# Toyohashi

Toyohashi (豊橋市, Toyohashi-shi) is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 December 2019, the city had an estimated population of 377,453 in 160,516 households and a population density of 1,400 persons per km$^2$. The total area of the city was 261.86 square kilometres (101.10 sq mi). By area, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-largest city until March 31, 2005, when it was surpassed by the city of Toyota, which had merged with six peripheral municipalities.

## Geography

Toyohashi is located in southeastern Aichi Prefecture, and is the capital of the informal "Higashi-Mikawa Region" of the prefecture. It is bordered by Shizuoka Prefecture to the east, and by Mikawa Bay and the headlands of the Atsumi Peninsula to the west. To the south is the Enshū Sea of the Pacific Ocean. The presence of the warm Kuroshio Current offshore gives the city a temperate climate. The Katahama Jusan-ri Beach (片浜十三里) stretching in adjacent city of Tahara to the west, Toyohashi, and the city of Hamamatsu to the east is a sea turtle nesting spot.

### Climate

The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Toyohashi is 16.3 °C (61.3 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,651.3 mm (65.01 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.5 °C (81.5 °F), and lowest in January, at around 5.4 °C (41.7 °F).
Climate data for Toyohashi (2006−2020 normals, extremes 2005−present) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 17.0 (62.6) | 19.5 (67.1) | 22.4 (72.3) | 26.0 (78.8) | 30.3 (86.5) | 34.1 (93.4) | 35.9 (96.6) | 37.9 (100.2) | 35.5 (95.9) | 31.0 (87.8) | 24.6 (76.3) | 22.4 (72.3) | 37.9 (100.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.2 (48.6) | 10.4 (50.7) | 14.0 (57.2) | 18.6 (65.5) | 23.2 (73.8) | 25.9 (78.6) | 29.6 (85.3) | 31.5 (88.7) | 28.4 (83.1) | 23.2 (73.8) | 17.3 (63.1) | 11.8 (53.2) | 20.3 (68.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.4 (41.7) | 6.4 (43.5) | 9.5 (49.1) | 14.3 (57.7) | 19.0 (66.2) | 22.3 (72.1) | 26.0 (78.8) | 27.5 (81.5) | 24.4 (75.9) | 19.1 (66.4) | 13.3 (55.9) | 8.0 (46.4) | 16.3 (61.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.7 (35.1) | 2.5 (36.5) | 5.2 (41.4) | 10.0 (50.0) | 15.1 (59.2) | 19.2 (66.6) | 23.2 (73.8) | 24.3 (75.7) | 21.0 (69.8) | 15.4 (59.7) | 9.3 (48.7) | 4.1 (39.4) | 12.6 (54.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −4.3 (24.3) | −4.4 (24.1) | −1.6 (29.1) | 1.3 (34.3) | 8.3 (46.9) | 12.9 (55.2) | 18.7 (65.7) | 19.3 (66.7) | 12.5 (54.5) | 6.5 (43.7) | 0.7 (33.3) | −2.2 (28.0) | −4.4 (24.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 50.3 (1.98) | 79.9 (3.15) | 127.5 (5.02) | 150.9 (5.94) | 178.1 (7.01) | 184.6 (7.27) | 198.6 (7.82) | 126.8 (4.99) | 206.9 (8.15) | 210.9 (8.30) | 79.6 (3.13) | 57.2 (2.25) | 1,651.3 (65.01) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 5.3 | 6.4 | 8.4 | 9.3 | 8.9 | 11.3 | 10.8 | 7.1 | 10.7 | 10.0 | 6.7 | 5.5 | 100.4 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 197.8 | 178.4 | 210.2 | 207.9 | 223.7 | 161.8 | 186.6 | 236.8 | 171.1 | 166.1 | 170.0 | 183.4 | 2,293.8 |
| Source: Japan Meteorological Agency ||||||||||||||

### Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Toyohashi has grown steadily over the past 60 years.

### Neighboring municipalities
#### Aichi Prefecture

* Shinshiro
* Tahara
* Toyokawa

#### Shizuoka Prefecture

* Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu
* Kosai

### City scape

* Skyline of Toyohashi
* Yoshida Castle
* The street in front of Toyohashi Station, 2022
* Toyokawa Bridge and Toyo River
* Toyohashi Zoo and Botanical Park

## History
### Origins

The area around present-day Toyohashi has been inhabited for many thousands of years. Archaeologists have found human remains from the Japanese Paleolithic period, which have been carbon dated to more than 10,000 BC along with the bones of Naumann elephants.
Numerous remains from the Jōmon period, and especially from the Yayoi and Kofun periods have also been found, including many kofun burial mounds.
During the Nara period, the area was assigned to Atsumi, Hoi and Yana Districts of Mikawa Province and prospered during subsequent periods as a post town on an important river crossing of the Tōkaidō connecting the capital with the eastern provinces.

### Sengoku period

During the Sengoku period, the area was a highly contested zone between the Imagawa clan based in Suruga Province and various local warlords, who built a number of fortifications in the area, including Yoshida Castle. The rising power of the Matsudaira clan and its alliance with Oda Nobunaga eventually neutralized the threat posed by the Imagawa, and the area became part of the holdings of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Following the Battle of Odawara in 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the Tokugawa clan to relocate to the Kantō region and assigned the castle to Ikeda Terumasa. Ikeda developed the surrounding castle town and embarked on a massive and ambitious plan to rebuild Yoshida Castle. However, following the Battle of Sekigahara, he was relocated to Himeji Castle.

### Edo period

After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, Yoshida Castle became the center of Yoshida Domain, a clan fief. The domain was assigned to several different fudai daimyō clans until coming into the possession of the Matsudaira (Nagasawa-Ōkōchi) clan in 1752, which remained in residence at Yoshida until the Meiji Restoration. The final daimyō of Yoshida, Matsudaira Nobuhisa, surrendered the domain to the Meiji government in 1868. In 1869, the name of the domain was formally changed from Yoshida to Toyohashi.

### Meiji period

With the establishment of the modern municipalities system under the Meiji government in 1879, Toyohashi Town was created within Atsumi District, Aichi Prefecture. Toyohashi Zoo was established in 1899. The town achieved city status in 1906.

### Taishō period

A tram system (the present-day Toyohashi Railway Asumadai Main Line) was established in 1925.

### Shōwa period

In 1932, Toyohashi expanded its borders by annexing Shimoji Town (Hoi District), Takashi Village, Muroyoshida Village (Atsumi District), and Shimokawa Village (Yana District). Toyohashi suffered considerable damage during the 1944 Tōnankai earthquake, and even more damage during the Toyohashi Air Raid, which destroyed more than 60% of the city in June 1945.

### Modern Toyohashi

In 1955, Toyohashi's geographic extent was expanded again with the annexation of neighboring Maeshiba Village (Hoi District), Futagawa Village, Takatoyo Village, Oitsu Village (Atsumi District) and Ishimaki Village (Yana District). Toyohashi achieved core city status in 1999 with increased autonomy from the prefectural government.

## Government
### Mayor-council

Toyohashi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 36 members.

### Prefectural Assembly

The city contributes five members to the Aichi Prefectural Assembly.

### House of Representatives

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aichi District15 of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

### List of mayors of Toyohashi (from 1907)

| Mayor | Term |
| Kiroku Okuchi (大口喜六) | 7 January 1907 to 10 January 1912 (first term) 27 April 1914 to 20 February 1916 (second term) 17 September 1938 to 10 December 1940 (third term) |
| Shojuro Takahashi (高橋小十郎) | 12 February 1912 to 8 March 1913 |
| Bengo Sakakibara (榊原辨吾) | 29 August 1913 to 28 March 1914 |
| Tadao Hosotani (細谷忠男) | 18 January 1917 to 20 August 1923 |
| Ichitaro Yoshikawa (吉川一太郎) | 10 June 1924 to 8 December 1925 |
| Katsuzo Tamegai (田部井勝藏) | 5 August 1926 to 4 August 1930 |
| Mayor | Term |
| Tohei Marumo (丸茂藤平) | 30 August 1930 to 29 August 1934 |
| Shotaro Kanbe (神戸小三郎) | 3 September 1934 to 7 July 1938 |
| Junichiro Kondo (近藤寿市郎) | 18 April 1941 to 17 April 1945 |
| Tamotsu Mizuno (水野　保) | 6 May 1945 to 29 January 1946 |
| Shinobu Yokota (横田　忍) | 29 March 1946 to 4 April 1947 |
| Fujitomo Otake (大竹藤知) | 5 April 1947 to 28 June 1952 |
| Mayor | Term |
| Sacho Ono (大野佐長) | 28 July 1952 to 30 June 1960 |
| Mutsuro Kawai (河合陸郎) | 1 July 1960 to 26 March 1975 |
| Shigeru Aoki (青木　茂) | 30 April 1975 to 26 April 1983 |
| Akira Takahashi (高橋アキラ) | 27 April 1983 to 2 October 1996 |
| Masaru Hayakawa (早川　勝) | 17 November 1996 to 16 November 2008 |
| Koichi Sahara (佐原光一) | 17 November 2008 to 16 November 2020 |
| Yoshitaka Asai (浅井由崇) | 17 November 2020 to present |

## Public
### Police

* Aichi Prefectural Police
** Toyohashi police station

### Firefighting

* Toyohashi Fire department
** Toyohashi-Minami fire department
** Toyohashi-Naka fire department

### Health care

* Hospital
** Toyohashi City Hospital

### Post office

* Toyohashi Post office
* Toyohashi-Minami Post office

### Library

* Toyohashi City Library
** Toyohashi City Central Library
** Toyohashi City Mukaiyama Liburary
** Toyohashi City Oshimizu Liburary (Minakuru)
* Toyohashi Police Station
* Toyohashi Fire Department
* Toyohashi City Hospital
* Toyohashi Post Office
* Toyohashi City Central Library

## International relations
### Sister cities

* Nantong, Jiangsu, China, since May 1987
* Toledo, Ohio, United States, since April 2000
* Panevėžys, Lithuania, since June 2019

### Friendship cities

* Jinju, South Gyeongsang, South Korea, since 1992
* Paranavaí, Paraná, Brazil, since 2008
* Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, since 2011

## Economy
### Primary sector of the economy
#### Agriculture

* Cabbage
* Napa cabbage
* Tomato
* Diospyros kaki
* Pyrus pyrifolia
* Grape
* Chikuwa

##### Japan Agricultural Cooperatives

* JA Toyohashi

### Secondary sector of the economy

Industrial production is centered around the production of automotive-related components for Toyota, Mitsubishi, Suzuki Motors, and Honda, all of whom have factories in the region.

#### Motors

* Toyota
* Mitsubishi
* Suzuki Motors
* Honda
* VOLKSWAGEN Group Japan

### Tertiary sector of the economy
#### Worldwide trade

Mikawa Port is a major port for worldwide trade, and its presence has made Toyohashi the largest import and export hub in Japan for automobiles, in volume terms. Compared to other ports around the world, Mikawa is roughly on a par with the German port of Bremerhaven.

#### Shopping center

* APiTA Mukaiyama
* Æon Toyohashi-Minami Shopping center
* Æon Town Toyohasihashira
* Cocola Avenue
* Cabbage field in Oshimizu-cho
* Volkswagen Golf Mk7
* Shopping Street
* Cocola Avenue

## Media
### Studio

* FM Toyohashi (JOZZ6AA-FM, 84.30 MHz)

### Newspaper

* Higashi Aichi Newspaper
* Tonichi Shimbun Newspaper

## Education
### University
#### National university

* Toyohashi University of Technology

#### Private university

* Aichi University
* Toyohashi Sozo College

#### Private college

* Aichi Junior College

### Primary and secondary schools

* Toyohashi has 52 public elementary schools and 22 public middle schools operated by the city government, and eight public high schools operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education. The city also has one private middle school and three private high schools. The prefecture also operated three special education schools for the handicapped.

### International schools

* Escola Alegria de Saber (エスコーラ・アレグリア・デ・サベール) - Brazilian school
* Escola Cantinho Brasileiro (カンティーニョ学園) - Brazilian primary school
* EJA Interativo – Educação de Jovens e Adultos - Brazilian institution
* Toyohashi Korean Elementary School and Kindergarten (豊橋朝鮮初級学校) - North Korean school

## Transportation
### Railway

Toyohashi Station is on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and the Tōkaidō Main Line. Hikari shinkansen services stop at Toyohashi Station approximately once every two hours, and Kodama services stop twice an hour. Toyohashi Station is also the terminus of the Iida Line, Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line, Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line, and the Toyohashi Railroad Azumada Main Line, making it an important transportation hub.

#### Highspeed rail
##### Central Japan Railway Company

* Tōkaidō Shinkansen: Toyohashi

#### Conventional lines
##### Central Japan Railway Company

* Tōkaidō Main Line: Toyohashi • Futagawa
* Iida Line: Toyohashi • Funamachi • Shimoji

##### Meitetsu

* Meitetsu Nagoya Line: Toyohashi

##### Toyotetsu

* Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line: Shin-Toyohashi • Yagyu-bashi • Koike • Aichidaigakumae • Minami-Sakae • Takashi • Ashihara • Ueta • Mukougaoka • Ōshimizu • Oitsu • Sugiyama

### Tramway
#### Toyotetsu

* Toyohashi Railroad Azumada Main Line: Ekimae • Ekimae-ōdōri • Shinkawa • Fudagi • Shiyakushomae • Toyohashi-kōenmae • Higashi-hatchō • Maehata • Azumada-sakaue • Azumada • Keirinjōmae • Ihara • Akaiwaguchi
* Ihara • Undōkōen-mae

### Bus

Almost all services are operated by Toyotetsu Bus, a subsidiary of Toyohashi Railroad.

### Roads
#### Highway

* Tomei Expressway

#### Japan National Route

* National Route 1
* National Route 23
* National Route 42
* National Route 151
* National Route 259
* National Route 362

### Sea port

* Port of Toyohashi (Port of Mikawa)
* Toyohashi Station
* Ekimae-Ôdôri Main street
* Toyohashi Railroad
* Toyotetsu Bus
* Toyohashi Tollgate
* Port of Toyohashi

## Local attractions
### Places of interest

* Toyohashi Park, which includes the site of Yoshida Castle (吉田城址), and the Toyohashi City Museum Art and History.
* Site of Nirengi Castle
* Toyohashi City Public Hall (豊橋市公会堂, Toyohashi-shi Kōkaidō), a National Important Cultural Property .
* Toyohashi Orthodox Cathedral (豊橋ハリストス正教会), a National Important Cultural Property
* Futagawa-juku honjin museum
* Toyohashi Zoo
* Toyohashi Natural History Museum
* Toyohashi Museum of Natural Resources

### Facilities and parks

Toyohashi has many parks, including the Natural History Museum and Zoological Park, the Imou swamp, Mikawa Seaside Forest, Kamo Iris Garden, and the Mukaiyama Ume Garden. It also has what is considered one of the best surfing beaches in Aichi and the surrounding region.

## Culture
### Festivals

Toyohashi Festival, Spring Festival, Iris Flower Festival, Gion Festival, Demon Festival (February), and traditional marionette performances (Akumi joruri). At some of these festivals, especially the summer festivals, the use of traditionally handcrafted fireworks is showcased, and include hand-held bamboo-tube fireworks known as tezutsu hanabi.

### Special products

Chikuwa (a type of baked sausage roll made from fish), Gohei rice cake (五平餅, Gohei-mochi), beach fermented soybeans, food boiled in goby fish and soy, top producer of quail eggs in Japan, Toyohashi calligraphy brush (豊橋筆, Toyohashi-fude).

### In popular culture

In the fictional Harry Potter universe, Toyohashi is the hometown of the professional Quidditch team, the Toyohashi Tengu.
In the Takeshi Kitano movie Kikujiro, the story revolves around the characters' trip from Tokyo to Toyohashi.
Toyohashi is the setting of the light novel series Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!, the anime television adaptation of which premiered in July 2024.

### Sports
#### Basketball

* San-en NeoPhoenix (Toyohashi City General Gymnasium)

#### Baseball

* Chunichi Dragons (Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium)

## Gallery

* Cocola Avenue
* Matsuba Park
* Seapalace Resort
* Aquarena Toyohashi
* Mukaiyama-Oike Ponds
* Toyohashi Orthodox Church
* Tezutsu Fireworks
* Toyohashi Oni Festival
* Hokusai

## Notable people from Toyohashi

* Yua Aida, AV idol and model
* Katsuhito Asano, Japanese politician
* Daniel (Nushiro) of Japan, primate of Japanese Orthodox Church
* Atsushi Fujii, professional baseball player
* Emi Fujino, mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler
* Mizuki Inoue, kickboxer and mixed martial artist
* Yoshitaka Iwamizu, Olympic long-distance runner
* Kitaro, musician
* Aya Kitō, writer
* Masaji Kiyokawa, Olympic gold-medalist swimmer
* Masatoshi Koshiba, Nobel Prize winner
* Ken Matsudaira, actor
* Rena Matsui, actress, former member of SKE48
* Yūji Mitsuya, actor, voice actor
* Masahiko Morifuku, professional baseball player
* Sakura Nogawa, voice actress
* Kenichi Ogawa, boxer
* Yoshio Sawai, manga artist
* Akiko Suzuki, professional figure skater
* Buyūzan Takeyoshi, sumo wrestler
* Sakon Yamamoto, professional race car driver