Ōita (city)

City view from city centre

Ōita is the most populous city in Ōita Prefecture. As of 31 March 2017, the city has an estimated population of 478,491, with 216,853 households and a population density of 950 persons per km².[1] The total area of the city is 502.39 km².

The city is bordered by the City of Beppu to the northwest, the City of Yufu to the west, the City of Taketa to the southwest, the City of Bungo-ōno to the south, and the City of Usuki to the southeast. The north of the city faces Beppu Bay and the Seto Inland Sea.

Main street of Ōita

During the 1960s and 1970s, an industrial region was formed along the Beppu Gulf coast. Among the plants in the region were flagship plants of Nippon Steel and Showa Denko.

In the 1970s, Toshiba and Canon built and expanded their plants in inland area. By then, the city emerged as a major production center of electronics products such as LSIs and digital cameras.

The downtown and shopping districts are located to the north of Oita Station. However, the area has been gradually declining because the main commercial areas have been dispersed due to the construction of big shopping malls in the suburbs.

The Ōita area is historically known as Funai (府内), the capital of Bungo Province (豊後国).

During the Sengoku period (15th–16th centuries), the powerful Ōtomo clan based in Funai and the area prospered as a key port of trade with Portugal and Ming-dynasty China. Ōtomo Sōrin, a famous Christian daimyō, first introduced western culture. It was in Funai that the first western style hospital was built and the first Japanese choir was formed.

Ōita has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is somewhat lower in winter.

Marine Palace AKA "Umi Tamago"

Takasaki Mountain

Takasaki mountain (高崎山) that borders Beppu is famous for wild monkeys, specifically the Japanese macaque.

Facing the entrance to the Takasaki-yama park is the "Ōita Marine Palace" aquarium, also known as "Umi-Tamago", or "Sea Egg".[4]

Resonac Dome Oita (originally the Ōita Stadium), also known as Big Eye, is situated along the city expressway. It is the home field of the J.League football club Ōita Trinita and is used for large local events.

In the middle of the city, there are many shops and department stores. Some major departmental stores include Tokiwa, Parco, Frespo Kasugaura, and D Plaza. There are also shopping malls in the suburbs, such as Tokiwa Wasada Town and Park Place Oita.

Outside the city, scenic spots include mountain plateaus, seaside villages and towns renowned for onsen (geothermal hot springs).

Ōita is famous for the intestines of pufferfish, and for Toriten, a fried chicken dish.

JNR C55 53 is a locomotive on display at Wakakusa Park. (See JNR C55)

Japan National Route 10 at Oita, Oita

The principal railway station of the city is Ōita Station where Nippō Main Line, Kyūdai Main Line, and Hōhi Main Line of JR Kyushu gathers. The luxury Aru Ressha train was designed by Eiji Mitooka. It runs between Ōita and Hita and is in service to also revive tourism and the local economy.[5]

Buses are the primary mode of transportation in Oita, run by two main bus service companies. The Oita Bus Company operates bus routes in the city. The Oita Kotsu Company runs north of the city. For long-distance bus services, these two companies, as well as Kamenoi Bus Company operate bus routes from Oita to main place of Kyushu, such as Fukuoka and Kumamoto, and Osaka, Nagoya and more.

Oita Airport is located nearby, at Kunisaki, and used to be accessible via hovercraft, which takes about 30 minutes. However, this service has been suspended since late 2009. Other ways of accessing the airport is by bus, taxi or a private vehicle.

The Ōita Expressway, Higashikyushu Expressway, National Route 10 and National Route 210 all run through the city.

Many ships depart from the Port of Oita, to places such as Kansai, and Shikoku.

Annual sporting events include:

• Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, which traces a path between Ōita and its neighbouring city of Beppu. The competition has been held every year since 1952 and is classed as an IAAF Silver Label road race.[6]
• The Kyūshū Ekiden, beginning in Nagasaki and ending in Fukuoka, the world's longest relay race

Sporting events held in Oita include:

• 1966 National Sports Festival of Japan
• 2001 Kirin Cup
• 2002 FIFA World Cup
• 2003, 2006, 2007 Kirin Challenge Cup
• 2005 J. League All-Star Soccer
• 2019 Rugby World Cup

Oita City operates all public elementary and junior high schools, while the prefecture operates the high schools.

• Mao Abe, singer-songwriter
• Takamasa Anai, judo wrestler
• Yuya Ando, baseball player
• Chiyotaikai Ryūji, sumo wrestler
• Eri Fukatsu, actress
• Arata Isozaki, architect
• Yūko Kotegawa, actress
• Atsuhiro Miura, football player
• Daisuke Miyazaki, handball player
• Tomiichi Murayama, 81st Prime Minister of Japan
• Shigeichi Nagano, photographer
• Yūsuke Santamaria, tarento
• Rino Sashihara, HKT48, former AKB48
• Seiichi Uchikawa, baseball player
• Naomi Zaizen, actress
• Misa Eto, former Nogizaka46
• Sosuke Genda, baseball player
• Kenichi Shinoda (also known as Shinobu Tsukasa), Yakuza godfather, current kumicho of Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest Yakuza organization

• Aveiro, Portugal (1978)
• Wuhan, Hubei, China (1979)
• Austin, Texas, United States (1990)
• Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (1997)
• San Cristóbal, Táchira, Venezuela
• Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil
• Lausanne, Switzerland

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Oita.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oita, Oita.

• Ōita City official website (in Japanese)
• Ōita City official website (in English)