Ōita-shi

Geography

Ōita city is located in east-central Ōita Prefecture, facing Beppu Bay on the Seto Inland Sea. The Ōno River flows from the south to the east, and the Ōita River flows from the west to the west, with the main urban center on the west side of the mouth of the Ōita River, with the Ōita Plain consisting of deltas and alluvial plains formed by the Ōita River and the Ōno River, and surrounding hills. The Takashima area in of the city is within the borders of the Seto Inland Sea National Park.

Neighboring municipalities

Ōita Prefecture

Beppu to the northwest

Bungo-Ōno to the south

Taketa to the southwest

Usuki to the southeast

Yufu to the west

Climate

Ōita has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ōita is 15.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1663 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.1 °C.

Demographics

Ōita is the most populous city in Ōita Prefecture. Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōita is as shown below

History

The area of Ōita city was part of ancient Bungo Province, and the location of the Bungo Kokubun-ji and presumably the Bungo kokufu were located in this area. According to the Bungo no Kuni Fudoki, the name Ōita was given by Emperor Keiko when he visited this area in the late Kofun period; however, the main urban center was the port of Funai (府内) on the coast. During the Kamakura period, the Ōtomo clan was appointed shugo of the province, and made Funai their jōkamachi. By the Sengoku period, the Ōtomo has conquered most of Kyushu and had embraced Nanban culture, with Funai becoming a stronghold of the Kirishitan religion and western technology. However, the Ōtomo were destroyed by the Shimazu clan and after the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, their territories were divided, with Funai becoming the center of Funai Domain ruled by the Ogyū-Matsudaira clan.

The town of Ōita was established on 1 May 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system, and was raised to city status in 1911. On 1 April 1997, it was designated as a core city with greater local autonomy.

On 1 January 2005, the town of Notsuharu (from Ōita District) and the town of Saganoseki (from Kitaamabe District) were merged into Ōita.

Government

Ōita has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 44 members. Ōita contributes 13 members to the Ōita Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Ōita 1st district and Ōita 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

During the 1960s and 1970s, an industrial region was formed along the Beppu Gulf coast. Among the plants in the region were flagship plants of Nippon Steel and Showa Denko.

In the 1970s, Toshiba and Canon built and expanded their plants in inland area. By then, the city emerged as a major production center of electronics products such as LSIs and digital cameras.

The downtown and shopping districts are located to the north of Oita Station. However, the area has been gradually declining because the main commercial areas have been dispersed due to the construction of big shopping malls in the suburbs.

Education

National universities

Oita University

Prefectural universities

Oita Prefectural College of Arts and Culture

Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences

Private universities

Beppu University – Oita Campus

Nippon Bunri University

Oita Junior College

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

Primary and secondary schools

Ōita has 54 public elementary schools, 25 public junior high schools, and two combined elementary/junior high schools operated by the city government. The city has 14 public high schools and one combined middle/high school operated by the Ōita Prefectural Board of Education, six private high schools and three private combined middle/high schools. The city also operates four and the prefecture operates one special education schools for the handicapped.

Transportation

Airport

Oita Airport is located in neighbouring Kunisaki, and is accessible by bus, taxi, private vehicle, and hovercraft.

Railways

The luxury Aru Ressha train was designed by Eiji Mitooka. It runs between Ōita and Hita and is in service to also revive tourism and the local economy.

JR Kyushu - Nippō Main Line

Nishi-Ōita - Ōita - Maki - Takajō - Tsurusaki - Ōzai - Sakanoichi - Kōzaki

JR Kyushu - Hōhi Main Line

Takenaka - Naka-Handa - Ōita-Daigaku-mae - Shikido - Takio - Ōita

JR Kyushu - Kyūdai Main Line

Bungo-Kokubu - Kaku - Minami-Ōita - Furugō - Ōita

Highways

Higashikyushu Expressway

National Route 10

National Route 57

National Route 197

National Route 210

National Route 217

National Route 442

Ports

Port of Oita

Sister cities

Austin, Texas, United States, sister city since October 1990

Aveiro, Portugal, sister city since October 1978

Guangzhou, China, exchange promotion city partnership since September 1997

Wuhan, China, friendship city since September 1979

Local attractions

Resonac Dome Oita (originally the Ōita Stadium), also known as Big Eye, is situated along the city expressway. It is the home field of the J.League football club Ōita Trinita and is used for large local events.

Takasaki Mountain (高崎山) that borders Beppu is famous for wild monkeys, specifically the Japanese macaque. Facing the entrance to the Takasaki-yama park is the "Oita Marine Palace Aquarium", also known as "Umi-Tamago", or "Sea Egg".

Festivals and events

The Ōita Tanabata Festival (大分七夕まつり, Ōita Tanabata Matsuri) is annually held on the first weekend of August. On the first night of the festival, an event called Funai Pacchin (府内戦紙) in which Matsuri floats depicting warriors are paraded through the central streets of the city is held.

Sports

Annual sporting events include:

Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, which traces a path between Ōita and its neighbouring city of Beppu. The competition has been held every year since 1952 and is classed as an IAAF Silver Label road race.

The Kyūshū Ekiden, beginning in Nagasaki and ending in Fukuoka, the world's longest relay race

Sporting events held in Oita include:

1966 National Sports Festival of Japan

2001 Kirin Cup

2002 FIFA World Cup

2003, 2006, 2007 Kirin Challenge Cup

2005 J. League All-Star Soccer

2019 Rugby World Cup

Notable people from Ōita

Mao Abe, singer-songwriter

Takamasa Anai, judo wrestler

Yuya Ando, baseball player

Misa Etō, former Nogizaka46

Eri Fukatsu, actress

Sōsuke Genda, baseball player

Arata Isozaki, architect

Yūko Kotegawa, actress

Atsuhiro Miura, football player

Daisuke Miyazaki, handball player

Tomiichi Murayama, 81st Prime Minister of Japan

Shigeichi Nagano, photographer

Chiyotaikai Ryūji, sumo wrestler

Yūsuke Santamaria, tarento

Rino Sashihara, HKT48, former AKB48

Kenichi Shinoda, yakuza, sixth chairman of the Yamaguchi-gumi

Skull Reaper A-ji, professional wrestler, mahjong player and politician

Seiichi Uchikawa, baseball player

Naomi Zaizen, actress