Sano, Tochigi

Geography

Sano is located in the northern Kantō plain, in southwestern Tochigi Prefecture, bordered by Gunma Prefecture to the west. The location river boundary connected by Tochigi.

Surrounding municipalities

Gunma Prefecture

• Itakura
• Kiryū
• Midori
• Tatebayashi Tochigi Prefecture
• Ashikaga
• Kanuma
• Tochigi

Climate

Sano has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Sano is 14.5 C. The average annual rainfall is 1258.0 mm with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.3 C, and lowest in January, at around 3.2 C.

|Jan record high C = 20.0 |Feb record high C = 23.1 |Mar record high C = 26.6 |Apr record high C = 31.2 |May record high C = 35.7 |Jun record high C = 38.4 |Jul record high C = 41.0 |Aug record high C = 39.8 |Sep record high C = 37.1 |Oct record high C = 34.3 |Nov record high C = 25.1 |Dec record high C = 25.2 |Jan record low C = -10.2 |Feb record low C = -10.2 |Mar record low C = -6.6 |Apr record low C = -4.1 |May record low C = 1.0 |Jun record low C = 7.9 |Jul record low C = 14.2 |Aug record low C = 12.8 |Sep record low C = 7.5 |Oct record low C = 1.1 |Nov record low C = -3.1 |Dec record low C = -7.0

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Sano peaked around 1990 and has declined since.

| 1920 | 89,102

| 1930 | 92,570 | 1940 | 95,520 | 1950 | 120,541 | 1960 | 118,046 | 1970 | 118,083 | 1980 | 124,331 | 1990 | 128,276 | 2000 | 125,671 | 2010 | 121,259 | 2020 | 116,228

History

During the Edo period, Sano was a castle town and the seat of the daimyō of Sano Domain. Following the Meiji Restoration, the town of Sano was created within Aso District, Tochigi with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889.Sano was elevated to city status on April 1, 1943, when it merged with the neighboring towns of Inubushi and Horigome and the villages of Sakai and Hatagawa. The city annexed the village of Inazuma (from Ashikaga District) on January 1, 1955, followed by the town of Akami(from Aso District) on April 1, 1955.

On February 28, 2005, Sano absorbed the towns of Kuzu and Tanuma (both from Aso District).

Government

Sano has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 26 members. Sano contributes three members to the Tochigi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Tochigi 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Agriculture and light manufacturing are mainstays of the local economy, with production of Kanpyō, turmeric and spinach being prominent local crops. The city is increasingly a commuter town for neighboring Utsunomiya.

Education

• Sano College
• Sano also has 26 public primary schools and 11 public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has three public high schools operated by the Tochigi Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one middle school. There is also three private high schools.

Sports

Sano has become the headquarter of the Japan Cricket Association and has hosted a number of cricket matches between international teams. On 22 March 2016, it was announced that Sano would be home to the Sano International Cricket Ground, which will become Japan's first dedicated cricketing venue built for purpose which no longer has to compete with other sports for usage.

Transportation

Railway

Highway

• – Sano-Fujioka Interchange, Sano Service Area and Smart Interchange
• – Izuruhara Parking Area, Sano-Tanuma Interchange

Bus

• Sano Shintoshi Bus Terminal

Local attractions

• house of Shōzō Tanaka
• site of Sano Castle

International relations

• USA Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States
• PRC Quzhou, China, friendship city since 1997

Notable people from Sano

• Takuro Ishii, professional baseball player
• Shunsuke Ishikawa, professional baseball player
• Kyogo Kawaguchi, singer-songwriter
• Tatsuya Ozeki, professional baseball player
• Shōzō Tanaka, politician, social activist

References

References

1. "Sano City official Statistics".
2. [https://www.citypopulation.de/php/japan-tochigi.php Sano population statistics]
3. (23 March 2016). "International Cricket Ground to be built in Japan". [[Japan Cricket Association]].
4. (23 March 2016). "JCA looking to build Japan's first international standard cricket ground". [[The Japan Times]].
5. Pennington, John. (23 March 2016). "Japan's international standard stadium gets green light".
6. Wallace, Brian. (2009-05-04). "SDL scraps trip to Japan at request of Japanese officials concerned about the flu". [[Intelligencer Journal]].
7. "QUZHOU traffic".