Miyakojima, Okinawa

Miyakojima 宮古島市 Myaaku Naaku
—  City  —
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Location of Miyakojima in Okinawa (Miyako)
Miyakojima
Coordinates: 24°48′20″N 125°16′52″E / 24.80556°N 125.28111°E / 24.80556; 125.28111Coordinates: 24°48′20″N 125°16′52″E / 24.80556°N 125.28111°E / 24.80556; 125.28111
Country	Japan
Region	Kyūshū (Ryukyu)
Prefecture	Okinawa (Miyako)
Government
– Mayor	Akira Ishimine
Area
– Total	204.54 km2 (79 sq mi)
Population (January 2008)
– Total	52,777
– Density	258/km2 (668.2/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	Banyan
- Flower	Bougainvillea and Tiger's Claw
- Bird	Grey-faced Buzzard
- Butterfly	Paper Kite
- Fish	Double-lined fusilier (Pterocaesio digramma)
- Others	Shell: Chiragra Spider Conch (Lambis chiragra)
Phone number	0980-72-3751
Address	186 Hirara Nishizato, Miyakojima-shi, Okinawa-ken 906-8501
Website	Miyakojima City

Miyakojima (宮古島市, Miyakojima-shi^?, Miyako: Myaaku, Okinawan: Naaku) is a city on several islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It was formed on October 1, 2005 by the merger of the old city of Hirara, the towns of Gusukube, Irabu and Shimoji, and the village of Ueno, all from Miyako District, which as a result of the merger has one remaining village.

Miyakojima has an area of 204.54 km² and, as of January 1 2008, a population of 52,777, and a population density of 258 per km².

The islands include

• Miyako-jima
• Ikemajima
• Ōgamijima
• Irabujima
• Shimojishima
• Kurimajima

Airports serving the city include:

• Miyako Airport on Miyako-jima
• Shimojishima Airport on Shimojishima

Famous people from Miyakojima

• Arata Tomori, TV personality and doctor
• Erika Sunakawa, singer
• Hideki Irabu, baseball player
• Isamu Shimoji, singer
• Katsuyoshi Tomori, golfer
• Kazumasa Uesato, footballer
• Kenya Tomori, basketball player
• Masanobu Kikukawa, martial artist
• Mikio Shimoji, politician
• Osamu Shimabukuro, basketball player
• Tadashi Kakihana, announcer

Economy

Japan Airlines maintains a ticketing office on Miyakojima island in Miyakojima city. It is only for domestic flights.^[1]

References

1. ^ "JAL Group Offices Information." Japan Airlines. Retrieved on July 22, 2011. "MIYAKO Only Domestic Ticketing Available Address 223 Nishizato Hirara Miyako City, 906-0012" Map

External links

Japan portal

• City of Miyakojima (Japanese)