Japan > Toba

Toba, Mie

Toba is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan.

As of August 2015, the city had an estimated population of 19,227 and a population density of 179 persons per km². The total area was 107.34 square kilometres.

Geography

Toba is located on the northern half of Shima Peninsula in far eastern Mie Prefecture, facing Ise Bay of the Pacific Ocean. The area is famous for oysters and for cultured pearls. Much of the city is within the borders of the Ise-Shima National Park.

Toba administers numerous islands in the Ise Bay, the most important of which are:

• Kamishima
• Kozukumi Island
• Ōzukumi-jima
• Sugashima
• Tōshijima
• Sakatejima
• Mitsujima

Neighboring municipalities

Mie Prefecture

• Ise
• Shima

History

The area of modern Toba has been continuously inhabited since before the Jomon period. During the Sengoku period, the area was under the control of pirates, from whom emerged Kuki Yoshitaka (from Nakiri district) as a dominant ruler. After having dominated the local seacoasts, he established Toba as his capital and built a castle there. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the castle became the center for Toba Domain.

In the Edo period, Toba flourished in trade and as a transshipment port between Osaka and Edo. The modern city of Toba was formed on November 1, 1954, by the merger of the town of Toba with five villages in Shima District.

Transportation

Railway

• JR Central – Sangū Line
  • Toba
• Kintetsu – Toba Line
  • Ikenoura • Toba
• Kintetsu – Shima Line
  • Toba • Nakanogō • Shima-Akasaki • Funatsu • Kamo • Matsuo • Shiraki

Highway

• Japan National Route 42
• Japan National Route 167
• Japan National Route 259

Ferry

• Ise-wan Ferry

Economy

Commercial fishing and cultivated pearls, together with tourism, form the backbone of the local economy.

Education

• Toba National College of Maritime Technology is one of the five maritime technology colleges in Japan and offers merchant marine programs such as Deck officer, Marine Engineering and other advanced programs related to maritime education.
• Toba has ten elementary schools, five middle schools and one high school.

Local attractions

• Mikimoto Pearl Island
• Toba Aquarium
• Toba Castle

Sister city relations

• - Santa Barbara, California, since 1966.
• - Sanda, Hyōgo, Friendship city since July 1, 1971

Noted people from Toba

• Mikimoto Kōkichi – Entrepreneur and businessman
• Mitsuru Hattori – Manga artist

Alphabetical Index of Pages | Hierarchical Index of Pages

---

All content originates from the English Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0