Concept

Niigata (city)

Summary
is a city located in the northern part of Niigata Prefecture (Kaetsu area). It is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, and one of the cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, located in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the most populous city on the west coast of Honshu, and the second populous city in Chūbu region after Nagoya. It faces the Sea of Japan and Sado Island. , the city had an estimated population of 779,049, and a population density of 1,072 persons per km2. The total area is . Greater Niigata, the Niigata Metropolitan Employment Area, has a GDP of US$43.3 billion as of 2010. It is the only government-designated city on the west coast of Honshu. It has the greatest habitable area of cities in Japan (list of Japanse cities by area). It is designated as a reform base for the large scale agriculture under (National Strategic Special Zones of Japan) initiatives. Niigata was one of the cities incorporated by the legislation effective on April 1, 1889 (Meiji 22). With a long history as a port town, Niigata served the function of the network junction between the maritime traffic and those of Shinano and Agano river systems. It was designated as one of the five free Treaty ports under Treaty of Amity and Commerce (United States-Japan) signed in 1858, just before the Meiji Restoration, later started operations in 1869. Its importance in land and water transportation is still current. Niigata's city government was established in 1889. Mergers with nearby municipalities in 2005 allowed the city's population to jump to 810,000. The annexation of the surrounding area has also given the city the greatest rice paddy field acreage in Japan. On April 1, 2007, it became the first government-designated city on the coast of the Sea of Japan of Honshu. There are 8 wards (described later) in the city. Until 1950’s, a system of canals were lined along by the willow trees in the downtown area of Niigata. Therefore the city is sometimes called the “City of Water” or “City of Willows” as detailed later.
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.