- Itoigawa, Niigata
Infobox City Japan
Name= Itoigawa
JapaneseName= 糸魚川市
Map
Region= Chūbu (Hokuriku, Kōshin'etsu)
Prefecture= Niigata
District=
Area_km2= 746.24
PopDate= January 2008
Population= 48,653
Density_km2= 65.2
Coords=
LatitudeDegrees= 37
LatitudeMinutes= 2
LatitudeSeconds=
LongtitudeDegrees= 137
LongtitudeMinutes= 52
LongtitudeSeconds=
Tree= Sasayuri (Lilium japonicum)
Flower=Ume
Bird=
Symbol
SymbolDescription= Flag
Mayor=Tōru Yoneda
CityHallPostalCode=941-8501
CityHallAddress= 1-2-5 Ichinomiya, Itoigawa-shi, Niigata-ken
CityHallPhone= 025-552-1511
CityHallLink= [http://www.city.itoigawa.niigata.jp/ City of Itoigawa]nihongo|Itoigawa|糸魚川市|Itoigawa-shi is a city located in rustic southern
Niigata Prefecture ,Japan .As of 2008, the city has an estimated
population of 48,653 and the density of 65.2 persons per km². The total area is 746.24 km².The city was founded on
June 1 ,1954 . OnApril 1 ,2005 it merged with the neighouring towns of Nō and Ōmi.Historically Itoigawa lies at the end of the famous "shio no michi" (salt road) that supplied salt to ancient Edo (
Tokyo ) viaNagano . In 2011 the city will be a main stop on the newHokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line, bringing Tokyo within approximately three hours travelling. Itoigawa is also famous for its jade which can be found on local beaches.Itoigawa is also well known for its unique "bugaku", a variety of traditional Japanese performance art. Itoigawa Bugaku can be seen at festivals taking place at Hakusan Shrine and Amatsu Shrine, and has been nationally designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Asset.
External links
* [http://www.city.itoigawa.niigata.jp/ Itoigawa official website] in Japanese
* [http://www.klarbooks.com/mmiat/ My Mother is a Tractor] - a book written by a former English teacher in the area
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