Atami

Atami 熱海市
City
Beach in Atami City with sea bathers
Flag Emblem
Location of Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture
Atami
Coordinates: 35°05′45.5″N 139°4′17.6″E / 35.095972°N 139.071556°E / 35.095972; 139.071556Coordinates: 35°05′45.5″N 139°4′17.6″E / 35.095972°N 139.071556°E / 35.095972; 139.071556
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu
Prefecture	Shizuoka
First official recorded	699 AD
City Settled	April 10, 1937
Government
• Mayor	Sakae Saitō
Area
• Total	61.78 km2 (23.85 sq mi)
Population  (October 1, 2020)
• Total	34,233
• Density	554.1/km2 (1,435/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
Postal code	413-8550
City symbols
• Tree	Sakura
• Flower	Ume
• Bird	Common gull
Phone number	0557-86-6000
Address	1-1 Chūō-chō, Atami-shi, Shizuoka-ken
Website	Official website

Atami (熱海市, Atami-shi) is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 May 2019, the city had an estimated population of 36,865 in 21,593 households^[1] and a population density of 600 persons per km². The total area of the city is 61.78 square kilometres (23.85 sq mi).

Geography[]

Atami is located in the far eastern corner of Shizuoka Prefecture at the northern end of Izu Peninsula. The city is on the steep slopes of a partially submerged volcanic caldera on the edge of Sagami Bay. The name "Atami" literally means "hot ocean," a reference to the town's famous onsen hot springs. The city boundaries include the offshore island of Hatsushima. Most of Atami is located within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Warmed by the Kuroshio Current offshore, the area is known for its moderate maritime climate with hot, humid summers, and short winters.

Surrounding municipalities[]

• Shizuoka Prefecture
  • Kannami
  • Izunokuni
  • Itō
• Kanagawa Prefecture
  • Yugawara

Demographics[]

Per Japanese census data,^[2] the population of Atami has been in slow decline over the past 25 years.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1995	45,610	—
2000	42,936	−5.9%
2005	41,202	−4.0%
2010	39,611	−3.9%
2015	37,544	−5.2%
2020	34,233	−8.8%

Climate[]

The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Atami is 15.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1968 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 6.1 °C.^[3]

History[]

Atami has been known as a resort town centered on its hot springs since the 8th century AD. In the Kamakura period, Minamoto no Yoritomo and Hōjō Masako were notable visitors. During the Edo period, all of Izu Province was tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the cadastral reform of the early Meiji period in 1889, Atami village was organized within Kamo District, Shizuoka. It was elevated to town status on June 11, 1894, and was transferred to the administrative control of Tagata District in 1896.

The epicenter of the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923 was deep beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay, close to Atami, which suffered considerable damage, as did other municipalities throughout the surrounding Kantō region.^[4] The tsunami wave height reached 11 meters (35 feet) at Atami, swamping the town and drowning three hundred people.^[5]

The modern city of Atami was founded on April 10, 1937, through the merger of Atami Town with neighboring Taga Village. After the proclamation of Atami as an "International Tourism and Culture City" by the Japanese government in 1950, the area experienced rapid growth in large resort hotel development. This growth increased after Atami station became a stop on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen high-speed train line in 1964. In concert with its famous onsen, Atami was known for its onsen geisha. Atami experienced a considerable decline in popularity as a vacation destination due to the Japanese economic crisis in the 1990s and the associated fall in large group company-sponsored vacations, but is currently experiencing a revival as a commuter town due to its proximity to Tokyo and Yokohama.

The Inagawa-kai, third largest of Japan's Yakuza groups, was founded in Atami in 1949 as the Inagawa-gumi (稲川組) by Kakuji Inagawa.^[6]

The Izu Study and Research Center is a study facility of the Japanese Communist Party, where they hold its annual congress.^[7]

2021 landslide[]

Following torrential rainfall a landslide was triggered which swept through part of the city on 3 July 2021, with 20 people missing and 2 feared dead.^[8][9]

Government[]

Atami has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 15 members.

Economy[]

The economy of Atami is heavily dependent on the tourist industry, mostly centered on its hot spring resorts.^[10] Commercial fishing is a major secondary industry.

Education[]

Atami has eight public elementary schools and four public junior high schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Shizuoka Prefectural Board of Education. The International University of Health and Welfare, based in Ōtawara, Tochigi, has a campus in Atami.

Transport[]

Railway[]

• Central Japan Railway Company - Tōkaidō Shinkansen
  • Atami Station
• East Japan Railway Company - Tōkaidō Main Line
  • Atami Station
• East Japan Railway Company - Itō Line
  • Atami Station – Kinomiya Station – Izu-Taga Station – Ajiro Station

Highway[]

• National Route 135
• Atami Beach Line
• Izu Skyline

International relations[]

Twin towns – Sister cities[]

Atami is twinned with:

• Beppu, Ōita, Japan (since August 1966)
• Sanremo, Italy^[11] (since November 1976)
• Cascais, Portugal^[11] (since July 1990)
• Zhuhai, China, (friendship city, since July 2004) ^[12]

Notable people[]

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• Yū Hayami, singer, actress
• Yuka Imai, voice actress
• Yuji Ohno, jazz musician
• Mitsuko Uchida, classical pianist

Local attractions[]

• MOA Museum of Art, housing the extensive art collection of eccentric multimillionaire and religious leader Mokichi Okada
• Izusan Jinja, an ancient Shinto shrine
• Peace Pagoda, built by Nipponzan-Myōhōji in 1961.

In popular culture[]

• In the 1951 film Tokyo File 212, a key scene takes place at a resort in Atami.
• In the 1953 film Tokyo Story the parents visit the hot springs in Atami.
• Much of the 1953 film A Japanese Tragedy is set in Atami.
• Atami is also the setting of the TV drama Atami no Sousakan.
• Atami also appears in the 1954 film Golden Demon (Konjiki Yasha), based on the novel of the same name by Kōyō Ozaki, as the place where two main characters become engaged to be married.^[13]
• In the 1962 film King Kong vs. Godzilla, the final battle ends with Godzilla and King Kong descending Mount Fuji into the outskirts of Atami, where they destroy Atami Castle, then plunge into the ocean, with Kong emerging victorious.
• In the 1967 film Gappa, the Triphibian Monster, the two adult Gappa creatures make landfall in Atami, destroying much of it in the process.
• In the Anime Only Yesterday (Ghibli, 1991) the 10 years old main character Taeko did her vacation in Atami, visiting some of the onsen.^[14]
• In the 2016 anime Prince of Stride, Atami is the first stop in the End of Summer Trial Tour.^[15]
• In the 89th episode of the anime "Urusei Yatsura", Mrs. Moroboshi wins a 2 day trip to Atami with her husband, leaving her son Ataru, the main character, at home alone with Lum.

Notes[]

References[]

• Hammer, Joshua. (2006). Yokohama Burning: The Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-6465-7; ISBN 978-0-7432-6465-5 (cloth).

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atami, Shizuoka.

• Atami travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official Website (in Japanese)