Nishiwaki, Hyōgo

Nishiwaki

西脇市
Nishiwaki ; 西脇市
City
	Flag Emblem
	Location of Nishiwaki in Hyōgo Prefecture
	Nishiwaki Location in Japan
	Coordinates: 34°59′25″N 134°58′20″E / 34.99028°N 134.97222°ECoordinates: 34°59′25″N 134°58′20″E / 34.99028°N 134.97222°E
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Prefecture	Hyōgo Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Juichi Kishi (since November 2005)
Area
• Total	132.47 km2 (51.15 sq mi)
Population (May 1, 2017)
• Total	41,336
• Density	310/km2 (810/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	Gonose 605, Nishiwaki City, Hyōgo Prefecture (兵庫県西脇市郷瀬町605); 677-8511
Website	www.city.nishiwaki.lg.jp
Flower
Symbols
Flower	Phlox subulata
Tree	Cherry blossom

Nishiwaki (西脇市, Nishiwaki-shi) is a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It was founded on April 1, 1952.

The city calls itself "The Navel of Japan (Nihon no Heso)." Located at the crossing of the 135° East meridian and the 35° North parallel, the city's Nihon no Heso Park marks the center of the nation. JR West operates Nihon Heso Station on the Kakogawa Line (in addition to other stations in Nishiwaki).

As of May 1, 2017, the city had an estimated population of 41,336, with 16,858 households,^[1] and a population density of 310 persons per km². The total area is 132.47 km².

On October 1, 2005, the town of Kurodashō (from Taka District) was merged into Nishiwaki.

Mascots[]

Nisshi (にっしー） was made to promote the city in 2010, and she wears a blue clothes made of "Banshu-Ori", which is a kind of textile and famous in Nisiwaki city.^[2]

Sakura (さくら) is Nisshi's sister and wears pink clothes.^[3]

Heso-no-Kanchan (へそのかんちゃん) was made to promote a historical drama, Gunshi-Kanbe (), which had been broadcast in 2014. "Kanchan" was designed after the model of Kanbe's appearance in his childhood.^[4]

Transportation[]

Railway[]

JR West - Kakogawa Line
- Nishiwakishi - Shin-Nishiwaki - Hie - Nihon-heso-Koen - Kurodashō - Hon-Kuroda - Funamachiguchi

Highways[]

Sister city[]

Street sign in Renton, WA commemorating its sister city

Nishiwaki has been the sister city of Renton, Washington, U.S.A since 1969.^[5] Since then there have been mutual exchanges between the cities, most notably the annual middle school exchange program which began in 1989. (The US delegation was in Japan October 3–13, 1989.) The initial delegation from the US included (future) actress Casey Strand.