Atami-shi is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 36,865 in 21,593 households[ Atami City official statistics ] and a population density of 600 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Atami is located in the far eastern corner of Shizuoka Prefecture at the northern end of
Izu Peninsula. The city is on the steep slopes of a partially submerged
volcanic caldera on the edge of
Sagami Bay.
Atami literally means "hot ocean", due to the town's famous
onsen hot springs. The city boundaries include the offshore island of Hatsushima. Most of Atami is located within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Warmed by the
Kuroshio Current offshore, the area is known for its moderate maritime climate with hot, humid summers, and short winters.
Surrounding municipalities
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Kanagawa Prefecture
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Shizuoka Prefecture
Climate
The city has a
climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (Köppen climate classification:
Cfa). The average annual temperature in Atami is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .
[
]
Demographics
, with the city's estimated population of 36,865[ Atami population statistics] the population of Atami has been in slow decline over the past half century.
History
Atami has been known as a resort town centered on its onsen since the 8th century AD. In the Kamakura period, Minamoto no Yoritomo and Hōjō Masako were notable visitors. During the Edo period, all of Izu Province was tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the cadastre reform of the early Meiji period in 1889, Atami village was organized within Kamo District, Shizuoka. It was elevated to town status on June 11, 1894, and was transferred to the administrative control of Tagata District in 1896.
The epicenter of the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923 was deep beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay, close to Atami, which suffered considerable damage, as did other municipalities throughout the surrounding Kantō region.[Hammer, Joshua. (2006). Yokohama Burning: the Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II, p. 278.] The tsunami wave height reached 11 meters (35 feet) at Atami, swamping the town and drowning three hundred people.[Hammer, p. 114.]
In 1932, Japanese authorities raided a meeting of members of the Japanese Communist Party in Atami.[The Japanese Communist Party 1922-1945 By Beckmann, George M page 237]
The Inagawa-kai, third largest of Japan's yakuza groups, was founded in Atami in 1949 as the 稲川組 by Kakuji Inagawa.[ "1993 Police White Paper Chapter 1 : The Actual Condition of the Boryokudan", 1993, National Police Agency ]
In 1963 the Japanese Communist Party established a study facility in the mountains near Atami. The JCP holds a triennial congress there.[ The Mountain Fortress of the Japan Communist Party]
The modern city of Atami was founded on April 10, 1937, through the merger of Atami Town with neighboring Taga Village. After the proclamation of Atami as an "International Tourism and Culture City" by the Japanese government in 1950, the area experienced rapid growth in large resort hotel development. This growth increased after Atami station became a stop on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen high-speed train line in 1964. In concert with its famous onsen, Atami was known for its onsen geisha.
Atami experienced a considerable decline in popularity as a vacation destination due to the Lost Decades and the associated fall in large group company-sponsored vacations, but is currently experiencing a revival as a commuter town due to its proximity to Tokyo and Yokohama.
2021 landslide
Following torrential rainfall a landslide was triggered which swept through part of the city on 3 July 2021. 27 people were killed and 3 were injured.
Government
Atami has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 15 members.
Economy
The economy of Atami is heavily dependent on the tourist industry, mostly centered on its hot spring resorts.[Mansfield, Stephen, " Cultures mingle amid Atami's hot springs ", Japan Times, 18 December 2011, p. 12.] Commercial fishing is a major secondary industry.
Education
Atami has eight public elementary schools and four public junior high schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Shizuoka Prefectural Board of Education. The International University of Health and Welfare, based in Ōtawara, Tochigi, has a campus in Atami.
Transport
Railway
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Central Japan Railway Company - Tōkaidō Shinkansen
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East Japan Railway Company - Tōkaidō Main Line
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East Japan Railway Company - Itō Line
Highway
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Atami Beach Line
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Izu Skyline
Sister cities
Atami is twinned with:
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Beppu, Ōita, Japan, since August 1966
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Sanremo, Italy, since November 1976
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Cascais, Portugal, since July 1990
[
]
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Zhuhai, China, friendship city since July 2004
Notable people
Local attractions
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Atami Castle, a Japanese castle replica serving as a museum, built in 1959. Features a garden with over 200 sakura trees
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Church of World Messianity headquarters
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Izusan Jinja, an ancient Shinto shrine, a major site of the syncretic Shugendō religion
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MOA Museum of Art, housing the extensive art collection of eccentric multimillionaire and religious leader Mokichi Okada
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Peace Pagoda, built by Nipponzan-Myōhōji in 1961
In popular culture
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In the 1951 film Tokyo File 212, a key scene takes place at a resort in Atami.
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In the 1953 film Tokyo Story, the parents visit the hot springs in Atami.
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Much of the 1953 film, A Japanese Tragedy, is set in Atami.
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Atami is also the setting of the TV drama Atami no Sousakan.
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Atami also appears in the 1954 film, Golden Demon (Konjiki Yasha), based on the novel of the same name by Kōyō Ozaki, as the place where two main characters become engaged to be married.
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In the 1962 film King Kong vs. Godzilla, the final throes of the film's climactic battle between Godzilla and King Kong sees them descending Mount Fuji and into Atami. After destroying Atami Castle during a trade of blows, the two monsters fall over a cliff into Sagami Bay, with Kong emerging as the victor of the fight.
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In the 1967 film, Gappa, the Triphibian Monster, the two adult Gappa creatures make landfall in Atami, destroying much of it in the process.
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In the Studio Ghibli anime drama, Only Yesterday, the main character Taeko goes to Atami at age 10, visiting some of the onsen, but she passes out in the Roman bath from dizziness.
[ Nausicaa.net: Synopsis Omohide Poro Poro]
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In the 2016 anime, Prince of Stride, Atami is the first stop in the End of Summer Trial Tour.
[ Prince of Stride: Alternative Episode 4 English Sub
]
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In the 89th episode of the anime, "Urusei Yatsura", Mrs. Moroboshi wins a 2-day trip to Atami with her husband, leaving her son Ataru, the main character, at home alone with Lum.
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In the 2019 video game, , protagonist Kaname Date is a detective solving a murder mystery. In one of the game's endings, he quits the case and goes with a woman to Atami. In the 2022 sequel, , protagonist Kuruto Ryuki can have a similar ending with the same woman.
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In Neon Genesis Evangelion, the first episode partially takes place in Atami, and is where Shinji Ikari is picked up by Misato Katsuragi.
Notes
External links
