Komaki (red part)

The city of Komaki is located in Aichi Prefecture of Central Japan, which has ranked the highest in total shipments manufactured goods since 1977. Also, situated midway between Japan's largest and second largest cities, Tokyo and Osaka, Komaki is a dynamic and growing city where commerce and industry have well developed by grace of its geographical advantage. Besides these aspects, the abundantly green hills and cultural assets in Komaki have made it an attractive tourist and recreation zone. Visitors enjoy themselves in varied manners. Many have learned culture distinctive to Komaki by visiting historical sites along with modern facilities. Thus, the city provides an incomparable opportunity to experience both traditional and contemporary aspects of life in Japan.

Komaki's climate is relatively mild. The coldest is January and the hottest August. The temperature averages out at 2.8 degrees centigrade (37 degrees Fahrenheit) in January while it stands at 27.1 degrees centigrade (80.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on the average in August. Rainfall is not heavy in comparison with other areas. It snows in winter (December through January in general), but rarely does Komaki have a heavy snow. January has the least rain. As in most regions in Japan, June and July are the rainy season and September and October the wet and typhoon season.

　　　　　　　　　Interchange
Komaki is viewed as one of the primary gateways to Japan. Being a hub for transportation networks, the city provides convenient access not only to anywhere in Japan but to 31 cities in foreign countries as well. A favorably situated city, Komaki has served as an important junction for passengers and freight traffic on the Tomei, Meishin, Chuo, and Nagoya City Expressways. Additionally, the airport in Komaki called Nagoya International Airport has long served as the regionﾕs gateway to the sky. Being an international hub airport, it currently offers 223 international flights a week to 31 cities in the Americas, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The airport also provides 88 flights a day to 30 cities in Japan.

　　　Nagoya International Airport
Thanks to such an advantage, Komaki has well-developed commerce and industry. Internationally known manufacturing corporations such as Casio and Mitsubishi have their plants in Komaki. Aside from several shopping malls and a huge home center, a good number of varying types of stores have opened in recent years. In addition, Komaki offers a wide selection of excellent local and international cuisines. A number of restaurants and bars cater to the tastes of a rich variety of nationalities. They include American, Korean, Chinese, Italian, Brazilian, and French food.

Dohtaku bronze bell
　300 BCE-300CE
Komaki boasts a rich heritage. It has many legends and history as it has flourished since antiquity. Archeological evidence tells us human life in Komaki began more than 10,000 years ago. A number of artifacts, thought of as being used during the neolithic period, have been excavated from the sites of prehistorical settlements in Komaki. Aside from such archeological evidence, surviving written documents also prove its long history. For example, the name of Tagata Shinto Shrine, situated in the northern part of Komaki, is found in Engishiki-Shinmei-cho, an imperial official document compiled as early as 967 CE.

Komaki is a significant storehouse of religious tradition. Tagata Shinto Shrine, being renowned for its unique fertility festival from coast to coast, is archetypical. Celebrated in March, the festival becomes the highlight when a procession with a large wooden phallus that is made of Japanese cypress starts. A great number of people visit the festival every year. So famous is the festival among American serviceman-and-women in particular that many come to the festival from US military bases throughout Japan. It looks strange at a glance but is a truly serious festival for those desiring to have a baby and to have a good crop of rice.

　　　　　　　Menard Fine Art Museum
Komaki had been a village long before the United States opened Japan's door to the West in 1854. Komaki became a town in 1906. In 1955, Komaki was incorporated as a city. Since then, Komaki has remarkably grown. Upon becoming a city in 1955, Komaki had a population of 32,000. Thereafter, the number dramatically surged to 147,044 as of September 1 of 2001. The figure represents a 4.5-fold increase in the number of residents since 1955. Also, there are now 53,722 households. The city's budget was likewise boosted. It approximates as much as some 860 million dollars in 2000. The city's financial healthiness ranked Komaki among the top municipal corporations in the nation in 1999. Nearly 1,900 full-time officials work for the city.

The infrastructure has improved in Komaki. For instance, internet service through cable TV network and DSL is available throughout the city. Both residents and corporations enjoy the broadband internet service. As a result, the residents can easily e-mail back and forth with those in any foreign cities including our sister city Wyandotte.

　　　　　　Peach Liner

In 1989, the city completed New Komaki Station as commuter hub downtown. In spring of 1991, a new type of rail link between the Town and Meitetsu Komaki Station (7.4 kilometers away) began, as contributed to much more convenient commuting. It is an underground station with multi-level train crossing and a bus depot. Seeing it reminds you of a busy subway station in New York City. Overhead, Komaki has the Tohkadai Line, where Peach Liners began to run in 1991. A new high-tech energy-saving transportation system reminiscent of Detroit's People Mover, the Peach Liner runs between the downtown and Tohkadai New Town.

　　　　Tohkadai New Town

Tohkadai is Japanese for the hills full of peach blossoms. Located in the eastern part of Komaki, Tohkadai New Town has developed as a dynamic bedroom community of approximately 40,000 residents in the eastern part of the city. According to the city planning, it will eventually grow into the large community that consists of a commercial area and 42 residential districts. In this way, the Town has been growing with well-planned residential neighborhoods and a new type of convenient transportation links to many areas including Nagoya.

　　　City Hall & South Annex

In addition to the infrastructural and superstructural developments, the city has made efforts to improve education and public health. A number of schools have been founded including several private and 19 municipal kindergartens, 16 municipal elementary schools, nine municipal junior high schools, one private and three prefectural senior high schools, two private universities, a practical nurse school, and a prefectural special education school for the disabled. There are also many private after-school-cram-schools called juku where students attend after school to prepare for entrance exams for more famous junior highs, senior highs, and universities.

In public health, the city owns and administers the Komaki Civic Hospital, which has the latest high-tech medical equipment. The hospital, open around the clock for every emergency, has 25 diagnostic departments and 544 beds. Many physicians there understand English because of their postdoctoral study in the United States. The hospital can boast one of the best in the northern portion of Aichi Prefecture. Additionally, as the citizens' concern about health grows, sports become more popular among them.

Park Arena

To realize a healthy community, the city has built many sporting facilities. They comprise the Komaki Martial Arts Gym, the Open-Air Doronko Athletic Gym, an all-season indoor waving swimming pool, the Komaki City Baseball Stadium, where professional baseball games are often played. Moreover, Park Arena Komaki, a newly constructed complex of athletic facilities, was opened up in October of 2001. This indoor complex is big enough to be able to accommodate 5,000 people. In this manner, the people of Komaki are proud of its rich heritage and rapid expansion due to both infrastructural and superstructural developments.

Written by Kenji Watanabe