Toba (鳥羽市, Toba-shi) is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 July 2021, the city had an estimated population of 17,741 in 8328 households and a population density of 170 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 107.34 square kilometres (41.44 sq mi).
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Geography
Toba is located on the northeastern tip of Shima Peninsula in far eastern Mie Prefecture, facing Ise Bay of the Pacific Ocean to the north and east. The area is famous for oysters and for cultured pearls. The entire city area 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
Mitsujima
Ōzukumi-jima
Sakatejima
Sugashima
Tōshijima
Climate
Toba has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Toba is 15.6 °C (60.1 °F). The average annual rainfall is 2,428.5 mm (95.61 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.9 °C (80.4 °F), and lowest in January, at around 5.2 °C (41.4 °F).
Demographics
The population of Toba has decreased rapidly over the past 30 years.
History
The area of modern Toba has been continuously inhabited since before the Jōmon 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 town of Toba was created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Toba was raised to city status on November 1, 1954, by merging with seven neighboring villages in Shima District.
Government
Toba has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 14 members. Toba contributes one member to the Mie Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Mie 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
Economy
Commercial fishing, including cultivated pearls, and tourism play important roles in the local economy.
Education
Toba has nine public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Mie Prefectural Department of Education. The Toba National College of Maritime Technology, one of the five maritime technology colleges in Japan which offers merchant marine programs such as Deck officer, Marine Engineering and other advanced programs related to maritime education. is located in Toba, as is the Sugashima Marine Biological Laboratory - Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University.
Culture
Toba city hosts the highest number of ama divers in Japan.
Transportation
Railway
JR Tōkai - Sangū Line
Toba
Kintetsu Railway - Toba Line
Ikenoura - Toba
Kintetsu Railway - Shima Line
Toba - Nakanogō - Shima-Akasaki - Funatsu - Kamo - Matsuo - Shiraki
Highway
Iseshima Skyline
National Route 42
National Route 167
National Route 259
Ferry
Ise-wan Ferry
Local attractions
Mikimoto Pearl Island
Toba Aquarium
Toba Castle
Toba Sea-Folk Museum
Sister city relations
Santa Barbara, California, United States, since 1966
Sanda, Hyōgo, friendship city since July 1, 1971
Notable people from Toba
Mitsuru Hattori, Manga artist
Tsunekazu Ishihara, President of The Pokémon Company
Mikimoto Kōkichi, Entrepreneur and businessman