Tsuzuki-ku, Yokohama

is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, 171,429 people lived in Tsuzuki-ku. Tsuzuki-ku is 27.88 km² in area. Its average age of 36.0 makes this the youngest ward in Yokohama. Tsuzuki-ku is also the newest ward in the Yokohama. The 1994 merger of parts of Midori-ku and Aoba-ku formed Tsuzuki-ku.

The tree of Tsuzuki-ku is crape myrtle and lots of crape myrtle grow in the ward. The Yokohama Historical Museum in Tsuzuki-ku was built in January 1995. A big hospital was built in 2003, and this hospital is one of the biggest in Tsuzuki-ku.

Transportation of Tsuzuki-ku

The Yokohama Subway is the only rail line serving commuters in Tsuzuki-ku. Nakagawa, Center-kita, Center-minami, and Nakamachidai are the four stations in the ward. Some areas are far from any station, so residents of Tsuzuki-ku rely heavily on bus transportation.

The new Line 4 of the Yokohama Subway, currently under construction (and scheduled for completion in 2007), will pass through the current stations of Centre Kita and Centre Minami as well as create new stations within Tsuzuki-ku. The new line will be called the Green Line. The current Yokohama Municipal Subway will change it's name to the Blue Line.

Changing of Tsuzuki-ku

Tsuzuki-ku is developing since it was built. Kouhoku New Town is in Tsuzuki-ku. The government planned to make a new town in this area about 30 years ago, and many people are moving to this town.

The ward offices of Tsuzuki-ku are located near Center-minami Station. The capital part of Tsuzuki-ku is the place between Center-kita and Center-minami. "Center" here means the capital part of Tsuzuki-ku. Also this new town was planned to have lots of parks with an abundance of plants and nature.

There are three big shopping centers in Tsuzuki-ku. Mosaic Mall and Ichi are near Center-kita Station. Ichi has a bowling alley. The third one is Tokyu-S.C., located near Center-minami Station. Its movie theater is the only one in Tsuzuki-ku.

In 1997, the Yokohama Campus of Musashi Kogyo Daigaku (Musashi Institute of Technology) opened near Nakagawa Station. YC features two departments: the Dept. of Environment and Information Studies admitted its first students in 1997 while the Dept. of Information Ecology Studies was added in 2002.

The government is now planning to make a new city called Tantatown in Kouhoku New Town and it is now broadcasting commercial messages announcing it.

In April 2007 a new shopping centre was built near Center Kita station. This new shopping centre is called Northport and a variety of shops, a games centre, restaurants, a supermarket and the areas second cinema. Also in August 2007 another new shopping centre, Minamo, opened between Center Kita and Center Minami stations. Minamo also contains a supermarket as well as a gym, restaurants and a large Tsutaya Video shop, where you can rent DVDs, CDs and games console software as well as buy DVDs, CDs, games software, books and stationery.

Shopping

There are a number of shopping malls in the Tsuzuki-Ku area; catering to both the young to the adult. Two of the original department stores include Tokyu and Hankyu Department Stores/Malls. A recent addition to the Center-Kita area is the Northport Shopping Mall.

Also a new addition but a much smaller shopping center is Minamo, which sits between Center-Kita and Center-Minami. One of the beauties of this center is the Tsutaya which also hosts a Starbucks. Along with being able to rent manga, CDs, and DVDs, one can shop for books and magazines and enjoy a cup of Starbucks coffee up until 1AM. Another nice thing about Minamo is the wonderful gym and Onsen. Yes, you can go work-out, play tennis, do your Yoga then hop on over to the relaxing Onsen. Then, before heading home, drop down to Tsutaya for that movie and that final cup of White Chocolate Mocha. If you do all this early enough, you can also do some grocery shopping.

Car Make T&E

Tsuzuki-ku is the home of famed car tuner Takahiro Ueno and his company Car Make T&E. T&E (Technical & Elegant) has many brands under its name including Vertex and Sui Vax. Professional D1 driver Ueno started the company around 2000 with no money and little business experience. Today T&E is considered one of the tuning elites in Japan and has had a very successful run at D1GP with Ueno piloting his famous Vertex Ridge Toyota Soarer. The Car Make T&E shop is located a few blocks away from their tuning facility Sui Vax. Tsuzuki-ku is also home to many Japanese tuning shops and racing drivers including D1GP/SuperGT driver Manabu Orido and his areo-parts business Ridox and D1GP/SuperGT driver Nob Taniguchi who happens to live in the same high-rise as his close friend Ueno.

School

*Musashi Institute of Technology
*Kawawa High School

External links: Shopping

* [http://www.kohokutokyu-sc.com/tk/index.html Tokyu Department Store]
* [http://www.hankyu-dept.co.jp/ Hankyu Department Store]
* [http://www.northport.sc/ Northport Shopping Mall]
* [http://www.t-and-e.co.jp/ Car Make T&E]

External links

*http://www.tsuzuki-ku.com/ in Japanese