Takanezawa, Tochigi

Takanezawa 高根沢町
Town
Takanezawa town office Takanezawa town office
Flag of Takanezawa Flag Official seal of Takanezawa Seal
Location of Takanezawa in Tochigi Prefecture Location of Takanezawa in Tochigi Prefecture
Takanezawa
Coordinates:
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Tochigi Prefecture
District	Shioya
Area
• Total	70.87 km2 (27.36 sq mi)
Population (May 2015)
• Total	29,541
• Density	417/km2 (1,080/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
- Tree	Ginkgo biloba
- Flower	Siberian Iris
- Bird	Eurasian skylark
Phone number	028-675-8100
Address	Ōaza Ishizue 2053, Takanezawa-machi, Shioya-gun, Tochigi-ken 329-1292
Website	Official website

Takanezawa (高根沢町, Takanezawa-machi) is a town located in Shioya District, Tochigi Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. As of May 2015, the town had an estimated population of 29,541 and a population density of 417 persons per km². Its total area was 70.87 km².

Geography

Takanezawa is located in the flatlands of east-central Tochigi Prefecture with an average elevation of 109-195 meters. Over 65% of the town area is agricultural.

Surrounding municipalities

• Tochigi Prefecture
  • Utsunomiya
  • Sakura
  • Nasukarasuyama
  • Ichikai
  • Moka

History

Akutsu village, Kitatakanezawa village, and Niita village were created within Shioya District of Tochigi Prefecture on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the municipalities system after the Meiji Restoration. In April 1953 Akutsu village was elevated in status into Akutsu town. On March 31, 1954, Niita village was dissolved, with a portion merging with Kitatakanezawa village, and a portion going to Ujie Town (also in Shioya District). Akutsu and Kitatakanezawa merged on April 1, 1958 to create the town of Takanezawa.

Takanezawa was once home of the Honda R&D Plant that hand-crafted the 1990-2004 model year NSX, 1999-2003 model year S2000, and 2000-2004 model year Insight. Honda originally created this plant to exclusively build its flagship car, the NSX, but added the S2000 and Insight to the production line-up at the beginning of the 21st century to maximize production output necessitated by NSX's waning sales.

Economy

The economy of Takanezawa is heavily dependent on agriculture, with rice cultivation as the primary crop. Secondary crops include tobacco, wheat, strawberries and pears.

Education

Takanezawa has six primary schools, two middle schools and one high school.

Transportation

Railway

• JR East – Tōhoku Main Line (Utsunomiya Line)
  • Hōshakuji
• JR East - Karasuyama Line
  • Hōshakuji - Shimotsuke-Hanaoka - Niita

Highway

• Japan National Route 4
• Japan National Route 408

Local attractions

• Takanezawa Onsen

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website (Japanese)