Kamisu

Kamisu (神栖市, Kamisu-shi) is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 July 2020, the city had an estimated population of 95,384 in 40,759 households and a population density of 649 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 23.6%. The total area of the city is 146.97 square kilometres (56.75 sq mi).

Kamisu 神栖市
City
Kamisu city hall
Flag Emblem
Location of Kamisu in Ibaraki Prefecture
Kamisu
Coordinates: 35°53′23.8″N 140°39′52.3″E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Ibaraki
First official recorded	290 AD
City Settled	August 1, 2005
Government
• Mayor	Susumu Ishida (from December 2017)
Area
• Total	146.94 km2 (56.73 sq mi)
Population  (October 2020)
• Total	95,396
• Density	650/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree	Podocarpaceae
- Flower	Sarcandra glabra
- Bird	Japanese bush warbler
Phone number	0299-90-1111
Address	4991-5, Mizoguchi, Kamisu-shi, Ibaraki-ken 314-0192
Website	Official website

Industry and harbour of Kamisu

Kashima Refinery

Geography

Kamisu is located in the extreme southeastern portion of Ibaraki Prefecture. The city forms a rough triangle, with Chiba Prefecture on the western side and the Pacific Ocean on the east. The Tone River flows through the city.

Surrounding municipalities

Chiba Prefecture

• Chōshi
• Katori
• Tōnoshō

Ibaraki Prefecture

• Itako
• Kashima

Climate

Kamisu has a Humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kamisu is 14.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1508 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kamisu has recently plateaued after decades of strong growth.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1920	24,725	—
1930	26,847	+8.6%
1940	30,295	+12.8%
1950	41,331	+36.4%
1960	41,030	−0.7%
1970	49,360	+20.3%
1980	67,364	+36.5%
1990	77,596	+15.2%
2000	87,626	+12.9%
2010	94,795	+8.2%
2020	95,454	+0.7%

History

The village of Kamisu was established within Kashima District by the merger of the villages of Ikisu and Karuno on March 1, 1955. It was elevated to town status on January 1, 1970. The city of Kamisu was established on August 1, 2005, from the merger of the town of Kamisu and the town of Hasaki (also from Kashima District).

Government

Kamisu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 23 members. Kamisu contributes two members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ibaraki 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Kamisu has a large industrial base, with many chemical, petrochemical, specialty chemical plants, and refineries. The city is part of the Kashima Rinkai Industrial Zone. The Kashima Power Station is also located in Kamisu.

Education

Kamisu has 14 public elementary schools and eight public middle schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

• Kamisu is served by the Kashima Rinkai Railway Kashima Rinkō Line, an all-freight railway line. The city does not have any passenger railway service.

Highway

• National Route 124

Seaport

• Port of Kashima

Sister cities

• Eureka, California, United States, sister city since 1991

Local attractions

• Ikisu Jinja
• Gonoike Ryokuchi Park

Notable people from Kamisu

• Mitsutoshi Furuya, manga artist
• Kazuhiko Hosokawa, professional golfer
• Naoya Ishigami, professional soccer player
• Akira Kazami, politician
• Atsushi Koyano, scholar of contemporary literature
• Takashi Nagatsuka, writer, poet
• Tomi Okawa, table tennis player
• Takashi Ono, judoka
• Keiji Suzuki, judoka and Olympic gold medalist
• Tsukushi – female professional wrestler

External links

• Official Website (in Japanese)