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Shimizu 清水区
Ward
Shimizu Ward
Port of Shimizu andMount Fuji fromNihondaira
Flag
Location of Shimizu-ku inShizuoka
Shimizu
Coordinates:35°0′57″N138°29′23″E / 35.01583°N 138.48972°E /35.01583; 138.48972
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu
Prefecture	Shizuoka
City	Shizuoka
Area
• Total	265.09 km2 (102.35 sq mi)
Population  (December 1, 2019)
• Total	231,233
• Density	872.28/km2 (2,259.2/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Phone number	054-354-2111
Address	6-8 Asahi-cho 424-8701
Climate	Cfa
Website	Shimizu-ku home page

Shimizu-ku (清水区,Shimizu-ku) is the easternmost of the threewards of the city ofShizuoka inShizuoka Prefecture,Japan.

Shimizu-ku was created on April 1, 2005, when Shizuoka became acity designated by government ordinance (a "designated city"). Its area is almost identical to former Shimizu city, whichmerged with Shizuoka city on April 1, 2003. Shizuoka annexed the town ofKanbara fromIhara District on March 31, 2006, and the town ofYui on November 1, 2008, adding these former municipalities to Shimizu-ku.

Since ancient times, Shimizu thrived as a harbor town due to its good natural harbor. In addition, fivepost stations ofTōkaidō were located in Shimizu: (Kanbara-juku,Okitsu-juku,Ejiri-juku, andYui-shuku, all of which brought prosperity to the area during theEdo period. After theMeiji Restoration, an Imperial decree in July 1899 established Shimizu as an open port for trading with theUnited States and theUnited Kingdom.^[1] Shimizu became an international trade port for the export ofgreen tea, as well as housing a majorfishery and affiliated industries.

A Japanesemanga,Chibi Maruko-chan put Shimizu on the national map. This manga is written byMomoko Sakura, a native of Shimizu. Shimizu is also noted for its enthusiasm withsoccer, with the localJ.League professional clubShimizu S-Pulse having a strong support base.

Shimizu is located on the coast ofSuruga Bay of thePacific Ocean and covers a wide area from a coastal plain to the hills. The view ofMount Fuji at Shimizu as seen across the bay from theMiho no Matsubara appears in many pictures and paintings.

Shizuoka Prefecture

• Fuji
• Fujinomiya
• Suruga-ku, Shizuoka city
• Aoi-ku, Shizuoka city

Yamanashi Prefecture

• Nambu

The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (Köppen climate classificationCfa). The average annual temperature in Matsuzaki is 16.7 °C (62.1 °F). The average annual rainfall is 2,380.6 mm (93.72 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.1 °C (80.8 °F), and lowest in January, at around 6.7 °C (44.1 °F).^[2]

Shimizu was introduced in a Japanese school textbook of geography as a city with all three industries: agriculture,heavy industry and commerce.

Shimizu is known for producingJapanese mandarin oranges, andgreen tea in the mountainous area and around theNihondaira.Shimizu Port is a majorcommercial fishing port. Production ofroses used to be the highest in Japan.

The waterfront area was formerly an industrial area and there were shipyards, iron works, and numerous canneries. Most of the heavy industry has been replaced by commercial venues.

AtShimizu Station, the "Shimizu Ekimae Ginza" shopping area used to be the city center of Shimizu. However, there are no longer anydepartment stores. TheSeiyu that remained near the station closed in March 2015. Since many large suburban shopping centers have been expanding, the shopping area downtown is not as lively as it used to be. Lately, department stores likeNagasaki-ya,Marui,Seifu andDaiei have closed, one after the other. Moreover, since Shimizu merged with Shizuoka, a plan is being implemented to move fundamental functions to the area aroundHigashi-Shizuoka Station as the third central area of the city in addition to Shimizu and Shizuoka.

• Tōmei Expressway
• Japan National Route 1
• Japan National Route 52
• Japan National Route 149
• Japan National Route 150

• JR Central -Tōkaidō Main Line
  • Shin-Kambara • Kambara • Yui • Okitsu • Shimizu • Kusanagi •
• Shizuoka Railway Shizuoka–Shimizu Line
  • Kenritsu Bijutsukanmae • Kusanagi • Mikadodai • Kitsunegasaki • Sakurabashi • Irieoka • Shin-Shimizu •

Until 1984, theShimizukō Line ran 8 km into Miho in the heart of the Shimizu peninsula. Local bus services provide many routes throughout Shimizu-ku.

• The Port of Shimizu is a long established mid-size sea port, catering to container ships, dry bulk ships and cruise ships (https://www.portofshimizu-intl.com/ ).

It is well located, being in between the two major port areas of Japan, i.e. theTokyo Bay ports of Tokyo, Kawasaki and Yokohama (Keihin ports) and theOsaka Bay ports of Osaka and Kobe (Hanshin ports. The Port of Shimizu has a water depth of about 12 meters; its attractiveness has been enhanced over the past years by the construction of new road and rail links which contribute to expanding its commercial hinterland.

In tonnage, imports (about 6.5 million tons) are close to twice export volumes, but in trade value exports are twice as valuable as imports.

The Port of Shimizu container traffic is about balanced, with over 250,000 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) in each direction, with auto parts and chemicals amongst the main cargo types. Major international container lines provide weekly services on major trade routes, including North America, Europe and Asia, with about 110 calls per months on 28 trade routes.

The port of Shimizu also includes a terminal to receiveLNG tankers and store importedLiquefied natural gas; it is operated by Shimizu LNG, a subsidiary of Shizuoka Gas (Japan is the world's largest importer ofLNG).

The Port of Shimizu is also connected to other Japan ports. In particular, it is served by aRoll-on/roll-off service serving the port ofŌita, on the north-east coast of the southern island ofKyushu. This service, which sails three times a week and has a transit time of 20 hours, has enabled a modal shift of freight trucks from road to sea, thereby contributing to decreasing congestion and pollution on roads.

Shimizu is famous as one of the top cities in Japan wherefootball is quite popular. It is well known as the home town of aJ.League team,Shimizu S-Pulse. An earlier club,Hagoromo Club (which spun off its parent company Nippon Light Metal) represented Shimizu in the oldJapan Soccer League in the 1970s.

The local elementary schools and junior high schools equip fields with night lighting for soccer and Shimizu has maintained this infrastructure for a long time. Since 1987, the national soccer competition “Shimizu Cup” for boys and girls has been held in August.

A famous son of the city is Japan youth international andCeltic footballer,Koki Mizuno.

• Miho no Matsubara
• Nihondaira

• Ryota Oshima, footballer
• Alice Hirose, Japanese actress, TV personality, and model
• Suzu Hirose, Japanese actress and model
• Hidetsugu Shibata, Japanese comedian
• Hollywood Zakoshisyoh, Japanese comedian
• Kyōhei Shibata, Japanese actor and singer
• Kenta Hasegawa, former Japanese footballer, current manager ofNagoya Grampus
• Karen Koga, mononymously known asKaren, singer, member ofLittle Glee Monster
• Takako Katō, Japanese actress and former J-pop singer
• Toshinobu Kubota, Japanese singer, songwriter, musician, music producer, and radio personality
• Momoko Sakura, Japanese manga artist
• Sei Hatsuno, Japanese writer
• Shunpūtei Shōta, Japaneserakugo comedian
• Sōgen Asahina, Japanese Rinzai zen master
• Suguru Iwazaki,Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher for theHanshin Tigers in Japan'sCentral League
• Kosuke Kato, former professionalbaseball pitcher
• Carlos Amano, retiredprofessional wrestler (Real Name: Rieko Amano,Nihongo: 天野 理恵子,Amano Rieko)
• Junya Sano,road bicycle racer
• Yoshio Mochizuki,Japanese politician of theLiberal Democratic Party, a former member of theHouse of Representatives in theDiet (national legislature), and aMinister of the Environment
• Masatoshi Kurata,Japanese politician of theLiberal Democratic Party and a former member of theHouse of Representatives in theDiet (national legislature)
• Koichi Takemasa,Japanese politician, member of theHouse of Representatives in theDiet (national legislature) and a member of theDemocratic Party of Japan
• Mariko Suga, wife of former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
• Kwon Hyi-ro,Zainichi Korean murderer who brought public attention to discrimination against theZainichi Koreans inJapan

• Geographic data related toShimizu-ku, Shizuoka atOpenStreetMap

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