Hachinohe

Hachinohe (八戸市) is a city in Japan. It is located within the Aomori Prefecture. Hachinohe is located in the southeast of the prefecture and is a major city in this area. This city has about 250,000 people living in the area. The port in this area has very much contributed the overall growth of the area.

Hachinohe was incorporated as a city in 1929 with 50,000. The economy thrives because of manufacturing and marine products. Hachinohe port used to be known as the Sameura port and is the basis for the cities development and economy. Some of the cities biggest exports is the fish that is caught in this port. There are many high quality facilities for fisherman to use.

Until 1964 the industry was limited to just a regional resource. After being designated an industrial city a whole new wave of growth hit the area. The city focused on basic materials industries and soon made itself one of the biggest in the Tohoku region. This city ships over 500 billion-yen a year. Recently the city has made a switch and is shooting for a high-tech based, introducing high tech industries and developing technology extensive industries.

History

This city was founded on May 1st, 1929. There are a considerable amount of ancient remains from thousands of years ago. The Kazahari site was the location of carbonized rice from 3000 years ago. In 1957 it was distinguished as a national reserve for historical interest. There are 633 artifacts chosen from this site to display as cultural heritage of Japan.

In 1994 Hachinohe opened Tohoku's first international container shipping to and from Asia. Since then routes to China, Korea and North American have been opened designating this port a Foreign Access Zone. This project was funded by the national Japanese government.

Points of Interest

One of the most famous places in Hachinohe is Nejo Castle. This castle was built by [[Moroyuki Nanbu[[ during the Nanbokucho period in the 1300's. This served as a home for the Nanbu family while they ruled the entire area. In 1994 the castle was reconstructed and remodeled and Nejo Square was set up to show visitors what it was like in medieval times and early modern times.

The Hachinohe Sansha Taisai Festival is the biggest float parade in Japan. This festival is a little under 300 years old and is distinguished by portable shrines and over 20 wheeled floats. These floats are said to tell stories in myths, tales and Kabuki plays. This parade is over four days from July 31st to August 3rd.

External Links

• Hachinohe Official Website (English)
• Hachinohe Official Website (Japanese)