   is a city in eastern saitama prefecture, japan, approximately  north of tokyo. it was formerly located in kitakatsushika and minamisaitama districts. kasukabe once prospered as part of the nikkÅ kaidÅ highway, an important trade route that linked edo with nikkÅ. ==overview== the city was founded on july 1, 1954 and its mayor is ryozo ishikawa. on october 1, 2005, kasukabe city absorbed the town of shÅwa (from kitakatsushika district) to create the current and expanded kasukabe city. as of 2003 before the merger, the city had an estimated population of 204,109 and a population density of 5,395.43 persons per kmÂ², with a total area of 37.83 kmÂ². as of march 1, 2010, the estimated population is of 236,106 and the population density of 3,580 persons per kmÂ². the total area is 65.98 kmÂ². kasukabe is famous for the production of , traditional dressers made from paulownia wood. the cultural and economic value of the paulownia is reflected in its designation as the official town tree. the city's official flower is the wisteria. kasukabe is also well known in japan as the setting of the manga and anime series lucky star and crayon shin-chan. shin-chan's creator yoshito usui also lived in kasukabe. the public entrance to the metropolitan area outer underground discharge channel is located here. also known as g-cans, this huge underground flood control system was completed 
Cities_in_Saitama_Prefecture