Transportation
Railway
- West Japan Railway Company (JR West), Hokuriku Shinkansen
- Ainokaze Toyama Railway
- Toyama Chihō Railway
- Dentetsu-Ishida - Dentetsu Kurobe - Higashi-Mikkaichi - Ogyū - Nagaya - Shin-Kurobe - Shitayama - Wakaguri - Tochiya - Urayama - Oritateguchi - Oritate - Aimoto - Uchiyama - Otozawa - Unazuki Onsen
- Kurobe Gorge Railway
Highway
08International relations
- Sneek, Friesland, Netherlands, since September 10, 1970
- Macon-Bibb, Georgia, United States, since May 10, 1977
- Samcheok, Korea, friendship city
09Notable people from Kurobe
- Susumu Kurobe, actor
- Mitsuhiro Miyakoshi, politician
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Kurobe, Toyama”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Alluvial fan, Kurobe.jpg by Yones, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Kurobe City Hall.jpg by Fuseoyama, CC BY-SA 4.0
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