Oyabe, Toyama

Oyabe 小矢部市
City
Oyabe City Hall
Flag
Location of Oyabe in Toyama Prefecture
Oyabe
Coordinates: 36°40′31.9″N 136°52′7.3″E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu
Prefecture	Toyama
Government
• Mayor	Morio Sakurai
Area
• Total	134.07 km2 (51.76 sq mi)
Population  (March 31, 2018)
• Total	30,328
• Density	230/km2 (590/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (JST)
Postal code	932-8611
Symbols
• Tree	Cryptomeria japonica
• Flower	Iris ensata
• Flowering tree	Prunus mume
Phone number	0766-67-1760
Address	1-1 Honmachi, Oyabe-shi, Toyama-ken
Website	Official website

Oyabe (小矢部市, Oyabe-shi) is a city in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 March 2018, the city had an estimated population of 30,328 in 10,331 households. and a population density of 230 persons per km². Its total area was 134.07 square kilometres (51.76 sq mi).

Geography

Oyabe is in the Tonami flatlands of far western Toyama Prefecture, and is bordered by Ishikawa Prefecture to the west. Much of the area is a dispersed settlement typical of this region of Japan. Oyabe has a humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Oyabe is 14.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2454 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.7 °C.

Surrounding municipalities

• Ishikawa Prefecture
  • Kanazawa
  • Tsubata
• Toyama Prefecture
  • Nanto
  • Takaoka
  • Tonami

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Oyabe has declined in recent decades.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1970	35,367	—
1980	36,497	+3.2%
1990	36,374	−0.3%
2000	34,625	−4.8%
2010	32,067	−7.4%
2020	28,983	−9.6%

History

The area of present-day Oyabe was part of ancient Etchū Province and developed as a post station on the Hokuriku kaidō highway during the Edo period. The town of Isurugi was created with the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It was raised to city status upon merging with the town of Tochu on August 1, 1962, and was renamed Oyabe.

Government

Oyabe has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 1６ members.

Education

Oyabe has five public elementary schools and four public junior high schools operated by the town government, and three public high schools operated by the Toyama Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

• Ainokaze Toyama Railway
  • Isurugi

Highway

• Hokuriku Expressway
• National Route 8
• National Route 359
• National Route 471

Local attractions

• Oyabe Yotaka - adapted from a traditional field festival, it is held on the nights of 10 and 11 June. The festival is 400 years old and has been passed down from generation to generation in 84 different locations in Oyabe.
• Helicopter and Disaster Prevention Festival, held from 26–27 August
• Calamus Festival (Flower Festival), held on 18 June
• Mitsui Outlet Park, Hokuriku Oyabe

Notable people from Oyabe

• Hiroshi Hase, Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
• Toshio Yamada, politician

External links

Oyabe travel guide from Wikivoyage

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Official Oyabe Festival website (in Japanese)