is the capital and largest city of Nagano Prefecture, located in the Nagano Basin (Zenkoji Daira) in the central Chūbu region of Japan. Nagano is categorized as a core city of Japan. Nagano City is the highest prefectural capital in Japan, with an altitude of .長野県庁（画面左下に標高表示） - 国土地理院地図
The city is surrounded by mountains, the highest of which is Mount Takatsuma (2,353 m), and it is near the confluence of the Chikuma River — the longest and widest river in Japan — and the Sai River. , the city had an estimated population of 365,296 in 160,625 households, and a population density of 438 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Overview Nagano City, located in the former Shinano Province, developed in the Nara period (AD 710 to 794) as a temple town (monzen machi). The city of Nagano is home to Zenkō-ji, a 7th-century Buddhist temple that is listed as a Japanese National Treasure. Zenkō-ji was established at its current location in 642 AD. The location of Zenkō-ji is approximately two kilometers from the present-day central Nagano Station.
Between 1553 and 1564, during the Sengoku Period, the Age of Warring States, Nagano was the site of a series of conflicts known as the Battles of Kawanakajima. During the Edo period (1603 and 1868), as the city developed, Nagano became an important post station (shukuba) on the Hokkoku Kaidō highway which connected Edo (present day Tokyo) with the coast of the Sea of Japan. Following the Meiji restoration, Nagano became the first established modern town in Nagano prefecture, on April 1, 1897.
The city of Nagano and several surrounding communities hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 1998 Winter Paralympics. Nagano City is an important historical location and an industrial center, as well as a travel destination and a hub for accessing surrounding sightseeing spots, including Japan's onsen-bathing, the snow monkeys in Yamanouchi, and the world-class ski resorts of Hakuba, Shiga Kogen and Nozawaonsen.
1998 Winter Olympics and Paralympics
Nagano, along with the neighboring communities of Hakuba village, Nozawaonsen, Yamanouchi, Iizuna, and Karuizawa hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics from February 7 to February 22 and the Paralympics from March 5 to March 14. This was the third Olympic Games and second Winter Olympic Games to be held in Japan, after the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo (the first Winter Games ever held in Asia). As of 2019, Nagano was the southernmost host of the Winter Olympic Games. The Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon is held annually to commemorate the occasion.
One important legacy of the Games was an improved transportation network. In order to facilitate access to Nagano in advance of the Games, the city was linked to the high-speed shinkansen train network. The Nagano Shinkansen (now the Hokuriku Shinkansen) was inaugurated five months before the start of the Games and carried 655,000 passengers during the Winter Olympics. In addition, both Nagano Station and Shinonoi Station were expanded, and Imai Station, in the Kawanakajima area, was built to give access to the Athletes village.
The Nagano Expressway and the Jōshin-etsu Expressway were built in the Nagano region, and another 114.9 kilometers of roads within Nagano Prefecture were improved.
In addition to a transport legacy, several world-class venues of the 1998 Winter Olympics were built, including M-Wave, Japan's first International Skating Union (ISU) standard indoor 400m double-track, which happens to be one of the largest hanging wooden-roof structures in the world. The Athletes Village, beside the newly constructed Imai Station, was built in advance of the Games by the city of Nagano as future public residential housing, and loaned to the Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee during the Games. A Media Village, composed of a four-block 10-12 storey apartment complex named Asahi Danchi, was built in the Asahi district of Nagano, across the street from the M-Wave. Asahi Danchi now includes private sector housing as well as housing for government employees.
Cityscapes
Geography Nagano is located in north-central Nagano Prefecture, in the Nagano Basin (Zenkoji Daira), surrounded by mountains, near the confluence of the Chikuma River and the Sai River. The Sai River in Nagano should not be confused with the Sai River (Gifu) even though both rivers have the same kanji and reading, 犀川 (Saigawa). Other important rivers include the Susobana River, which originates in the Togakushi highland area, and the Torii River, which also originates in the Togakushi highlands. The Chikuma River is 367.0 km long, 29.5 km of which are within the Nagano city limits. The Sai River is 157.7 km long, with 44.2 km in Nagano. All 40.1 km of the Susobana River are in Nagano City, and 10.4 km of the 34.8 km-long Torii River are in Nagano Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park, Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park and Chūbu-Sangaku National Park are each partially located within Nagano City.
The present-day core city of Nagano includes the districts and former towns of Nagano, Shinonoi, Matsushiro, Wakaho, Kawanakajima, Kohoku, Naniai, Shinkomachi, Toyono, Togakushi, Kinasa, Ooka, Shinshushincho, Nakajo.
Surrounding mountains
Mount Takatsuma, 2,353 m, straddles Myōkō, Niigata and Nagano City. It is the highest peak of the Togakushi mountain range, is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, and due to its pyramidal shape it is also known as Togakushi Fuji.高妻山. (Mount Takatsuma) |accessed Sept 24 2022 Takatsuma is the highest point in Nagano City. The lowest point is located in the Asano area of Toyono, 327.4 meters above sea level. Mount Iizuna, 1,917 meters, is a popular area for skiing and is where the Spiral, bobsleigh and luge track for the 1998 Winter Olympics are located. Mount Togakushi, 1,904 m, is located in Nagano City. Mount Hijiri, 1,447 m. is located along the border between Nagano City, and Omi in Higashichikuma District, Nagano. Daibou Pass, 1,055 m, is located in Nagano City, on the border of Togakushi and Kinasa, Nagano. Iizuna Kogen, 1,000 m, is a highland area that extends to the south base of Mount Iizuna in Nagano City. Mount Mododori, 744 m, spans northern Nagano City, and Iizuna town. It is a monogenetic volcano that was active approximately 200,000 years ago. Mount Dizuki, 733 m, is located on the northwest side of Nagano City. Mount Minakami, 659 m, is a lava dome in Matsushiro in Nagano City. Its relative height to the surrounding landscape is 280 m.
Demographics The population of Nagano City has declined by 10,000 since the mid-1990s. As of April 1, 2019, the city had a total population of 376,080 people, made up of 193,982 women and 182,098 men in 160,625 households.
Historical populations
Population of districts of the current Core City of Nagano The growth and decline of the population within the various districts of Nagano City has been uneven over the past 70 years. + Sortable table Year Total Nagano Shinonoi Matsushiro Wakaho Kawanakajima Kohoku Naniai Shinkomachi Toyono Togakushi Kinasa Ooka Shinshushincho Nakajo 1947 295,348 136,353 30,318 27,906 13,242 11,053 12,783 4,891 6,500 9,930 10,205 6,170 4,670 14,240 7,087 1950 300,756 143,494 30,068 27,131 13,063 10,794 12,807 4,911 6,385 9,869 10,281 6,209 4,560 14,040 7,144 1955 303,684 152,547 29,062 25,485 12,312 10,432 12,655 4,870 6,067 9,787 9,697 6,007 4,351 13,511 6,901 1960 303,458 160,522 29,329 22,626 11,938 10,403 12,331 4,419 5,503 9,604 8,709 5,373 4,035 12,354 6,312 1965 310,399 172,836 29,304 21,451 11,404 10,975 14,228 3,962 4,964 9,110 7,547 4,397 3,405 11,324 5,456 1970 322,825 187,216 30,633 20,496 11,739 12,551 14,630 3,571 4,519 9,283 6,475 3,763 2,924 10,188 4,837 1975 342,120 198,224 34,493 19,968 12,317 16,102 18,140 3,190 4,203 9,539 6,225 3,603 2,477 9,323 4,316 1980 358,173 208,703 36,432 20,786 12,766 17,314 21,321 2,995 4,043 9,633 6,074 3,223 2,249 8,616 4,018 1985 369,023 216,306 37,516 21,224 12,934 18,473 23,609 3,053 3,848 9,701 5,866 2,864 2,103 7,881 3,635 1995 377,261 223,191 38,444 21,110 12,646 19,790 25,418 2,866 3,561 9,700 5,608 2,686 1,753 7,143 3,345 1995 387,359 229,952 39,601 20,790 12,687 21,624 27,928 2,633 3,301 9,819 5,218 2,523 1,602 6,596 3,085 2000 387,911 228,431 39,233 19,904 12,503 24,997 29,599 2,399 3,046 10,005 4,938 2,333 1,544 6,093 2,886 2005 386,572 227,758 39,981 18,873 12,661 25,669 30,879 2,118 2,768 10,016 4,467 1,983 1,389 5,535 2,525 2010 381,511 223,787 40,380 18,161 12,570 26,416 32,075 1,873 2,434 9,825 3,986 1,700 1,154 4,892 2,258 2015 377,598 221,404 41,340 17,100 12,201 26,881 33,486 1,622 2,051 9,609 3,499 1,393 960 4,135 1,917
Foreign and non-Japanese residents The following table shows the population of foreigners and non-Japanese residents since 2014. + Sortable table Year Total Chinese Korean Filipino Vietnamese Thai Other 2014 3,394 1,619 587 301 136 219 532 2015 3,475 1,612 571 320 195 226 551 2016 3,475 1,595 542 319 248 239 552 2017 3,576 1,576 536 336 314 241 573 2018 3,715 1,563 557 344 392 242 617
Surrounding municipalities
Nagano Prefecture Shinano, located approximately 20 kilometers north of Nagano. Lake Nojiri is found in Shinano. Lake Nojiri was home to Kokusaimura (International Village), a landownership association, made up principally of Christian missionaries who had cottages there from the early 20th Century.
Nakano, located in the Zennoji Plain, on the Chikuma River and surrounded by mountains, experienced significant growth after the 1998 Winter Olympics. Suzaka, a former castle town (jōkamachi) during the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate on the opposite side of the Chikuma River from Nagano. The city was noted in the Meiji period for its silk industry. After World War II, an electronics industry was established. The city is also noted for apples and grapes, and the Prefectural Agricultural Research Station is located there. Obuse, an important historical tourist town, approximately 30 minutes by Nagano Electric Railway train from Nagano Station. Obuse is home to a Hokusai museum, and Gansho-in, a Buddhist temple, has a ceiling painted by him. The largest hospital in the town, a former tuberculosis sanatorium, was built in the 1930s by J. G. Waller and the Anglican Church of Canada. Ueda, approximately 35 kilometers south of Nagano, was a former castle town of the Ueda Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate. The ruins of Ueda Castle are an important historical site in the city. Chikuma, located approximately 20 kilometers south of Nagano, includes numerous burial tombs (tumuli) from the Kofun period. During the Nara period, several important Man'yōshū poems were set here. The area around Chikuma prospered during the Edo period as several post stations along the pilgrimage route to the famed Zenkō-ji were located here. Obasute Station, a switchback station is located here. Ōmachi is approximately 40 kilometers west of Nagano. The Hida Mountains, also called the Japanese Northern Alps, with 3000m peaks surround Ōmachi. The area was part of the holdings of Matsumoto Domain during the Edo period. Omi is approximately 30 kilometers southwest of Nagano Station. The town is in the Hijiiri Highlands, and Hijiri-Kōgen Station is located here, as is Kitayama Dam. Chikuhoku is located in the Matsumoto Basin, and the Higashijo Dam and Onikuma Dam are located here. Most of the area was under the control of Matsumoto Domain during the Edo period. Ikusaka is approximately 50 kilometers southwest of Nagano, in the center of Nagano Prefecture. Two dams, Ikusaka Dam and Taira Dam are found here. The area of present-day Ikusaka was part of the holdings of Matsumoto Domain during the Edo period. Ogawa is approximately 20 kilometers west of Nagano. It is listed as one of The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan. It is an important agriculture center, primarily rice cultivation.