Japan City Guide - 日本 都 市ガイド

Anjō (安城市, Anjō-shi) is a city located in Aichi, Japan. As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 164,043 and the density of 1,907.25 persons per km². The total area is 86.01 km². The city was founded on May 5, 1952. The city is known as the 'Denmark' of Japan, and produces its own microbrew known as den-beer. Rural areas in Anjō are known for it's popular production of Figs and the Nashi Pear.

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Aisai (愛西市, Aisai-shi) is a city located in the Owari Region of Aichi Prefecture, Japan. On April 1, 2005, Saya and Saori Towns and Hachikai and Tatsuta Villages of Ama District were merged into Aisai. As of March 15, 2005, the city has an estimated population of 65,597 and a density of 984 persons per km². The total area is 66.63 km².

The Hommaru Palace was one of the most excellent examples among the modern castle palaces built between the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573—1598) and the beginning of the Edo period (1603—1867).

Along with the Ninomaru Palace of Nijo Castle in Kyoto, which is designated as a National Treasure, the Hommaru Palace was also one of the best models of Japanese architecture. Both the Hommaru Palace and the castle donjon had been previously designated as National Treasures, but were lost to fire in 1945 during the war.　

2010 will mark the 400th anniversary of the beginning of construction of Nagoya Castle. For this occasion, there are efforts in Nagoya to restore the once internationally important cultural heritage, Hommaru Palace.

The origin of this Japanese garden was as the retirement residence for Mitsutomo, the second-generation lord of the Owari Tokugawa clan. In 2004 a new typical daimyo (feudal lord) garden and a stroll-style pond were created. In addition to this, the Hosa Library at the Tokugawaen, with a collection of books and materials of the Owari Tokugawa clan comprising the main part of its collection was also expanded in 2004.

The area between Nagoya Castle and the Tokugawaen, the former area for the residences of the warrior families, has been cultivated as Nagoya’s “Cultural Neighborhood”. This neighborhood is being turned into an area in which architectural heritages are preserved and utilized, and where nature finds balance with the urban landscape.

The Nagoya area was home to several fortifications that predated the current version of Nagoya castle. The first recorded structure was built by Shiba Takatsune at Kiyosu west of Nagoya late in the fourteenth century. This castle was eventually taken by Oda Nobunaga while unifying the province of Owari. Imagawa Ujichika built the original castle around 1525. Oda Nobuhide took it from Imagawa Ujitoyo in 1532, but later abandoned it.

Nagoya (名古屋市, Nagoya-shi) is the fourth-largest city in Japan. Located on the Pacific coast in the Chūbu region on central Honshū, it is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba, and Hakata.

The Sapporo Street Car (札幌市電, Sapporo Shiden) is a tram network of Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by Sapporo City Transportation Bureau. Among local residents, the line is often called the Electric Railway (電車, Densha), as well as the Streetcar. The first section of the network opened in 1909 as Sapporo Stone Horsecar Railway (札幌石材馬車鉄道, Sapporo Sekizai Basha Tetsudō), which was later electrified in 1918. The Transportation Bureau took over the network in 1927.