Asahi-ku, Yokohama

Asahi 旭区
Ward
Asahi Ward
Flag
Location of Asahi in Kanagawa
Asahi
Coordinates: 35°28′29″N 139°32′41″E / 35.47472°N 139.54472°ECoordinates: 35°28′29″N 139°32′41″E / 35.47472°N 139.54472°E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Kanagawa
City	Yokohama
Area
• Total	32.77 km^2 (12.65 sq mi)
Population (February 2010)
• Total	249,045
• Density	7,600/km^2 (20,000/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
- Tree	Enkianthus
- Flower	Japanese Morning Glory
Phone number	045-954-6161
Address	1-4-12 Tsurugamine , Asahi-ku Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 241-0022
Website	www.city.yokohama.jp/me/asahi/english/index-e.html

Asahi Ward Office

Asahi-ku (旭) is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward has an estimated population of 249,045 and a population density of 7,600 persons per km². The total area is 32.77  km².

Geography

Asahi is located in eastern Kanagawa Prefecture, and on the northwest borders of the city of Yokohama.

Surrounding municipalities

• Seya Ward
• Totsuka Ward
• Midori Ward
• Izumi Ward
• Hodogaya Ward

History

The area around present-day Asahi Ward was formerly part of Tsuzuki District in Musashi Province. By the Heian period it was part of a huge shōen administered by the Hangaya clan, a subsidiary of the Hatakeyama clan. During the Edo period, it was a rural region classified as tenryō territory controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate, but administered through various hatamoto. After the Meiji Restoration, the area became part of the new Kanagawa Prefecture in 1868. In the cadastral reform of April 1, 1889, the area was divided into numerous villages. During the Meiji period, the area was a center for sericulture. The area began to urbanize only during the 1920s and 1930s with the building of the Sagami Railway Main Line. On October 1, 1927 it was annexed by the neighboring city of Yokohama, becoming part of Hodogaya Ward. In a major administrative reorganization of October 1, 1969, Asahi Ward was separated from Hodogaya Ward, becoming an independent ward within the city of Yokohama.

Economy

Asahi Ward is largely a regional commercial center and bedroom community for central Yokohama and Tokyo.

Transportation

Railroads

• Sagami Railway – Sagami Railway Main Line
  • Tsurugamine - Futamatagawa - Kibōgaoka
• Sagami Railway – Sagami Railway Izumino Line
  • Futamatagawa - Minami-Makigahara

The Tōkaidō Shinkansen passes through Asahi Ward, but has no stations.

Highways

• Japan National Route 16
• Hodogaya Bypass

Prefectural roads

• Kanagawa Prefectural Route 40
• Kanagawa Prefectural Route 45
• Kanagawa Prefectural Route 401
• Kanagawa Prefectural Route 402

Local attractions

Yokohama Zoological Gardens

• Yokohama Zoological Gardens

Notable people from Asahi Ward

• Hideyuki Awano, professional baseball player
• Ryō Kase, actor
• Kentarō Kobayashi, actor, artist
• Ryoko Yonekura, actress

References

• Kato, Yuzo. Yokohama Past and Present. Yokohama City University (1990).

External links

• Official website
• City of Yokohama statistics (Japanese)