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36-635: Gyōda is located in north-central Saitama Prefecture, with the Tone River separating it from Gunma Prefecture. The entire city is located on the alluvial plain of the Tone River and the Arakawa River . The altitude is 19.7 meters above sea level (Gyoda City Hall), and the city as a whole is around 20 meters above sea level. The highest point is 36 meters above sea level (in Saitama Kofun Park). Gyōda has

72-552: A Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa ) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Gyōda is 14.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1300 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.5 °C. Per Japanese census data,

108-503: A southern part facing the Pacific Ocean. The Hydrangea hirta species can be found in these mountain ranges. Most of the 3.8 million inhabitants live in the north, and all but one of the island's few larger cities are located there. Mount Ishizuchi ( 石鎚山 ) in Ehime at 1,982 m (6,503 ft) is the highest mountain on the island. Industry is moderately well developed and includes

144-439: A type of deep-fried tofu pockets seasoned with sugar, mirin, and soy sauce. A thin slice of kamaboko , a halfmoon-shaped fish cake, is often added. Shichimi can be added to taste. Another specialty is Kōchi 's signature dish, seared bonito . The warm climate of Shikoku lends itself to the cultivation of citrus fruits. As a result, yuzu , mikan and other citrus fruits are plentiful on Shikoku and have become synonymous with

180-433: Is Matsuyama (population: 507,137) and is the capital of Ehime Prefecture . Shikoku is the main island with the third largest population density, at 193 inhabitants per square kilometre (500/sq mi). Per Japanese census data, and, Shikoku region's peak population was at 1950 and has had negative population growth from 1950 to 1970 and 1990 onward. Shikoku has historically been quite isolated and therefore it has kept

216-601: Is 322 kilometers (200 mi) in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano ) and has a drainage area of 16,840 square kilometers (6,500 sq mi) (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō ( 坂東太郎 ); Bandō is an obsolete alias of the Kantō Region , and Tarō is a popular given name for an oldest son. It is regarded as one of the "Three Greatest Rivers" of Japan,

252-451: Is a local speciality consisting of fried bean curd, carrots, onion, and potato. There are many shops which sell it around town, especially during the warmer seasons. Gyōda is a center for traditional tabi socks, worn with kimono . Gyoda still makes half of the tabi made in Japan. Tone River The Tone River ( 利根川 , Tone-gawa ) is a river in the Kantō region of Japan . It

288-517: Is also famous for its 88-temple pilgrimage of temples. The pilgrimage was established by the Heian-period Buddhist priest Kūkai , a native of present-day Zentsūji-cho in Kagawa prefecture. According to legend, Kūkai still appears to pilgrims today. Most modern-day pilgrims travel by bus, rarely choosing the old-fashioned method of going by foot. They are seen wearing white jackets emblazoned with

324-509: Is over 230km but the final 10km or so into Choshi is on a road. The remaining 220km is on detached cycling paths high up on the river bank with great views of mountains while in Gunma and large rice fields and agriculture as you approach the ocean. [REDACTED] Media related to Tone River at Wikimedia Commons Shikoku Shikoku ( 四国 , Shikoku , lit.   ' four provinces ' ) , Japanese pronunciation: [ɕikokɯ]

360-449: Is the largest of Japan's islands to completely lack them. But Shikoku did experience volcanic activity in the distant prehistoric past; a major volcanic caldera in the area of Mount Ishizuchi was active during the Miocene around 14 million years ago and the small volcanic cone of Mount Iino at an unknown date. Shikoku has a total population of 3,630,320 in 2022. The largest city

396-469: Is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan . It is 225 km or 139.8 mi long and between 50 and 150 km or 31.1 and 93.2 mi at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu . Shikoku's ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima ( 伊予之二名島 ) , Iyo-shima ( 伊予島 ) , and Futana-shima ( 二名島 ) , and its current name refers to

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432-590: The Kansai area which has a large population, including the large conurbations of Osaka , Kyoto , and Kobe . Therefore, the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway carries a large traffic volume. Many highway buses are operated between Kansai and Tokushima Prefecture . The central part of Shikoku is connected to Honshu by ferry, air, and – since 1988 – by the Great Seto Bridge network. Until completion of

468-595: The Keiyō Industrial Zone . The Minakami onsen area in Gunma Prefecture is near the source for the Tone River and during the spring snow melt period, April–June, the river provides consistent grade 4 rapids (on the International Scale of River Difficulty ) over a 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) stretch. The river provides some of the best white water rafting and kayaking in Japan. The snow melt swells

504-657: The Meiji period , with the assistance of Dutch civil engineer Anthonie Rouwenhorst Mulder . Its vast watershed is thus largely artificial. Two ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy were named after the river, one of World War I vintage and another from World War II , the lead ship of its class . As a result of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster radioactive cesium concentrations of 110 becquerels per kilogram were found in silver crucian carp fish caught in

540-564: The Tōhoku region , in order to save time and to avoid risk in the open sea. With the advent of the railway in the 19th century major shipping on the Tone quickly declined, and inland ports such as Noda , Sekiyado , now part of Noda, Nagareyama , and Sawara , now part of Katori diminished in importance. Today the river has several dams that supply water for more than 30 million inhabitants of metropolitan Tokyo and large-scale industrial areas such as

576-755: The Oboke Koboke sections of the river. Shikoku has four important capes: Gamōda in Anan, Tokushima on the easternmost point on the island, Sada in Ikata, Ehime on the westernmost point. Muroto in Muroto, Kōchi and Ashizuri, the southern extreme of Shikoku, in Tosashimizu, Kōchi , jut into the Pacific Ocean. The island's northernmost point is in Takamatsu . Unlike the other three major islands of Japan, Shikoku has no active volcanoes, and

612-690: The Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Saitama 12th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . Gyōda has a mixed economy of agriculture and light manufacturing, especially for automobile components. SHOWA Corporation , a global manufacturer of automotive, motorcycle and outboard suspension systems, is headquartered in the city. [REDACTED] JR East – Takasaki Line [REDACTED] Chichibu Railway – Chichibu Main Line Zeri Furai

648-550: The Tone River in April 2012. The river is 180 kilometres (110 mi) from the Fukushima Daiichi Plant. Six fishery cooperatives and 10 towns along the river were asked to stop all shipments of fish caught in the Tone. The Tone River was an indispensable inland water link between the capitol at Edo , and later Tokyo, to the Pacific Ocean. It carried not only local products like soy sauce from Choshi , but also products from

684-507: The Tone River include the Agatsuma , Watarase , Kinu , Omoi , and the Kokai River   [ Wikidata ] . The Edo River branches away from the river and flows into Tokyo Bay . The Tone River was once known for its uncontrollable nature, and its route changed whenever floods occurred. It is hard to trace its ancient route, but it originally flowed into Tokyo Bay along the route of

720-409: The bridges, the region was isolated from the rest of Japan. The freer movement between Honshu and Shikoku was expected to promote economic development on both sides of the bridges, which has not materialized yet. Within the island, a web of national highways connects the major population centers. These include Routes 11 , 32 , 33 , 55 , and 56 . The Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) serves

756-595: The castle was the center of Oshi Domain , ruled by a branch of the Matsudaira clan until 1871, during which time the castle town prospered from its location on the Nakasendō highway. The town of Gyōda was created within Kitasaitama District, Saitama with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On April 1, 1937, Gyōda annexed the neighboring villages of Nagano, Hoshikawa and Mochida. It

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792-565: The characters reading dōgyō ninin ( 同行二人 ) meaning "two traveling together". Tokushima Prefecture also has its annual Awa Odori running in August at the time of the Obon festival, which attracts thousands of tourists each year from all over Japan and from abroad. Kōchi Prefecture is home to the first annual Yosakoi festival. The largest festival in Kōchi, it takes place in August every year and attracts dancers and tourists from all over Japan. One of

828-529: The diet in Kagawa Prefecture (formerly Sanuki Province) in the Edo period . The larger southern area of Shikoku is mountainous and sparsely populated. The only significant lowland is a small alluvial plain at Kōchi , the prefectural capital. The area's mild winters stimulated some truck farming , specializing in growing out-of-season vegetables under plastic covering. Two crops of rice can be cultivated annually in

864-487: The four former provinces that make up the island: Awa , Tosa , Sanuki , and Iyo . Shikoku Island, comprising Shikoku and its surrounding islands, covers about 18,800 square kilometres (7,259 sq mi) and consists of four prefectures : Ehime , Kagawa , Kōchi , and Tokushima . Across the Seto Inland Sea lie Wakayama , Osaka , Hyōgo , Okayama , Hiroshima , and Yamaguchi Prefectures on Honshu . To

900-403: The major foods of Shikoku is udon . Udon is often served hot as a noodle soup in its simplest form, as kake udon , in a mildly flavoured broth called kakejiru , which is made of dashi , soy sauce ( shōyu ), and mirin . It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions. Other common toppings include tempura , often prawn or kakiage (a type of mixed tempura fritter ), or aburaage ,

936-707: The major teams competing in Shikoku's major cities include: Two time darts Women's World Champion Mikuru Suzuki is a native of Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture on Shikoku. Shikoku is connected to Honshu by three expressways , which together form the Honshū–Shikoku Bridge Project . The eastern gateway to Shikoku, Naruto in Tokushima Prefecture has been linked to the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway since 1998. This line connects Shikoku to

972-418: The original characteristics of Japan for a longer period, especially in regards to vegetation and some architectural techniques. There are many Buddhist temples. The "lost" Shikoku has been described by an American writer, Alex Kerr , who lived in a remote mountain village near Oboke (大歩危) for many years from 1970 onwards. Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park is located in the south-west part of Shikoku. Shikoku

1008-888: The others being the Yoshino in Shikoku and the Chikugo in Kyūshū . The source of the Tone River is at Mount Ōminakami   [ Wikidata ] ( 大水上山 ) (1,831 meters (6,007 ft)) in the Echigo Mountains , which straddle the border between Gunma and Niigata Prefectures in Jōshin'etsu Kōgen National Park . The Tone gathers tributaries and pours into the Pacific Ocean at Cape Inubō , Choshi in Chiba Prefecture . Major tributaries of

1044-508: The population of Gyōda peaked around the year 2000 and has declined since. Gyōda contains many Kofun period burial mounds and has been inhabited since prehistoric times. “Saitama” is a local place name within Gyōda, and is recorded in Nara period documents. During the Sengoku period , Oshi Castle famously withstood a siege by Ishida Mitsunari in 1590. During the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate ,

1080-560: The present-day Edo River , and tributaries like the Watarase and Kinu had independent river systems. For the sake of water transportation and flood control, extensive construction began in the 17th century during the Tokugawa shogunate , when the Kantō region became the political center of Japan. The course of the river was significantly changed, and the present route of the river was determined during

1116-444: The processing of ores from the important Besshi copper mine . Land is used intensively. Wide alluvial areas, especially in the eastern part of the zone, are planted with rice and subsequently are double-cropped with winter wheat and barley. Fruit is grown throughout the northern area in great variety, including citrus fruits, persimmons, peaches, and grapes. Because of wheat production, Sanuki udon ( 讃岐うどん ) became an important part of

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1152-433: The regions they are grown in. Pioneering natural farmer Masanobu Fukuoka , author of The One-Straw Revolution , developed his methods here on his family's farm. Historically no Shikoku-based sports team has competed in the top Japanese division of baseball , football (soccer) or even rugby union . However, Tokushima Vortis have had two spells in the top flight of Japanese soccer ( J1 ) in 2014 and 2021. Currently

1188-538: The river to grade 4 in spring; in the summer it is a gentle grade 2. The Momijikyo section has 7 grade 3-4 rapids for 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) and is 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) long in total. The Tone River is home to Japan's longest car free cycling path. At over 220km long the Tone River Cycling Road 利根川サイクリングロード starts in Shibukawa City, Gunma and runs all the way to Choshi City, Chiba. The total route

1224-524: The southern area. The pulp and paper industry took advantage of the abundant forests and hydroelectric power. The major river in Shikoku is the Yoshino River . It runs 196 km (121.8 mi) from its source close to Mount Ishizuchi , flowing basically west to east across the northern boundaries of Kōchi and Tokushima Prefectures, reaching the sea at the city of Tokushima. The Yoshino is famous for Japan's best white-water rafting, with trips going along

1260-408: The west lie Ōita and Miyazaki Prefectures on Kyushu . Shikoku is ranked as the 50th largest island by area in the world. Additionally, it is ranked as the 23rd most populated island in the world, with a population density of 193 inhabitants per square kilometre (500/sq mi). Mountains running east and west divide Shikoku into a narrow northern subregion, fronting on the Seto Inland Sea , and

1296-439: Was elevated to city status on April 23, 1949. From 1954 to 1955, the city expanded by annexing the neighboring villages of Araki, Suka, Kitakawahara, Saitama, Hoshimiya, and Ōi. On January 1, 2006, the village of Minamikawara (from Kitasaitama District ) was merged into Gyōda. Gyōda has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 20 members. Gyōda contributes one member to

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