Hitachi, Ibaraki facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hitachi 日立市
City
Hitachi city hall
Flag Seal
Location of Hitachi Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture
Hitachi Location in Japan
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Ibaraki
Area
• Total	225.71 km2 (87.15 sq mi)
Population  (January 2024)
• Total	165,822
• Density	734.668/km2 (1,902.78/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Phone number	0294-22-3111
Address	1-1-1 Sukegawa-chō, Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki-ken 317-8601
Climate	Cfa
Symbols Bird Japanese cormorant Fish Giant Pacific octopus Flower Sakura Tree Zelkova serrata

Hitachi Sakura Festival

Hitachi (日立市, Hitachi-shi) is a city in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. As of January 2024, about 165,822 people lived there in 76,702 homes. The city covers an area of about 225.71 square kilometers (87.15 sq mi).

Hitachi is famous worldwide because of the Hitachi company. This company makes many electric products, like power plants and home appliances. It was started in Hitachi in 1910 by Namihei Odaira.

Exploring Hitachi's Location and Features

Hitachi is in the northern part of Ibaraki Prefecture. It has a long coastline along the Pacific Ocean to the east.

Neighboring Cities and Towns

Hitachi is surrounded by several other places in Ibaraki Prefecture:

• Takahagi
• Hitachiōta
• Naka
• Tōkai

Hitachi's Weather and Seasons

Hitachi has a climate with warm summers and cold winters. Sometimes it gets heavy snowfall. The average temperature in Hitachi is about 14.3 degrees Celsius (57.7 °F) each year.

The wettest month is October, with an average rainfall of 1455.7 mm (57.31 in) per year. August is usually the warmest month, with temperatures around 25.0 degrees Celsius (77.0 °F). January is the coldest month, with temperatures around 4.6 degrees Celsius (40.3 °F).

Population Changes in Hitachi

The number of people living in Hitachi grew until around 1980. Since then, the population has slowly become smaller.

A Brief History of Hitachi City

People have lived in the Hitachi area since ancient times. The village of Hitachi officially started on April 1, 1889.

The area grew quickly in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This was thanks to copper mines opening and the founding of the Hitachi company. Hitachi became a town on August 26, 1924. Later, on September 1, 1939, Hitachi merged with the nearby town of Sukegawa to become the city of Hitachi.

Hitachi During World War II

During World War II, Hitachi was an important target because it had many factories that made electrical equipment. It also had a copper mine that produced a lot of Japan's copper.

The city was attacked several times in 1945. On July 17, 1945, ships from the United States Navy fired cannons at Hitachi. There were also air raids on June 10 and July 19. Many civilian areas were damaged, but the main factories were mostly okay.

Recent History and Growth

In 1976, a MiG-25 fighter jet was returned to the Soviet Union from Hitachi's port. A Soviet pilot named Viktor Belenko had flown it to Japan to defect. The jet had been studied at a nearby air base.

Hitachi grew bigger in 1955 and 1956 by adding several nearby villages and towns. The Hitachi Copper Mine closed in 1981. On November 1, 2004, the town of Jūō also joined Hitachi.

The city had only minor damage from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. No one died in Hitachi from that event.

Hitachi's Economy and Industry

Hitachi is a major industrial city. It used to be the main home of the Hitachi company and many of its related businesses.

Learning and Education in Hitachi

Hitachi has many schools for students of all ages.

• Ibaraki University has an engineering department here.
• Ibaraki Christian University is also located in the city.
• The city government runs 24 public elementary schools and 14 public middle schools. There is also one public school that combines middle and high school levels.
• There is one private elementary school and one private school that combines middle and high school.
• The Ibaraki prefectural government operates five public high schools and one combined middle/high school. They also have one special education school.
• Additionally, there are four private high schools in Hitachi.

Since 1975, the Hitachi city council has given a special school bag called a randoseru to all first-grade elementary school students. Students can choose between a black or red bag. Hitachi is one of the few cities that does this, and it has given out over 100,000 bags. This program often gets attention on TV.

Getting Around Hitachi

Train Travel

JR East – Jōban Line

• Ōmika – Hitachi-Taga – Hitachi – Ogitsu – Jūō

Major Roads

• Jōban Expressway – Hitachi-Minamiota Interchange, Hitachi-Chuo Interchange, Hitachi-Kita Interchange
• National Route 6
• National Route 245
• National Route 293
• National Route 349
• National Route 461

Fun Places to Visit in Hitachi

• Kamine Zoo
• Yoshida Tadashi Memorial Museum of Music

Cities Hitachi is Friends With

Hitachi has "sister city" relationships with other cities around the world and in Japan. This means they share culture and ideas.

• Birmingham, Alabama, United States
• Tauranga, Bay Of Plenty, New Zealand
• Kiryu, Gunma, Japan
• Yamanobe, Yamagata, Japan

Famous People from Hitachi

• Yukihisa Fujita, a politician
• Natsuo Yamaguchi, a politician
• Hiromitsu Agatsuma, a musician
• Kuniaki Shibata, a boxer
• Daishi Nobuyuki, a sumo wrestler
• Tagaryū Shōji, a sumo wrestler
• Tsubasa Aizawa, a professional baseball player
• Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy video game series

See also

In Spanish: Hitachi (Ibaraki) para niños