Sakaiminato, Tottori facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sakaiminato 境港市
City
Downtown Sakaiminato, near Sakaiminato Station
Flag Seal
Location of Sakaiminato in Tottori Prefecture
Sakaiminato Location in Japan
Country	Japan
Region	Chūgoku (San'in)
Prefecture	Tottori
Area
• Total	29.10 km2 (11.24 sq mi)
Population  (1 June 2016)
• Total	32,012
• Density	1,100.07/km2 (2,849.2/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	3000, Agarimichichō, Sakaiminato-shi, Tottori-ken 684-8501
Climate	Cfa
Symbols Flower Chrysanthemum Tree Japanese Black Pine

Sakaiminato City Hall

Sakaiminato (境港市, Sakaiminato-shi) is a city in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 December  2021 (2021 -12-31)^[update], the city had an estimated population of 32,012 in 13178 households and a population density of 1110 persons per km². The total area of the city is 272.06 square kilometres (105.04 sq mi).

Geography

Sakaiminato is located in far western Tottori Prefecture, at the northern end of the Yumigahama Peninsula. It is surrounded on three sides by Lake Nakaumi, the Sea of Japan, and the Sakai Channel, which connects them. Across the Sakai Channel or across the Eshima Ohashi Bridge, it borders the city of Matsue in Shimane Prefecture. Sakaiminato is located on a sandbar, and the land is very flat, with an average elevation of two meters above sea level.

Surrounding municipalities

Tottori Prefecture

• Yonago

Shimane Prefecture

• Matsue

Climate

Sakaiminato has a Humid climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Sakaiminato is 15.5 °C (59.9 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,903.3 mm (74.93 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.3 °C (81.1 °F), and lowest in January, at around 4.9 °C (40.8 °F). Its record high is 38.5 °C (101.3 °F), reached on 22 August 2018, and its record low is −9.7 °C (14.5 °F), reached on 27 January 1904.

Demography

Per Japanese census data, the population of Sakaiminato has been as follows.

Etymology

The name of Sakaiminato in the Japanese language is formed from two kanji characters. The first, 境, means "border", and the second, 港 means "port".

History

The area of Sakaiminato was part of ancient Hōki Province and number remains from the Yayoi period and Kofun period have been found within city limits. In the Muromachi period, the area was dominated by the powerful Amago clan from Izumo Province and occupied an important position as a landing point for rice and navy anchorage. During the Sengoku period, it came under the control of the Mōri clan, and during the Edo Period, it was part of the holdings of the Ikeda clan of Tottori Domain. Following the Meiji restoration, the port prospered as a strategic point for domestic shipping routes in the Sea of Japan, and was designated as a trading port in 1896 for continental trade with Busan, Incheon, and Wonsan on the Korean Peninsula. The town of Sakai was established on October 21, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to city status on April 1, 1956, changing its name to Sakaiminato at that time.

Economy

The Sakai Port

The seaport of Sakaiminato has a long history as a seaport for the San'in Region. Following World War II the city has served as the base of the fishing industry for all of Western Japan. Consequently, marine product processing is also a major industry in the city.

Education

Sakaiminato has six public elementary schools and three public junior high schools operated by the town government. The city has two public high schools operated by the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Airport

• Miho-Yonago Airport

Railway

JR West - Sakai Line.

• Yonago Airport - Nakahama - Takamatsuchō - Amariko - Agarimichi - Babasakichō - Sakaiminato

Highways

• National Route 431

Seaports

• Port of Sakaiminato; The port at Sakaiminato serves the DBS Cruise ferry Eastern Dream, which connects Japan to Donghae, South Korea, and Vladivostok, Russia.

Sister cities

Sakaiminato is twinned with:

• Hunchun, China

Former twin towns

• Wonsan, North Korea (revoked in 2006). Sakaiminato was the only Japanese municipality to have a twin town agreement with a North Korean city from 1992 to 2006. In 2006, Mayor Katsuji Nakamura revoke the agreement in response to North Korea's announcement of a nuclear test along with the Japanese government's decision to impose economic sanctions. Actual twin town activities had already come to an end by 2002, after which the cities had only sent each other a letter once per year.

Local attractions

• Tottori Domain Battery Sites, National Historic Site

Notable people from Sakaiminato

• Shigeru Mizuki, the creator of GeGeGe no Kitaro, a character seen in many forms throughout Japan. Although he was born in Osaka, Mizuki was raised in Sakaiminato. The spirit of Kitaro can be found in Sakaiminato, on Kitaro Road, a street dedicated to all the characters that appear in Mizuki's stories. Over one hundred bronze statues of the story's characters line both sides of the road.
• Shōji Ueda

Gallery

• 

  Aerial view of part of Sakaiminato.

• 

  Eshima Ohashi Bridge links Sakaiminato and Matsue across a narrow channel.

See also

In Spanish: Sakaiminato (Tottori) para niños