Toyohashi 豊橋市
Core city
Upper stage:Skyline of Toyohashi City Lower stage:Futagawa-juku
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Toyohashi in Aichi Prefecture
Toyohashi
Coordinates: 34°46′9″N 137°23′29.5″E / 34.76917°N 137.391528°E / 34.76917; 137.391528Coordinates: 34°46′9″N 137°23′29.5″E / 34.76917°N 137.391528°E / 34.76917; 137.391528
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu (Tōkai)
Prefecture	Aichi Prefecture
Area
• Total	261.86 km2 (101.10 sq mi)
Population (October 2017)
• Total	373,811
• Density	1,428/km2 (3,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree	Camphor Laurel
- Flower	Azalea
Phone number	0532-51-2111
Address	1 Imabashi-chō, Toyohashi-shi, Aichi-ken 440-8501
Website	www.city.toyohashi.lg.jp

Toyohashi City Office

Toyohashi (豊橋市, Toyohashi-shi) is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of March 2015^[update], the city had an estimated population of 372,710 and a population density of 1,420 persons per km².^{[citation needed]} The total area was 261.86 square kilometres (101.10 sq mi). By area, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-largest city until March 31, 2005 when it was surpassed by the city of Toyota, which had merged with six peripheral municipalities.

Geography[edit]

Toyohashi is located in southeastern Aichi Prefecture, and is the capital of the informal "Higashi-Mikawa Region" of the prefecture. It is bordered by Shizuoka Prefecture to the east, and by Mikawa Bay and the headlands of the Atsumi Peninsula to the west. To the south is the Enshu Bay of the Pacific Ocean. The presence of the warm Kuroshio Current offshore gives the city a temperate climate. The Katahama Jusan-ri Beach (片浜十三里) in Toyohashi is a sea turtle nesting spot.

Neighboring municipalities[edit]

• Aichi Prefecture:
  
  • Toyokawa
  
  
  • Shinshiro
  
  
  • Tahara
  
  


• 
  Shizuoka Prefecture:
  
  • Kita-ku, Hamamatsu
  
  
  • Kosai
  
  

History[edit]

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The area around present-day Toyohashi has been inhabited for many thousands of years. Archaeologists have found human remains from the Japanese Paleolithic period, which have been carbon dated to more than 10,000 BC along with the bones of Naumann elephants. Numerous remains from the Jōmon period, and especially from the Yayoi and Kofun periods have also been found, including many kofun burial mounds.

During the Nara period, the area was assigned to Atsumi, Hoi and Yana Districts of Mikawa Province and prospered during subsequent periods as a post town on an important river crossing of the Tōkaidō connecting the capital with the eastern provinces. During the Sengoku period, the area was a highly contested zone between the Imagawa clan based in Suruga Province and various local warlords, who built a number of fortifications in the area, including Yoshida Castle. The rising power of the Matsudaira clan and its alliance with Oda Nobunaga eventually neutralized the threat posed by the Imagawa, and the area became part of the holdings of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Following the Battle of Odawara in 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the Tokugawa clan to relocate to the Kantō region and assigned the castle to Ikeda Terumasa. Ikeda developed the surrounding castle town and embarked on a massive and ambitious plan to rebuild Yoshida Castle. However, following the Battle of Sekigahara, he was relocated to Himeji Castle.

After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, Yoshida Castle became the center of Yoshida Domain, a clan fief. The domain was assigned to several different fudai daimyō clans until coming into the possession of the Matsudaira (Nagasawa-Ōkōchi) clan in 1752, which remained in residence at Yoshida until the Meiji Restoration. The final daimyō of Yoshida, Matsudaira Nobuhisa, surrendered the domain to the Meiji government in 1868. In 1869, the name of the domain was formally changed from Yoshida to Toyohashi.

With the establishment of the municipalities system under the Meiji government in 1879, Toyohashi Town was created within Atsumi District, Aichi Prefecture. Toyohashi Zoo was established in 1899. The town achieved city status in 1906. A tram system (the present-day Toyohashi Railway Asumadai Main Line) was established in 1925. In 1932, Toyohashi expanded its borders by annexing Shimoji Town (Hoi District), Takashi Village, Muroyoshida Village (Atsumi District), and Shimokawa Village (Yana District). Toyohashi suffered considerable damage during the 1944 Tōnankai earthquake, and even more damage during the Toyohashi Air Raid, which destroyed more than 60% of the city in June 1945.

In 1955, Toyohashi’s geographic extent was expanded again with the annexation of neighboring Maeshiba Village (Hoi District), Futagawa Village, Takatoyo Village, Oitsu Village (Atsumi District) and Ishimaki Village (Yana District). Toyohashi achieved core city status in 1999 with increased autonomy from the prefectural government.

Economy[edit]

Cabbage field in Oshimizu-cho

Port of Toyohashi

Downtown of Toyohashi city

Mikawa Port is a major port for worldwide trade, and its presence has made Toyohashi the largest import and export hub in Japan for automobiles, in volume terms. Compared to other ports around the world, Mikawa is roughly on a par with the German port of Bremerhaven.^[1]

Industry[edit]

Automobiles made by

• 
  Toyota,


• 
  Mitsubishi,


• 
  Suzuki Motors,


• 
  Daimler-Chrysler,


• 
  Ford,


• 
  Audi,


• 
  Porsche,and


• 
  Volkswagen are imported and exported through Toyohashi port.^{[citation needed]}

Education[edit]

Toyohashi University of Technology

Aichi UniversityToyohashi campuses

University[edit]

National university

• Toyohashi University of Technology

Private university

• Aichi University


• Toyohashi Sozo College

Primary and secondary schools[edit]

• Toyohashi has 52 elementary schools, 22 public and one private middle schools, and eight public and three private high schools, in addition to three special education schools.^{[citation needed]}

International schools[edit]

• 
  Escola Alegria de Saber (エスコーラ・アレグリア・デ・サベール) - Brazilian school^[2]


• Escola Cantinho Brasileiro (カンティーニョ学園) - Brazilian primary school^[2]


• EJA Interativo – Educação de Jovens e Adultos - Brazilian institution^[2]


• Toyohashi Korean Elementary School and Kindergarten (豊橋朝鮮初級学校) - North Korean school^[3]

Transportation[edit]

Rail[edit]

Toyohashi Station is on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and the Tōkaidō Main Line. Hikari shinkansen services stop at Toyohashi Station approximately once every two hours, and Kodama services stop twice an hour. Toyohashi Station is also the terminus of the Iida Line, Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line, Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line, and the Toyohashi Railroad Azumada Main Line, making it an important transportation hub.

• 
  JR Central – Tōkaidō Main Line
  
  • 
    Toyohashi • Futagawa
    
  
  
  • 
    JR Central – Iida Line
    
  
  
  • 
    Toyohashi • Funamachi • Shimoji
    
  
  


• 
  Meitetsu Nagoya Line
  
  • Toyohashi


• 
  Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line
  
  • 
    Shin-Toyohashi • Yagyu-bashi • Koike • Aichidaigakumae • Minami-Sakae • Takashi • Ashihara • Ueta • Mukougaoka • Ōshimizu • Oitsu • Sugiyama
    


• 
  Toyohashi Railroad Azumada Main Line (tram)
  
  • 
    Ekimae • Ekimae-ōdōri • Shinkawa • Fudagi • Shiyakushomae • Toyohashi-kōenmae • Higashi-hatchō • Maehata • Azumada-sakaue • Azumada • Keirinjōmae • Ihara • Akaiwaguchi
  
  
  • Ihara • Undōkōen-mae
  
  

Highway[edit]

Expressways[edit]

• Tomei Expressway

National highways[edit]

• National Route 1


• National Route 23


• National Route 42


• National Route 151


• National Route 259


• National Route 362

Bus[edit]

Almost all services are operated by Toyotetsu Bus, a subsidiary of Toyohashi Railroad.

• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Toyohashi Station
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Ekimae-Ôdôri Main street
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Toyohashi Railroad
  

  
  

  
  


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  Toyotetsu Bus
  

  
  

  
  


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  Toyohashi Tollgate
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Port of Toyohashi
  

  
  

  
  

Media[edit]

• 
  FM Toyohashi (JOZZ6AA-FM, 84.30 MHz)


• Higashi Aichi Newspaper


• Tonichi Shimbun Newspaper

Sister cities[edit]

Sister cities

• 
  – Nantong, Jiangsu, China,^[4] since May 1987


• 
  – Toledo, Ohio, USA since April 2000^[5]

Friendship cities

• 
  - Jinju, Korea,since 1992


• 
  - Paranavaí, Brazil,since 2008


• 
  – Wolfsburg, Germany,^[4]since 2011

Local attractions[edit]

Places of interest[edit]

Yoshida Castle

Toyohashi city public hall

Toyohashi Natural History Museum

• Toyohashi Park, which includes the site of Yoshida Castle (吉田城址), and the Toyohashi City Museum Art and History.


• Site of Nirengi Castle
  


• Toyohashi City Public Hall (豊橋市公会堂 Toyohashi-shi Kōkaidō), a National Important Cultural Property .^[6]


• Toyohashi Orthodox Cathedral (豊橋ハリストス正教会), a National Important Cultural Property


• 
  Futagawa-juku honjin museum


• Toyohashi Zoo


• Toyohashi Natural History Museum


• Toyohashi Museum of Natural Resources

Special products[edit]

Chikuwa (a type of baked sausage roll made from fish), Gohei rice cake (五平餅, Gohei-mochi), beach fermented soybeans, food boiled in goby fish and soy, top producer of quail eggs in Japan, Toyohashi calligraphy brush (豊橋筆 Toyohashi-fude).

Facilities and parks[edit]

Toyohashi has many parks, including the Natural History Museum and Zoological Park, the Imou swamp, Mikawa Seaside Forest, Kamo Iris Garden, and the Mukaiyama Ume Garden. It also has what is considered one of the best surfing beaches in Aichi and the surrounding region.^[6]

Festivals[edit]

Toyohashi Festival, Spring Festival, Iris Flower Festival, Gion Festival, Demon Festival (February), and traditional marionette performances (Akumi joruri). At some of these festivals, especially the summer festivals, the use of traditionally handcrafted fireworks is showcased, and include hand-held bamboo-tube fireworks known as tezutsu hanabi.

In popular culture[edit]

In the fictional Harry Potter universe, Toyohashi is the hometown of the professional Quidditch team, the Toyohashi Tengu.^[7]

In the Takeshi Kitano movie Kikujiro, the story revolves around the characters' trip from Tokyo to Toyohashi.

Gallery[edit]

• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Cocola Avenue
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Hanazono Town
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Matsuba Park
  

  
  

  
  


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  Seapalace Resort
  

  
  

  
  


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  Aquarena Toyohashi
  

  
  

  
  


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  Mukaiyama-Oike Ponds
  

  
  

  
  


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  Toyohashi Orthodox Church
  

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Tezutsu Fireworks
  

  
  

  
  

Notable people from Toyohashi[edit]

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• 
  Buyūzan Takeyoshi, sumo wrestler


• 
  Daniel (Nushiro) of Japan, primate of Japanese Orthodox Church


• 
  Yoshitaka Iwamizu, Olympic long-distance runner


• 
  Kitaro, musician


• 
  Aya Kitō, writer


• 
  Masaji Kiyokawa, Olympic gold-medalist swimmer


• 
  Masatoshi Koshiba, Nobel Prize winner


• 
  Ken Matsudaira, actor


• 
  Rena Matsui, member of girl-group SKE48


• 
  Yūji Mitsuya, actor, voice actor


• 
  Sakura Nogawa, voice actress


• 
  Kenichi Ogawa. boxer


• 
  Yoshio Sawai, manga artist


• 
  Akiko Suzuki, professional figure skater


• 
  Sakon Yamamoto, professional race car driver


• 
  Masahiko Morifuku. professional baseball player


• 
  Atsushi Fujii, professional baseball player

See also[edit]

• 18th Infantry Regiment (Imperial Japanese Army)


• Black Thunder (chocolate bar)


• Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix


• Nirengi Castle


• Nishikawa Castle


• Siege of Yoshida Castle


• Toyohashi Air Raid


• Toyokawa Bridge

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Toyohashi, Aichi.

• 
  Toyohashi travel guide from Wikivoyage


• 
  Official website (in Japanese)