Takayama, Gifu

Takayama
高山市
City

City view from Tenbou Park

Flag

Location of Takayama in Gifu Prefecture
Takayama

Location in Japan

Coordinates: 36°9′N 137°15′E / 36.150°N 137.250°E / 36.150; 137.250Coordinates: 36°9′N 137°15′E / 36.150°N 137.250°E / 36.150; 137.250
Country Japan
Region Chūbu
Prefecture Gifu Prefecture
Government
 • Mayor Michihiro Kunishima[1]
Area
 • Total 2,177.67 km2 (840.80 sq mi)
Population (July 2011[2])
 • Total 92,369
 • Density 42/km2 (110/sq mi)
Symbols
 • Tree Japanese Yew[3]
 • Flower Rhododendron reticulatum[3]
Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City hall address 2-18 Hanaoka-chō, Takayama-shi, Gifu-ken
506-8555
Website www.city.takayama.lg.jp

Takayama (高山市 Takayama-shi) is a city located in Gifu Prefecture, Japan.

As of July 2011, the city has an estimated population of 92,369 and a population density of 42 persons per km². The total area is 2,177.67 km².

Takayama was settled as far back as the Jōmon period. Takayama is best known for its inhabitants' expertise in carpentry. It is believed carpenters from Takayama worked on the Imperial Palace in Kyoto and on many of the temples in Kyoto and Nara. The town and its culture, as they exist today, took shape at the end of the 16th century, when the Kanamori clan built Takayama Castle. About a hundred years later the city came under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate. However, the high altitude and separation from other areas of Japan kept the area fairly isolated, allowing Takayama to develop its own culture over about a 300-year period.

Significance

Hida Mountains
A Takayama crafts shop
A traditional shopping street in Takayama
Nakabashi's early season snowfall

The city was formed on November 1, 1936 by a merger of the towns of Takayama and Onada.[4]

On February 1, 2005, the town of Kuguno, and the villages of Asahi, Kiyomi, Miya, Nyūkawa, Shōkawa and Takane (all from Ōno District), the town of Kokufu, and the village of Kamitakara (both from Yoshiki District) were merged into Takayama,[4] which made Takayama the largest city in Japan (by surface area).

The city is popularly known as Hida-Takayama (飛騨高山), in reference to the old Hida Province, to differentiate it from other places named Takayama. The name 'Takayama' means 'tall mountain'.

Geography

Climate

Located in the heart of the Japanese Alps, Takayama falls under a humid continental climate (Koppen Dfa) with some characteristics of humid subtropical climate. It features four distinct seasons with a wide range of temperature between the summer and winter, somewhat resembling parts of Northern Japan and Hokkaidō. Takayama is also part of the heavy snow area of Japan (gōsetsu-chitai, 豪雪地帯) with snowfall most days throughout the winter season. Takayama along with many other cities and towns exposed to the Sea of Japan experience lake effect snow, generating some of the highest, most consistent snowfall in the world.

Traditional street during the winter

Spring is short lived, usually dry with mild temperatures and plenty of sunshine. Cherry blossoms (sakura, 桜) can be seen arriving at Takayama from the middle to the end of April, around 3 weeks later than Nagoya.

Summer begins around the end of May to the beginning of June, it is humid and wet with the arrival of the rain season (tsuyu, 梅雨), receiving high rainfall amounts during this period. It then yields to a hotter and generally less humid end to the summer with day-time temperatures usually higher than 30 °C (86 °F) and occasionally higher than 35 °C (95 °F) coupled with plenty of strong sunshine.

Autumn approaches during the middle of October and is short, yet dry and cool with diminishing sunlight. Autumn colorful foliage from various maples (momiji/kōyō, 紅葉) can be seen in the Takayama area from the end of October to the first week of November.

Winter arrives around the beginning of December and is moderately long, cold and icy with high amounts of snowfall annually amounting to an average of 5.11m (201.2 inches) commonly leading to the development of snow banks in the outer areas of the city. The first snowfall of the season usually arrives at the end of November and lasts through until the beginning of April. Yearly low temperatures in the city centre do on occasions drop as low as -15 °C (5 °F) and occasionally fail to reach above freezing point during the day.

Climate data for Central Takayama, Gifu (1981～2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.7
(62.1)		 18.5
(65.3)		 23.4
(74.1)		 30.6
(87.1)		 32.1
(89.8)		 34.7
(94.5)		 36.3
(97.3)		 37.3
(99.1)		 35.4
(95.7)		 30.2
(86.4)		 23.9
(75)		 21.7
(71.1)		 37.3
(99.1)
Average high °C (°F) 3.0
(37.4)		 4.2
(39.6)		 9.1
(48.4)		 16.9
(62.4)		 22.3
(72.1)		 25.7
(78.3)		 29.0
(84.2)		 30.7
(87.3)		 25.6
(78.1)		 19.2
(66.6)		 12.7
(54.9)		 6.2
(43.2)		 17.0
(62.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.4
(29.5)		 −0.9
(30.4)		 2.9
(37.2)		 9.6
(49.3)		 15.1
(59.2)		 19.4
(66.9)		 23.0
(73.4)		 24.1
(75.4)		 19.7
(67.5)		 12.9
(55.2)		 6.6
(43.9)		 1.4
(34.5)		 11.0
(51.8)
Average low °C (°F) −5.1
(22.8)		 −5.2
(22.6)		 −2.0
(28.4)		 3.2
(37.8)		 9.0
(48.2)		 14.6
(58.3)		 18.9
(66)		 19.7
(67.5)		 15.7
(60.3)		 8.5
(47.3)		 2.4
(36.3)		 −2.1
(28.2)		 6.5
(43.7)
Record low °C (°F) −23.5
(−10.3)		 −25.5
(−13.9)		 −21.2
(−6.2)		 −7.6
(18.3)		 −3.1
(26.4)		 1.8
(35.2)		 8.1
(46.6)		 9.4
(48.9)		 3.8
(38.8)		 −3.5
(25.7)		 −10.7
(12.7)		 −19.5
(−3.1)		 −25.5
(−13.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 97.2
(3.827)		 99.4
(3.913)		 122.9
(4.839)		 118.9
(4.681)		 136.9
(5.39)		 172.1
(6.776)		 230.9
(9.091)		 165.1
(6.5)		 235.5
(9.272)		 133.5
(5.256)		 99.3
(3.909)		 87.8
(3.457)		 1,699.5
(66.909)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 167
(65.7)		 147
(57.9)		 54
(21.3)		 5
(2)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 7
(2.8)		 87
(34.3)		 473
(186.2)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 95.6 112.8 150.9 174.6 181.3 143.0 146.4 180.5 124.1 125.8 98.9 89.0 1,623.7
Source #1: Japan Meteorological Agency[5]
Source #2: Japan Meteorological Agency[6]

Adjoining communities

Sister cities

Within Japan

Miyagawa River
Higashiyama Temple Area
A rickshaw in Takayama

Overseas

Attractions

Hida-no-Sato folk village in autumn
Takayama Jinya
Kusakabe House

Culture

Takayama Matsuri Float

Around the east of the city is a walking tour, called the Higashiyama Walking Course (東山歩行道 Higashiyama-hokōdō), which goes past many shrines and temples to Shiroyama Park (城山公園 Shiroyama-kōen). Takayama holds two festivals every year, Sannō Matsuri (山王祭り) in Spring and Hachiman Matsuri (八幡祭り) in Autumn. These festivals are among the most popular in Japan.

Transportation

Railroad

See also

References

  1. ↑ ようこそ市長室へ. Takayama official website (in Japanese). Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  2. ↑ 岐阜県の人口・世帯数人口動態統計調査結果. Gifu prefectural website (in Japanese). Gifu Prefecture. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  3. 1 2 高山市の市章・木・花 (PDF). Takayama official homepage (in Japanese). Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  4. 1 2 高山市のあらまし: 自然 (PDF). Takayama official website (in Japanese). Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  5. ↑ "平年値（年・月ごとの値）". Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
  6. ↑ "観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）". Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
  7. ↑ Japan Times, "Taking a stroll back through time", 13 July 2007, p. 24.
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