Toride, Ibaraki

Toride (取手市) is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 103,717 in 47,545 households and a population density of 1482 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 34.8%. The total area of the city is 69.94 sqkm.

Geography
Located in southern Ibaraki Prefecture, Toride is bordered by Chiba Prefecture to the south. The Tone River passes along the southern border of Toride, which also marks the Ibaraki/Chiba border. The city is located in the Kanto Plain and was often subject to flooding. It is approximately 40 kilometers from central Tokyo.

Surrounding municipalities
Ibaraki Prefecture Chiba Prefecture
 * Tsukubamirai
 * Moriya
 * Ryūgasaki
 * Tone
 * Abiko
 * Kashiwa

Climate
Toride has a Humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Toride is 14.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1320 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.6 °C.

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

History
Toride developed in the Edo period as a post-town on the Mito Kaidō highway connecting Edo with Mito and as a nexus for water-borne traffic on the Tone River; however, the name is thought to derive from an ancient fort constructed by Taira no Masakado in the Heian period. The area was part of ancient Shimōsa Province, but was transferred to the newly created Ibaraki prefecture after the Meiji Restoration. Toride town was created with the establishment of the modern municipalities' system on April 1, 1889. It was elevated to city status on October 1, 1970. On March 28, 2005, the neighboring town of Fujishiro (from Kitasōma District) was merged into Toride, nearly doubling its size.

Government
Toride has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 24 members. Toride contributes two members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ibaraki 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
Due to its proximity to Tokyo, Toride is increasingly a bedroom community for the Tokyo metropolis. Rice, sake, pickles and leeks dominate local agriculture.

Education
Toride has 14 public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government, and five public high schools operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education. In addition, there are one private elementary school, two private middle schools and two private high schools.

The Tokyo University of the Arts maintains a campus at Toride.

Railway
JR East – Jōban Line Kantō Railway - Jōsō Line
 * Toride - Fujishiro
 * Toride - Nishi-Toride - Terahara - Shin-Toride - Yumemino - Inatoi - Togashira

Sister city relations

 * 🇨🇳 – Guilin, Guangxi, China
 * 🇺🇸 – Yuba City, California, USA

Notable people from Toride

 * Kiyoshi Mutō, architect and structural engineer (considered the "father of the Japanese skyscraper")
 * Kakeru Ayabe, professional baseball player (pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars)
 * Takako Inoue, professional wrestler (All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling, Oz Academy and Arsion)
 * Yoshinari Ogawa, professional wrestler (Pro Wrestling Noah)

Local attractions

 * Kokai River Cycling Road
 * Toride Tone River Fireworks
 * Kokaigawa Flower Canal
 * Toride Yasaka Shrine
 * Former Toride-juku Honjin
 * Ryuzen-ji Buddhist temple
 * Tomb of Honda Narishige