Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi

Infobox City Japan
Name= Shimonoseki
JapaneseName= 下関市
Map

Region= Chūgoku
Prefecture= Yamaguchi
District=
Area_km2= 715.83
PopDate= 2005
Population= 290,693
Density_km2=
Coords=
LatitudeDegrees= 33
LatitudeMinutes= 57
LatitudeSeconds=
LongtitudeDegrees= 130
LongtitudeMinutes= 56
LongtitudeSeconds=
Tree= Camphor Laurel
Flower= Crinum asiaticum
Bird=
Symbol
!border
SymbolDescription= Flag
Mayor= Kiyoshi Ejima
CityHallPostalCode=
CityHallAddress=
CityHallPhone=
CityHallLink= [http://www.city.shimonoseki.yamaguchi.jp/ Shimonoseki City] nihongo|Shimonoseki|下関市|Shimonoseki-shi is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It is at the southwestern tip of Honshū, facing the Tsushima Strait and also Kitakyushu across the Kanmon Straits.

Description

The city was founded on April 1, 1889. It is known for "fugu", as this is where the largest catch of these fish is taken in Japan each year. The city has a population of 290,693 (as of January 1, 2006) with a density of 406.1 persons per km². The total area is 715.89 km².

On February 13, 2005, the city of Shimonoseki merged with the towns of Hōhoku, Kikugawa, Toyota, and Toyoura from Toyoura District to form the new city of Shimonseki. Since October 1, 2005, the city has been designated as a Core city by the Japanese Government.

The geographical position of Shimonoseki has given it historical importance, especially with the Bombardment of Shimonoseki in 1864 and the Treaty of Shimonoseki, where a defeated China handed over Taiwan, the Pescadores, and Port Arthur to the victorious Japanese in 1895. The Heike and Genji fought at Dan-no-ura near the present Kanmonkyo Bridge.

On January 7, 2006, the wooden station building at Shimonoseki station, which had dated back to 1942, was destroyed in a fire, the cause of which is suspected to be arson.

Main sightseeing spots and institutions

JR Shimonoseki station and Karato

* Kaikyokan (Aquarium)
* Karato Market
* Nagato Market
* Green Mall shopping street (Korean Town [http://gazone.morrie.biz/tosi/simonoseki/green_mall.html] )
* Sea Mall Shimonoseki (largest shopping center in West Japan when it was built)
* Kaikyo Yume Tower (Kaikyo Messe Shimonoseki)
* Shimonoseki Port International Terminal
* Shimonoseki Port
* Yamaguchi Bank Co., Ltd. (head office)
* Hayashikane Sangyo Co., Ltd. (main office)
* Mt. Hinoyama
* Kamon Wharf
* Former British Consulate (built in 1906)
* Akama Shrine

Castle town Chofu

* Streets with earthen walls
* Kozanji (Temple, National treasure)
* Shimonoseki City Art Museum
* Chofu Garden
* Nogi jinja - a shrine dedicated to the memory of General Nogi Maresuke

Toyoura

* Kawatana Onsen (Hot spring)

Houhoku

* Tsunoshima (island)

Transportation

Ferries from Shimonoseki Port International Terminal

*The Kanpu ferry to Pusan in South Korea regularly.
*The Orient ferry to Qingdao in China regularly.
*The Orient ferry to Shanghai in China regularly.

Trains

*The main JR Nishi Nihon stations (Sanyō Main Line and San'in Main Line)
**Shimonoseki station
**Shin-shimonoseki station
**Hatabu station
**Ozuki station
**Kawatana-onsen station

*The main JR stations (Sanyō Shinkansen)
**Shin-shimonoseki station

Buses

*Bus companies (A loop-line bus in the city.)
** Sanden Kohtsu Co.,Ltd.
** Blue Line Kohtsu Co.,Ltd.

*Intercity bus services (arrival and departure in Shimonoseki city) go to the following destinations: Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Airport, etc.

Expressway

("Chūgoku jidousyadou")
**Shimonoseki interchange
**Ozuki interchange

Airports

*Nearby airports
**New Kitakyushu Airport (Kitakyushu Airport)
**Yamaguchi Ube Airport (Only for domestic flights)
**Fukuoka Airport

Education

Universities and colleges

*Shimonoseki City University（下関市立大学）
*National Fisheries University（水産大学校）
*University of East Asia（東亜大学）
*Baiko Gakuin University（梅光学院大学）
*Shimonoseki Junior College（下関短期大学）

ports

porting venues

*Shimonoseki Baseball Stadium
*Shimonoseki Boat Race Stadium (Shimonoseki KYOTEI)
*Shimonoseki City Gymnasium
*Shimonoseki Track and field stadium
*Shimonoseki city swimming pool
*Nogihama General Park (Football stadium)

Twin cities

Shimonoseki has one domestic and 5 international sister cities [http://www2.city.shimonoseki.yamaguchi.jp/www/contents/1180694927874/html/common/465ff9ec008.html] :

Outside Japan

*
*
*
*
*

Within Japan

* Kikugawa (Shizuoka Prefecture)

People

(Those written in bold letters are deceased.)
* Shinzo Abe (90th Prime Minister of Japan) (Hometown is located at the city of Nagato, but born in Tokyo)
* Takasugi Shinsaku
* Duncan Gordon Boyes
* Richard Henry Brunton
* Kinuyo Tanaka (田中絹代)
* Yusaku Matsuda (松田優作)

External links

* [http://www.city.shimonoseki.yamaguchi.jp/ Shimonoseki official website] in Japanese
* [http://www2.city.shimonoseki.yamaguchi.jp/icity/browser?ActionCode=content&ContentID=1133769587651&SiteID=0 Shimonoseki official website] in other languages
*