Aichi Prefecture
is located in the
Chūbu region of
Japan. The capital is
Nagoya.
Originally the region was divided into the three provinces of
Owari,
Mikawa and Ho. After the
Taika era, Mikawa and Ho were united into a single entity. In
1871, after the
Abolition of the han system, Owari, with the exception of the
Chita Peninsula, was institutionalized as
Nagoya Prefecture, while Mikawa combined with the Chita Peninsula formed the
Nukata Prefecture.Nagoya Prefecture was renamed to Aichi Prefecture in April of
1872, and was united with Nukata Prefecture on
November 27 of the same year.
The
Expo 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan, was held in
Seto and
Nagakute.
|
Satellite Picture of Mikawa Bay |
Located near the center of the Japanese main island of
Honshu, Aichi Prefecture faces the
Ise and
Mikawa Bays to the south and borders
Shizuoka to the east,
Nagano to the northeast,
Gifu to the north, and
Mie to the west. It measures 106 km east to west and 94 km south to north. With 5,153.81
km² it accounts for approximately 1.36% of the total surface area of Japan. The highest spot is
Chausuyama at 1415 m above sea level.
The western part of the prefecture is dominated by
Nagoya, Japan's fourth largest city, and its suburbs, while the eastern part is relatively less densely populated but still contains several major industrial centers.
Cities
35 cities are located in Aichi Prefecture.
Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each
district.
(as of April 1, 2006)*On August 20,
2003, the
town of
Tahara absorbed
Akabane to become the City of
Tahara.
*On April 1,
2005, the
towns of
Heiwa and
Sobue merged into the city of
Inazawa.
Nakashima District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
*On April 1, 2005, the city of
Bisai and the town of
Kisogawa merged into the city of
Ichinomiya.
Haguri District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
*On
April 1,
2005,
Saya and
Saori Towns and
Hachikai and
Tatsuta Villages of
Ama District merged to form the new city of
Aisai.
*On 1 April 1, 2005, the
towns of
Fujioka and
Obara from
Nishikamo District and the
towns of
Asuke,
Shimoyama,
Asahi and
Inabu from
Higashikamo District merged into the city of
Toyota.
Higashikamo District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
*On July 7, 2005, the
towns of
Kiyosu,
Shinkawa und
Nishibiwajima merged to form the new city of
Kiyosu.
*On October 1, 2005, the village of
Tsugu merged with the old town of
Shitara (both from
Kitashitara District) to form the new town of
Shitara.
*On October 1, 2005, the town of
Atsumi from
Atsumi District merged into the city of
Tahara.
Atsumi District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
*On October 1, 2005, the old city of
Shinshiro merged with the town of
Horai and the village of
Tsukude from
Minamishitara District to create the new city of
Shinshiro.
Minamishitara District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
*On November 27, 2005, the village of
Tomiyama from
Kitashitara District merged into the village of
Toyone.
*On January 1,
2006, the
town of
Nukata from
Nukata District merged into the city of
Okazaki.
*On February 1,
2006, the
town of
Ichinomiya from
Hoi District merged into the city of
Toyokawa.
*On March 20,
2006, the
towns of
Shikatsu and
Nishiharu from
Nishikasugai District merged to form the new city of
Kitanagoya.
*On April 1,
2006, the village of
Jushiyama merged into the
town of
Yatomi from
Ama District to become the city of
Yatomi.
Aichi's industrial output is higher than any other prefecture in Japan: the prefecture is known as the center of Japan's automotive and aerospace industries. Companies headquartered in Aichi include:
*
Aisin Seiki (
Kariya)
*
Brother Industries, Ltd. (Nagoya)
*
Central Japan Railway Company (Nagoya)
*
Denso Corporation (Kariya)
*
Makita Corporation (Anjou)
*
Matsuzakaya (Nagoya)
*
Nagoya Railroad (Nagoya)
*
Nippon Sharyo (Nagoya)
*
Noritake (Nagoya)
*
Toyota Motor Corporation (
Toyota)
Companies such as
Daimler Chrysler,
Fuji Heavy Industries,
Mitsubishi Motors,
Pfizer,
Sony,
Suzuki, and
Volkswagen also operate plants in Aichi.
As of
2001 Aichi Prefecture's population was 50.03%
male and 49.97%
female.139,540 residents or nearly 2% are of foreign
nationality.
Population by age (2001) | Age | % Population | % Male | % Female |
|---|
| 0 - 9 | 10.21 | 10.45 | 9.96 |
|---|
| 10 - 19 | 10.75 | 11.02 | 10.48 |
|---|
| 20 - 29 | 15.23 | 15.71 | 14.75 |
|---|
| 30 - 39 | 14.81 | 15.31 | 14.30 |
|---|
| 40 - 49 | 12.21 | 12.41 | 12.01 |
|---|
| 50 - 59 | 15.22 | 15.31 | 15.12 |
|---|
| 60 - 69 | 11.31 | 11.22 | 11.41 |
|---|
| 70 - 79 | 6.76 | 6.01 | 7.52 |
|---|
| over 80 | 3.12 | 2.01 | 4.23 |
|---|
| unknown | 0.38 | 0.54 | 0.23 |
|---|
Notable sites in Aichi include the
Meiji Mura open-air architectural museum in
Inuyama, which preserves historic buildings from Japan's
Meiji and
Taisho eras, including the reconstructed lobby of
Frank Lloyd Wright's old
Imperial Hotel (which originally stood in Tokyo from
1923 to
1967).
Other sites in Aichi include the tour of the
Toyota car factory in the city by the same name, the monkey park in
Inuyama, and the castles in
Nagoya,
Okazaki,
Toyohashi, and
Inuyama.
Because of Aichi's location along the Eastern seacoast, there are some scenic spots, but other than the Atsumi Peninsula surf beaches there are no significant beach destinations when compared to neighboring
Shizuoka Prefecture. Most attractions are man-made destinations, dealing with the region's history or modern marvels.
*
Official Aichi Prefecture homepage*
Aichi Prefectural Tourist Association
