- Tokorozawa, Saitama
Japanese city
Name = Tokorozawa
JapaneseName = 所沢市
Map
Region = Kantō
Prefecture =Saitama Prefecture
Area_km2 = 71.99
Population = 340,947
Coords =
LatitudeDegrees = 35
LatitudeMinutes = 48
LatitudeSeconds =
LongtitudeDegrees = 139
LongtitudeMinutes = 28
LongtitudeSeconds =
Density_km2 = 4736.03
PopDate = 2008
Mayor = Yoshiko Toma
Tree = ginkgo
Flower =tea flower
Bird =skylark
Symbol
!border
SymbolDescription= Flag
CityHallPostalCode = 359-8501
CityHallAddress = 1-1-1 Namiki, Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama
CityHallPhone = 04-2998-1111
CityHallLink = [http://www.city.tokorozawa.saitama.jp City of Tokorozawa]nihongo|Tokorozawa|所沢市|Tokorozawa-shi is a city in Saitama,
Japan . It is located in the central part of the Musashino plain, about 30 km west of downtownTokyo . Tokorozawa can be considered part of the greater Tokyo area; its proximity to the latter and lower housing costs make it a popularbedroom community .Location
Tokorozawa borders the Tokyo communities of Kiyose, Higashimurayama, Higashiyamato, Musashimurayama, and Mizuho; and the Saitama communities of Iruma, Sayama, Kawagoe, Miyoshimachi, and Niiza.
Most of
Lake Sayama falls within city boundaries;Lake Tama also touches the south-western part of the city. Today the city is an agricultural market for locally grown Sayamagreen tea . Other agricultural products include spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, burdock, pears and grapes.The area around Tokorozawa Station's west exit is built up as a shopping district with several department stores. Prope Street is a popular shopping arcade.
Tokorozawa houses the
Tokyo Area Control Center , which controls airspace in the Kantō,Jōetsu ,Tōhoku , Chūbu, andHokuriku regions and a portion of theKansai region. [" [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/member/member.html?nn20010203a1.htm Blame pinned on air traffic controllers] ," "The Japan Times "]History
Tokorozawa was established as a city on
November 3 ,1950 .During the
Kamakura period , the area was host to a series of battles fought in May 1333 that were part of theGenko War that ultimately ended theKamakura Shogunate . These include theBattle of Kotesashi (1333) and theBattle of Kumegawa . Kotesashi was again the site of another battle nineteen years later.During the
Edo period (1603–1867) the area's major industry wassilk textile production.Tokorozawa is known as "the birthplace of Japanese aviation." It was the site of the first airfield in Japan, opened in 1911.
Professional sports teams
"Club" "Sport" "League" "Venue" "Established" "Championships"
Saitama Seibu Lions baseball Pacific League Seibu Dome 1950 12 (Japan Series )Saitama Broncos basketball BJ Tokorozawa Municipal Stadium 1999 0General Points of interest
*
Goodwill Seibu Dome , home of the Seibu Lions
*Seibu-en , an amusement park
*Tokorozawa Aviation Museum , the location of Japan's firstairfield .
*Sayama Ski Slope , an indoor ski and snowboard resort
* Muse, Tokorozawa Civic Cultural Centre [http://www.muse-tokorozawa.or.jp/index3.html]
*Hachikokuyama , nature park famous for being the inspiration ofTotoro Historical Points of interest
*
Battle of Kotesashi : site of an important battle during theGenko War
*Waterfall Castle : aSengoku Period castle ruin
*Tokorozawa Shinmei Shrine : believed to have been founded in the second century A.D.
*Hatogamine Hachiman Shrine : an ancientShinto shrine including a 13th century main shrine buildingEvents
The Tokorozawa
Matsuri is a festival held each year in October and features parade floats (mikoshi ),taiko drums, andsamba dancers.Transportation
Railways
*Main station: Tokorozawa Station
*
Seibu Ikebukuro Line :
**Tokorozawa Station, Nishi-Tokorozawa Station, Kotesashi Station, Sayamagaoka Station*
Seibu Shinjuku Line :
**Tokorozawa Station, Koku-koen (Aviation Park) Station, Shin-Tokorozawa Station*
Seibu Sayama Line :
**Nishi-Tokorozawa Station, Shimo-Yamaguchi Station, Seibu-Kyujomae (Seibu Dome) Station*
Seibu Yamaguchi Line :
**Seibu-Kyujomae (Seibu Dome) Station, Yuenchi-Nishi (Amusement Park, West) Station*
JR East Musashino Line :
**Higashi-Tokorozawa StationBus
The city is served by Seibu Bus.
Buses run frequently between Tokorozawa and both
Haneda domestic airport and Narita international airport. Buses leave from Tokorozawa Station (east exit) and Higashi-Tokorozawa Station.Areas
* Namiki
Notable people
Born in Tokorozawa
*
Bokuzen Hidari (1894–1971), actor born in Kotesashi Village (which was absorbed into Tokorozawa)
*Tokoro Joji (Takayuki Haga), comedianLiving in Tokorozawa
*
Hayao Miyazaki , animated film director
*Hideshi Hino , horrormanga artist
*Tom Dillon , humorist, newspaper columnist for "The Japan Times ", and author of "Japanese Made Funny" (ISBN 4-915645-21-5)Tokorozawa in popular culture
*Tokorozawa inspired the setting for the animated film "
My Neighbor Totoro " ("Tonari no Totoro"). [ [http://apike.ca/anime_totoro.html Totoro ] ]*Scenes in the Japanese film "
Shall We Dance? " were set in Tokorozawa. TheSeibu Ikebukuro Line 'sSayamagaoka Station features in the film.*Scenes in the Japanese horror film "
Ju-on " were filmed in Tokorozawa. The area around Tokorozawa station is identifiable.ister cities
*flagicon|United States
Decatur, Illinois 1966
*flagicon|ChinaChangzhou 1992
*flagicon|South KoreaAnyang, Gyeonggi 1998Gallery
References
External links
* [http://www.city.tokorozawa.saitama.jp/ Tokorozawa official website] in Japanese
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