Omitama

Omitama 小美玉市
City
Omitama city hall
Flag Seal
Location of Omitama in Ibaraki Prefecture
Omitama
Coordinates: 36°14′21.4″N 140°21′9.2″E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Ibaraki
Area
• Total	144.74 km2 (55.88 sq mi)
Population  (October 2020)
• Total	48,754
• Density	340/km2 (870/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree	Zelkova serrata
- Flower	Cosmos
- Bird	Egret
Phone number	0299-48-1111
Address	835 Katakura, Omitama-shi, Ibarak-ken 319-0192
Website	Official website

Lake Kasumigaura from Omitama

Omitama (小美玉市, Omitama-shi) is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 July 2020, the city had an estimated population of 48,776 in 18,311 households and a population density of 337 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 30.0%. The total area of the city is 144.74 square kilometres (55.88 sq mi).

Geography

Omitama is located in central Ibaraki Prefecture, in the low-lying flatlands north of Lake Kasumigaura.

Surrounding municipalities

Ibaraki Prefecture

• Hokota
• Ibaraki
• Ishioka
• Kasama
• Namegata

Climate

Omitama has a Humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Omitama is 13.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1357 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.8 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Omitama peaked around the year 2000 and has declined slightly since.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1920	25,143	—
1930	26,330	+4.7%
1940	28,341	+7.6%
1950	37,280	+31.5%
1960	35,675	−4.3%
1970	36,967	+3.6%
1980	48,200	+30.4%
1990	52,269	+8.4%
2000	53,406	+2.2%
2010	52,279	−2.1%
2020	48,870	−6.5%

History

The city of Omitama was established on March 27, 2006, from the merger of the towns of Ogawa and Minori (both from Higashiibaraki District), and the village of Tamari (from Niihari District). The new city took its name from portions of the three older town and village names from which it was formed, Ogawa, Minori, Tamari.

Government

Omitama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 20 members. Omitama contributes one member to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ibaraki 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Agriculture is the mainstay of the local economy, with cash crops including chives, strawberries, melons, rice and lotus roots.

Omitama is also the home of Ibaraki Airport, which opened in March 2010 after considerable public investment. Its original intention was to attract Low Cost Carriers to an operating centre North of Tokyo. To date it has had some success by attracting Skymark Airlines, Spring Airlines and TigerAir to offer limited domestic and international routes to Xian, Taipei and Shanghai.

Education

Omitama has 11 public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Aerial view of Ibaraki Airport

Railway

JR East – Jōban Line

• Hatori

Highway

• Jōban Expressway – Minori Parking Area
• National Route 6
• National Route 355

Airport

• Ibaraki Airport

Military facilities

• Hyakuri Air Base, a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base.

Sister cities

• Abilene, Kansas, United States

Noted people from Omitama

• Yuya Niwa, politician
• Jun Yanagisawa, professional football player

External links

• Official Website (in Japanese)