Takasaki facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Takasaki 高崎市
Core city
Left: Takasaki Kannon Statue [ja], Takasaki Castle, Gunma Music Center [ja], Right: Mount Haruna and Lake Haruna, Takasaki Daruma Doll (all items from above to bottom)
Flag Seal
Takasaki Location in Japan
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Gunma
First official recorded	late 5th century AD (official)
City settled	April 1, 1900
Area
• Total	459.16 km2 (177.28 sq mi)
Population  (August 31, 2020)
• Total	372,369
• Density	810.979/km2 (2,100.425/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Phone number	027-321-111
Address	Takamatsu-cho 35-1, Takasaki-shi, Gunma-ken 370-8501
Climate	Cwa
Symbols Bird Japanese bush-warbler Flower Sakura Tree Zelkova serrata, Cyclobalanopsis

Takasaki City Hall

City view from Takasaki Kannon

Takasaki Guanyin

Takasaki (高崎市 (Takasaki-shi, [takasakiɕi])) is a city in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. As of August 31, 2020, about 372,369 people lived there in 167,345 homes. The city covers an area of 459.16 square kilometers. Takasaki is well-known as the home of the Daruma doll. These dolls are a symbol of good luck. Since 1990, Takasaki has been the largest city in Gunma Prefecture.

Geography

Takasaki is in the southwestern part of Gunma Prefecture. It sits on the flat northwestern part of the Kantō Plain. The city is about 90 to 100 kilometers from central Tokyo. You can see Mount Akagi, Mount Haruna, and Mount Myogi from the city. The southern slopes of Mount Haruna are even inside the city limits.

The Tone River, Karasu River, and Usui River flow through Takasaki. Even though Takasaki is far from the coast, much of the city is low. The city hall is only 97 meters above sea level. The land gets higher in the northern and western parts, reaching up to 1690 meters.

Neighboring Cities and Towns

Takasaki shares borders with several other places.

Gunma Prefecture

• Annaka
• Fujioka
• Higashiagatsuma
• Kanra
• Maebashi
• Naganohara
• Shibukawa
• Shintō
• Tamamura

Nagano Prefecture

• Karuizawa

Saitama Prefecture

• Kamisato

Climate

Takasaki has a climate with warm summers and cold, windy winters. Sometimes it snows. The average temperature each year is about 14.0 degrees Celsius. September is usually the wettest month. The average yearly rainfall is about 1354.9 millimeters. August is the warmest month, averaging 25.8 degrees Celsius. January is the coldest, averaging 2.6 degrees Celsius.

Population Changes

The number of people living in Takasaki has grown a lot over time. Recently, the population has stayed about the same after a long period of growth.

History

During the Edo period (1603-1868), the area of Takasaki was an important feudal domain. It was ruled by a branch of the Matsudaira clan under the Tokugawa shogunate. The city also grew because it was on the Nakasendō highway. This road connected Edo (now Tokyo) with Kyoto. Important rest stops, called shukuba, were located here. These included Shinmachi-shuku, Kuragano-shuku, and Takasaki-shuku.

After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Takasaki was briefly the capital of Gunma Prefecture. However, the capital moved to Maebashi in 1881. Takasaki officially became a town on April 1, 1889. It became a city on April 1, 1900. Over the years, Takasaki grew by adding nearby villages and towns.

On April 1, 2001, Takasaki became a "Special City." This gave it more power to make its own decisions. Later, on April 1, 2011, it became a "Core City," which means it has even more self-rule.

City Leaders

Here is a list of the mayors who have led Takasaki over the years.

Source:Takasaki City

Economy

Takasaki is an important center for business and transportation in its region. It is also a major industrial city in Gunma Prefecture. Some companies based in Takasaki include CUSCO Japan, which makes car parts, and Yamada Denki, a store that sells home appliances.

Education

Universities and Colleges

Takasaki is home to several universities and colleges:

• Gumma Paz College
• Ikuei Junior College
• Jobu University
• Niijima Gakuen Junior College
• Takasaki City University of Economics
• Takasaki University of Commerce
• Takasaki University of Commerce Junior College
• Takasaki University of Health and Welfare
• Takasaki University of Health and Welfare Junior College

Schools in Takasaki

The city government runs over 60 public elementary schools and 25 public middle schools. The Gunma Prefecture Board of Education operates eight public high schools. Takasaki also has one public high school run by the city and five private high schools. There are also five special education schools for students with disabilities.

English Learning in Schools

Takasaki has its own special English program for all elementary and middle schools. Students in grades 1-4 have English lessons once a week. Students in grades 5-6 have English lessons twice a week. This means younger students get about 35 hours of English a year, and older students get 70 hours.

The main goal of English in elementary school is to help students communicate. They are encouraged to listen to real English and talk to their classmates. To help with this, the city hires many Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs). ALTs are native English speakers from other countries who help Japanese teachers in English classes. Takasaki employs many ALTs through The JET Program. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, every elementary and middle school in Takasaki had at least one ALT.

The Takasaki Board of Education says that Takasaki was the first city in Japan to start English lessons in 1st grade. They were also the first to have English twice a week for older students. And they were the first to have at least one ALT in every school.

In 2014, Japan's Ministry of Education (MEXT) realized that students needed better English skills. This would help them succeed around the world. In 2016, MEXT chose Takasaki as a test city. They wanted to try out new changes to the national English curriculum. These changes were based on Takasaki's existing program. The new curriculum started in stages: elementary schools in 2020, middle schools in 2021, and high schools in 2022.

In 2019, MEXT checked how students were doing in all subjects. Students in Gunma Prefecture were among the top 6 prefectures in all subjects. For the first time, they tied with Tokyo for first place in English.

Transportation

Railway Lines

Takasaki is a major railway hub. JR East – Hokuriku Shinkansen JR East – Jōetsu Shinkansen

• Takasaki

JR East – Takasaki Line, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line, Ueno-Tokyo Line

• Shinmachi - Kuragano - Takasaki

JR East – Jōetsu Line

• Takasaki - Takasakitonyamachi - Ino

JR East – Shinetsu Main Line

• Takasaki - Kita-Takasaki - Gumma-Yawata

Jōshin Dentetsu

• Takasaki - Minami-Takasaki - Sanonowatashi - Negoya - Takasaki-Shōka-Daigakumae - Yamana - Nishi-Yamana - Maniwa - Yoshii - Nishi-Yoshii

Highways

Major highways connect Takasaki to other parts of Japan.

• Kan-etsu Expressway – Takasaki-Tamamura Smart Interchange – Takasaki Junction – Takasaki Interchange – Maebashi Interchange
• Jōshin-etsu Expressway – Yoshii Interchange
• Kita-Kantō Expressway – Takasaki Junction
• National Route 17
• National Route 18
• National Route 254
• National Route 354
• National Route 406

Fun Things to See and Do

Takasaki has many interesting places to visit:

• Haruna Shrine
• Lake Haruna
• Minowa Castle
• Mount Haruna
• The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma
• Shorinzan Daruma Temple
• The sound of a suikinkutsu in the Suikintei Garden is one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan.
• Takasaki Byakue Dai-Kannon, the 10th largest Kannon statue in Japan
• Takasaki Castle

Events

Takasaki hosts several exciting events:

• Kannonyama Candle Festival
• Takasaki Festival & Fireworks
• Takasaki Film Festival
• Takasaki Marching Festival

King of Pasta Competition

Gunma is a top producer of wheat in Japan. Because of this, dishes made with wheat flour are very important to the local food culture. Takasaki is known for having many pasta restaurants. It has even been called "pasta town." Since 2009, Takasaki has held a yearly event called "King of Pasta." People can buy small portions of pasta dishes from different restaurants. Then, they vote for their favorite one!

Sports

• Arte Takasaki - a football (soccer) club

Sister Cities

Takasaki has special connections with cities around the world:

• Battle Creek, Michigan, United States, since 1981
• Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, Philippines, since 2006
• Plzeň, Czech Republic, since 1990
• Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil, since 1981

Friendship Cities

• Chengde, Hebei, China, since 1987
• Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, since 2008

Famous People from Takasaki

Many notable people have come from Takasaki:

• Takeo Fukuda, former Prime Minister of Japan
• Yasuo Fukuda, former Prime Minister of Japan
• Yutaka Higuchi, musician (Buck-Tick)
• Kyosuke Himuro, musician (Boøwy)
• Tomoyasu Hotei, musician (Boøwy)
• Fujio Masuoka, inventor of flash memory
• Kanai Mieko (born in Takasaki 1947), writer
• Hirofumi Nakasone, politician
• Yasuhiro Nakasone, former Prime Minister of Japan
• Kiyoshi Ogawa, Imperial Japanese Navy kamikaze pilot
• Hakubun Shimomura, politician
• German architect Bruno Taut lived for some time in Takasaki
• Kenji Tsukagoshi, navigator and aviator
• Toll Yagami, musician (Buck-Tick)

Singaporean actress Jeanette Aw became an official PR ambassador for the city. This happened after she starred in Ramen Teh, a movie filmed in Takasaki.

See also

In Spanish: Takasaki para niños