Jōetsu, Niigata

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Jōetsu
上越市
Special city
Takada Castle
Takada Castle
Flag of Jōetsu
Flag
Location of Jōetsu in Niigata Prefecture
Location of Jōetsu in Niigata Prefecture
Jōetsu is located in Japan
Jōetsu
Jōetsu
Location in Japan
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country Japan
Region Chūbu (Kōshin'etsu) (Hokuriku)
Prefecture Niigata Prefecture
Government
 • Mayor Hideyuki Murayama
Area
 • Total 973.32 km2 (375.80 sq mi)
Population (June 1, 2011)
 • Total 205,521
 • Density 211.15/km2 (546.9/sq mi)
Symbols
 • Tree Sakura
 • Flower Camellia
Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City Hall Address 1-1-3 Kida, Jōetsu-shi, Niigata-ken
943-8601
Website www.city.joetsu.niigata.jp

Jōetsu (上越市 Jōetsu-shi?) is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.

As of June 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 205,521, with 72,982 households and a population density of 211.15 persons per km². The total area is 973.32 km².

The city was founded on April 29, 1971, when the cities of Takada and Naoetsu were consolidated. The city was exclusively part of the now-defunct Nakakubiki District until December 31, 2004.

On January 1, 2005, the town of Yasuzuka, the villages of Maki, Ōshima and Uragawara (all from Higashikubiki District); the towns of Itakura, Kakizaki, Ōgata and Yoshikawa, the villages of Kiyosato, Kubiki, Nakagou and Sanwa (all from Nakakubiki District); and the town of Nadachi (from Nishikubiki District) were merged into Jōetsu. Now Jōetsu has extended into the now-defunct Higashikubiki and Nishikubiki Districts.

History

It was the ancient capital of Echigo Province. Around the Sengoku period, Kasugayama Castle was a significant base for daimyo such as Uesugi Kenshin.

Maejima Hisoka, a Meiji era politician who is regarded[who?] as the father of the Japanese postal system, was born here. Theodor von Lerch, an Austrian major who visited the army base in Jōetsu after the Russo-Japanese War, introduced skiing to Japan.

Climate

Jōetsu has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). Owing to its location at the foot of Mount Hotaka facing onshore winds from the Sea of Japan, Jōetsu is the wettest low-lying part of the northern hemisphere temperate zone apart from the Owase region of the Kii Peninsula, receiving an average of around 2.8 metres (110.2 in) of precipitation per year. As a comparison, Forks on the windward side of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula receives 110 inches (2.79 m) and Rize on the Black Sea coast of Turkey 2,530 millimetres (100 in). The cold winds from the combined power of the Siberian High and Aleutian Low give Jōetsu an average of 6.3 metres (250 in) of snowfall that however tends to melt significantly even during the winter. On the 26th of February 1945, Jōetsu received as much as 3.77 metres (148 in) of snow in one day. The heaviest annual snowfall, since the beginning of regular snowfall measurements in 1953, was 14.94 metres (590 in) in the 1985/1986 season and the heaviest monthly total precipitation 942 millimetres (37 in) in January 1945, whilst the driest month was August 1985 with 16 millimetres (0.63 in).

Climate data for Jōetsu, Niigata (Takada) (1981～2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 19.4
(66.9)		 21.9
(71.4)		 25.4
(77.7)		 32.3
(90.1)		 33.1
(91.6)		 36.4
(97.5)		 38.9
(102)		 39.5
(103.1)		 37.8
(100)		 33.4
(92.1)		 27.7
(81.9)		 23.7
(74.7)		 39.5
(103.1)
Average high °C (°F) 5.9
(42.6)		 6.3
(43.3)		 10.3
(50.5)		 17.5
(63.5)		 22.2
(72)		 25.4
(77.7)		 29.1
(84.4)		 31.3
(88.3)		 26.8
(80.2)		 21.2
(70.2)		 15.3
(59.5)		 9.5
(49.1)		 18.4
(65.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 2.4
(36.3)		 2.4
(36.3)		 5.4
(41.7)		 11.5
(52.7)		 16.6
(61.9)		 20.6
(69.1)		 24.6
(76.3)		 26.3
(79.3)		 22.0
(71.6)		 16.0
(60.8)		 10.2
(50.4)		 5.3
(41.5)		 13.6
(56.5)
Average low °C (°F) −0.6
(30.9)		 −1
(30)		 1.0
(33.8)		 5.8
(42.4)		 11.2
(52.2)		 16.5
(61.7)		 21.0
(69.8)		 22.4
(72.3)		 18.2
(64.8)		 11.6
(52.9)		 5.9
(42.6)		 1.8
(35.2)		 9.5
(49.1)
Record low °C (°F) −10.7
(12.7)		 −13.2
(8.2)		 −10.3
(13.5)		 −6.5
(20.3)		 −0.4
(31.3)		 6.4
(43.5)		 11.6
(52.9)		 13.0
(55.4)		 8.3
(46.9)		 1.2
(34.2)		 −2
(28)		 −7.8
(18)		 −13.2
(8.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 419.1
(16.5)		 262.0
(10.315)		 194.2
(7.646)		 96.1
(3.783)		 95.7
(3.768)		 145.3
(5.72)		 210.6
(8.291)		 150.4
(5.921)		 206.2
(8.118)		 210.8
(8.299)		 342.0
(13.465)		 423.1
(16.657)		 2,755.5
(108.483)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 247
(97.2)		 193
(76)		 86
(33.9)		 9
(3.5)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 3
(1.2)		 92
(36.2)		 630
(248)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.5 mm) 25.8 22.0 20.5 12.9 12.2 13.2 14.6 11.4 15.5 16.5 19.4 23.5 207.5
Average snowy days 26.1 25.4 17.3 2.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6 12.4 84.5
Average relative humidity (%) 78 76 72 67 71 77 80 77 79 77 77 76 75.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 65.4 79.6 120.7 181.1 196.3 150.9 153.8 195.0 129.4 134.5 104.1 80.0 1,590.8
Source #1: Japan Meteorological Agency[1]
Source #2: Japan Meteorological Agency (records)[2]

Transportation

Railways

Two Japan Railways Group passenger railway companies, JR West and JR East, run the Hokuriku Main Line and the Shinetsu Main Line in the city. The Hokuetsu Express connects the city to the Tokyo metropolitan area. The Hokuriku Shinkansen is under construction. Despite its name, the Jōetsu Shinkansen does not serve the city at all, as the line name has no direct relation to the city name.

Expressway

Hokuriku Expressway goes through the city. Joshinetsu Expressway branches off at the Jōetsu Junction.

Famous people from Jōetsu

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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