Odawara

Odawara is a city in Japan found in the Kanagawa Prefecture. A census done in 2003 reported that close to 200,000 residents resided in Odawara at that time. With the mass amount of growth this number is thought to have grown substantially since.

Odawara is basically evenly distributed as far as the industries go; with agricultural, commercial business, and fisheries resting at the top of the list. Another tremendous economic contributor is tourism as with much of Japan.

History of Odawara

In the early 15th century the Odawara Castle was built for Omori Family. This ruling did not last long as the Odawara Hojo Family took over in 1495. At this time the castle was completed serving as the largest castle in all of Japan.

The Edo Period began great changes in Odawara. The Okubo Family took reign of the castle. To limit the space of the city the developer chose to tear down parts of the castle making it much smaller. They also began repairs to modernize the entire area.

In 1870 the Odawara Castle was completely abandoned and basically destroyed from the inside out. It wasn’t until 1923 that the castle was completely abolished due to an earth shattering earthquake.

Odawara was officially established as a city in Japan on December 20th 1940. Soon after establishment and economic growth the city was the last of several Japanese cities to be struck with bombs. Devastation shook the area causing many to evacuate the city,

Since WWII Odawara has recovered nicely; rebuilding destroyed areas and better managing the safety of the city.

Points of Interest

• Odawara Castle Park Today there is very little left of the Odawara Castle but it is still a designated place of Japanese historical sites. The entire land has been turned into an exotic garden and place of many historic artifacts from the castle era.

• Soga Bairin Park Also known as Soga Plum Park, this is a nationally recognized orchid used to grow plums. The special plums are actually famous around the world. Many tourists, nature lovers in particular, come to the Soga Bairin to view its natural foundation used to grow the splendid plums.

External Links

• Official site (Japanese)