is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households,Hamamatsu City official statistics making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the total urban area of . The city ranked first in the happiness index of Japan's government-designated cities, published by the Japan Research Institute, in both 2018 and 2022. It is also the second largest city by area in Japan, only behind Takayama, Gifu.
Overview Hamamatsu is a member of the World Health Organization's Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC).Alliance for Healthy Cities official home page
History
Prehistoric ages The area now comprising Hamamatsu has been settled since prehistoric times, with numerous remains from the Jōmon period and Kofun period having been discovered within the present city limits, including the Shijimizuka site shell mound and the Akamonue Kofun ancient tomb.
Ancient ages In the Nara period, it became the capital of Tōtōmi Province.
Feudal period During the Sengoku period, Hamamatsu Castle was the home of future shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Early modern ages Hamamatsu flourished during the Edo period under a succession of daimyō rulers as a castle town, and as a post town on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto.
Late modern ages After the Meiji Restoration, Hamamatsu became a short-lived prefecture from 1871 to 1876, after which it was united with Shizuoka Prefecture. Hamamatsu Station opened on the Tōkaidō Main Line in 1889.
The same year, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system, Hamamatsu became a town.
July 1, 1911: Hamamatsu is upgraded from a town to a city 1918: Rice riots of 1918 affect Hamamatsu 1921: The village of Tenjinchō merges with Hamamatsu 1926: Imperial Japanese Army Hamamatsu Air Base opens 1933: Imperial Japanese Army Flight School opens 1936: The villages of Hikuma and Fujizuka merge with Hamamatsu December 7, 1944: Tonankai earthquake causes much damage June 1945: Hamamatsu largely destroyed by US air raids
Contemporary ages 1948: Hamamatsu Incident, ethnic rioting of Zainichi Korean residents. 1951: The villages of Aratsu, Goto, and Kawarin merge with Hamamatsu 1954: Eight villages in Hamana District merge with Hamamatsu 1955: The village of Miyakoda merges with Hamamatsu 1957: The village of Irino merges with Hamamatsu 1960: The village of Seto merges with Hamamatsu 1961: The village of Shinohara merges with Hamamatsu 1965: The village of Shonai merges with Hamamatsu May 1, 1990: Hamamatsu Arena opened January 1, 1991: The village of Kami in Hamana District merges with Hamamatsu. April 1, 1991: The first Hamamatsu International Piano Competition was held. May 1, 1994: Act City Tower opened. October 1, 1995: Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments opened. April 1, 1996: Hamamatsu is designated a core city by the central government. June 1, 1996: Hamamatsu City Fruit Park opened. April 1, 1997: Hamamatsu is designated as an Omnibus Town. April 1, 1998: Act City Musical School opened. April 3, 2000: Shizuoka University of Art and Culture opened. July 1, 2001: The city's 90th anniversary is commemorated August 1, 2002: Launched the conference on Pan-Hamanako Designated City Simulation. April 1, 2003: Shizuoka New Kawafuji National High School Competition was held. June 1, 2003: Launched Tenryūgawa-Hamanako Region Merger Conference. April 8 – October 11, 2004: Pacific Flora 2004 (Shizuoka International Garden and Horticulture Exhibition) was held at Hamanako Garden Park. July 1, 2005: Hamamatsu absorbed the cities of Hamakita and Tenryū; the town of Haruno (from Shūchi District), the towns of Hosoe, Inasa and Mikkabi (all from Inasa District), the towns of Misakubo and Sakuma, the village of Tatsuyama (all from Iwata District), and the towns of Maisaka and Yūtō (both from Hamana District) were merged into Hamamatsu. Inasa District and Iwata District were both dissolved as a result of this merger. Therefore, there are no more villages left in Shizuoka Prefecture. April 1, 2007: Hamamatsu became a city designated by government ordinance by the central government.
Cityscapes
Geography
Hamamatsu is southwest of Tokyo.Fukue, Natsuko. "Nonprofit brings together foreign, Japanese residents in Hamamatsu" (Archive). The Japan Times. March 13, 2010. Retrieved on October 12, 2015.
Hamamatsu consists of a flat plain and the Mikatahara Plateau in the south, and a mountainous area in the north. It is roughly bordered by Lake Hamana to the west, the Tenryū River to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the south.
Climate Southern Hamamatsu has a humid subtropical climate with cool to mild winters with little snowfall; however, it is windy in winter because of the dry monsoon called Enshū no Karakaze, which is unique to the region. The climate in northern Hamamatsu is much harsher because of foehn winds. Summer is hot with the highest temperature often exceeding in the Tenryu-ku area, while it snows in winter.
Demographics Per Japanese census data,Hamamatsu population statistics the population of Hamamatsu has been increasing over the past 70 years.
Foreign population
Hamamatsu has a significant non-Japanese population. The population of Nikkei foreigners, especially Brazilians, increased after a 1990 change in Japanese immigration law allowed them to work in Japan. At one point, Hamamatsu had the largest Brazilian Nikkei population of any Japanese city.Sugino, Toshiko (National Defense Academy of Japan). "Linguistic Challenges and Possibilities of Immigrants In Case of Nikkei Brazilians in Japan" (Country Note on Topics for Breakout Session 4) (Archive). Centre for Education Research and Innovation (CERI), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development See list of reports. p. 1/8. Retrieved on October 12, 2015. Many foreigners work in the manufacturing sector, taking temporary jobs in Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha plants. the number of non-Japanese in Hamamatsu was 33,332.Aparecida, Tsutsumi Angela (Burajiru Fureai Kai). "The Contradiction Between "Being and Seeming" Reinforces Low Academic Performance " (Archive). US-China Education Review B 2 (2012) p. 217-223. CITED: p. 217. Portuguese signage can be seen throughout the city, and many businesses catering to Brazilians display Brazilian flags. The city also hosts a Brazilian school. However, Natsuko Fukue of The Japan Times wrote in 2010 that many foreign children have difficulty integrating to society in Hamamatsu because "Japanese and foreign communities live largely separate from one another."
The foreign population dropped significantly after the 2008 financial crisis, with the Hamamatsu city government offering aid for some foreign nationals to return to their home countries. The foreign population was estimated as 25,084 as of August 1, 2019, per official city statistics.Hamamatsu City official statistics
Neighboring municipalities Aichi Prefecture Shinshiro Tōei Toyohashi Toyone Nagano Prefecture Iida Tenryū Shizuoka Prefecture Iwata Kawanehon Kosai Mori Shimada
Government
Hamamatsu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 46 members. The city contributes 15 members to the Shizuoka Prefectural Assembly.
Wards Hamamatsu is administratively divided into three wards: Name Area (km2) Population (Oct 2023)Pop Density 268.45 608,145 345.77 155,996 943.84 24,515
Reorganization On 1 January 2024, the number of wards was reduced from seven to three as part of a municipal reorganization. Naka-ku, Higashi-ku, Nishi-ku, Minami-ku and Kita-ku were merged into a new Chūō-ku, Hamakita-ku and Kita-ku were merged to form Hamana-ku, while Tenryu-ku will remain unchanged. The reorganization was initially approved by a referendum held on April 7, 2019.
Economy
Hamamatsu has been famous as an industrial city, especially for musical instruments and motorcycles. It also has been known for fabric industry, but most of those companies and factories went out of business in the 1990s. As of 2010, Greater Hamamatsu, Hamamatsu Metropolitan Employment Area, has a GDP of US$54.3 billion.Conversion rates – Exchange rates – OECD Data 2014 Hamamatsu's GDP per capita(PPP) was US$41,470.
Companies headquartered in Hamamatsu Enkei Corporation"Corporate Outline ." Enkei Corporation. Retrieved on June 5, 2018. Hamamatsu Photonics K.K."Headquarters ." Hamamatsu Photonics. Retrieved on February 17, 2015. Kawai Musical Instruments Mfg. Roland Corporation Suzuki Motor Co. Tōkai Gakki (also known as Tokai Guitars Company Ltd.) Yamaha Corporation
Companies founded in Hamamatsu Honda Motor Co.
Media Radio stations FM Haro! (JOZZ6AB FM, 76.1 MHz) K-MIX (JOKU FM, 78.4 MHz) NHK FM (JOPK FM, 82.1 MHz) SBS Radio (1404 kHz / 94.7 MHz) Radio Phoenix (internet)
Transportation
Airways Airport There are no commercial airports in Hamamatsu. However, Shizuoka Airport () is the closest, located from Hamamatsu Station, between Makinohara and Shimada.
Chūbu Centrair International Airport in Aichi Prefecture, located about From Chūbu Centrair International Airport to Hamamatsu station () (surveying http://vldb.gsi.go.jp/sokuchi/surveycalc/bl2stf.html ) west of the city, is the second closest.
Railways High-Speed Rail Central Japan Railway Company Tōkaidō Shinkansen: - - JR Central Hamamatsu workshop: maintenance facility for the Tōkaidō Shinkansen
Conventional Lines Central Japan Railway Company Tōkaidō Main Line: - - Iida Line: - - Enshū Railway Enshū Railway Line: - Tenryū Hamanako Railroad Tenryū Hamanako Line: - -
Roads Expressways Tōmei Expressway (Hamamatsu interchange, Hamamatsu Nishi interchange, and Mikkabi interchange) Shin-Tōmei Expressway
Highways San-en Nanshin Expressway (under construction)
Bypasses Hamamatsu Bypass Hamana Bypass
Japan National Highways
Education
Colleges and universities Hamamatsu Gakuin University Hamamatsu University Hamamatsu University School of Medicine Seirei Christopher University Seisa University, Hamamatsu campus Shizuoka University (Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Informatics) Shizuoka University of Art and Culture Tokoha University, Hamamatsu campus
Primary and secondary schools
Senior high schools operated by Shizuoka Prefecture: Shizuoka Prefectural Hamamatsu North High School (静岡県立浜松北高等学校) Shizuoka Prefectural Hamamatsu Nishi (West) Senior and Junior High Schools (静岡県立浜松西高等学校・中等部) Shizuoka Prefectural Hamamatsu East High School (静岡県立浜松東高等学校) Shizuoka Prefectural Hamamatsu South High School (静岡県立浜松南高等学校) Shizuoka Prefectural Kiga High School (静岡県立気賀高等学校) Shizuoka Prefectural Kohoku High School (静岡県立浜松湖東高等学校) Shizuoka Prefectural Mikkabi High School (静岡県立三ヶ日高等学校)
There is one senior high school operated by the city government: Hamamatsu Municipal Senior High School
Elementary and junior high schools are operated by the city government. , the city had 117 public elementary schools and 52 public junior high schools.Aparecida, Tsutsumi Angela (Burajiru Fureai Kai). "The Contradiction Between "Being and Seeming" Reinforces Low Academic Performance" (Archive). US-China Education Review B 2 (2012) p. 217-223. CITED: p. 218.
Multicultural education The city has the following Brazilian international schools: Escola Brasil (former Escola Brasileira de Hamamatsu) – Primary and secondary school"Escolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão" (Archive). Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015. Escola Alegria de Saber – Primary and secondary school Escola Alcance – Primary school
It has one combined Peruvian school (ペルー学校) and Brazilian primary school, Mundo de Alegría."Ubicación y Acceso." Mundo de Alegría. Retrieved on October 24, 2015. "〒431–0102 Shizuoka-ken Hamamatsu-shi Nishi-ku Yuto-cho Ubumi 9611-1" – Japanese address: "住所 〒431-0102 静岡県 浜松市 西区 雄踏町 宇布見 9611-1"