Saga, Saga

Infobox City Japan
Name= Saga
JapaneseName= 佐賀市
Map

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Region= Kyūshū
Prefecture= Saga Prefecture
District=
Area_km2= 431.42
PopDate= December 1, 2007
Population= 239,862
Density_km2= 556
Coords=
LatitudeDegrees= 33
LatitudeMinutes= 16
LatitudeSeconds=
LongtitudeDegrees= 130
LongtitudeMinutes= 18
LongtitudeSeconds=
Tree= Ginkgo
Flower= Camellia sasanqua
Bird=
Symbol

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SymbolDescription= Flag
Mayor=
CityHallPostalCode= 840-8501
CityHallAddress= 1-1 Sakaemachi, Saga-shi, Saga-ken
CityHallPhone= 0952-24-3151
CityHallLink= [http://www.city.saga.lg.jp/ City of Saga]

nihongo|Saga|佐賀市|Saga-shi is the capital of Saga Prefecture, located on the island of Kyūshū, Japan.

Every fall Saga holds the "Saga International Balloon Fiesta" in the dry riverbed of the Kase River. A quarter of the visitors are from Saga. The number of all visitors was about 15 million in 2005. Balloonists from many countries enter this event.

On October 1, 2005, the city merged with the towns of Morodomi, Yamato and Fuji (all from Saga District) and the village of Mitsuse from Kanzaki District to form the new city of Saga. With this creation, the city became neighbors with the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture. On October 1, 2007 the towns of Higashiyoka, Kawasoe, and Kubota were incorporated into Saga, further expanding its borders. Although it is the capital of Saga Prefecture, it can be said to be within the Fukuoka metropolitan area.

Geography

Saga City is located in the southeast portion of Saga Prefecture. After the 2005 merger the city became very long north to south. It now borders the Ariake Sea to the south and Fukuoka Prefecture to the southeast and north. The northern half of the city contains the Sefuri Mountains.

Climate

The annual average precipitation ranges from about 1800 mm (71 in) in the city center to about 2400 mm (94 in) in Mitsuse. The annual average temperature ranges from about 13 °C (55 °F) in Mitsuse to 17 °C (63 °F) in the city center.

Adjoining municipalities

*Saga Prefecture
**Kanzaki
**Karatsu
**Ogi
**Taku
*Fukuoka Prefecture
**Fukuoka
***Sawara-ku, Fukuoka
**Maebaru
**Ōkawa

History

Municipal timeline

*April 1, 1889 - The modern municipal system is established and the city of Saga is founded. At the same time, the current city region is occupied by 21 villages from three districts.
**Kanzaki District: Hasuike and Mitsuse.
**Ogi District: Kitayama and Nanzan.
**Saga District: Higashikawasoe, Honjō, Hyōgo, Kamino, Kase, Kasuga, Kawakami, Kinryū, Kitakawasoe, Kose, Kuboizumi, Matsuume, Nabeshima, Nikita, Nishiyoka, Oseki and Takakise.
*June 6, 1899 - Kose changes the kanji of its name.
*October 1, 1922 - Kamino is incorporated into Saga.
*November 3, 1935 - Hasuike gains town status.
*March 31, 1954 - Hyōgo, Kase, Kose, Nishiyoka and Takakise are all incorporated into Saga.
*October 1, 1954 - Honjō, Kinryū, Kitakawasoe, Kuboizumi and Nabeshima are all incorporated into Saga.
*March 1, 1955 - Higashikawasoe and Nikita merge to form the town of Morodomi.
*October 1, 2005- The towns of Morodomi, Yamato and Fuji and the village of Mitsuse are all incorporated into Saga. (population: 206,967 ; area: 355.15 km²)
*October 1, 2007 - The towns of Higashiyoka, Kawasoe, and Kubota are incorporated into Saga. (population: roughly 240,000 ; area: 431.42 km²)

aga Castle

Standing out from many cultural assets is the plains castle within the city, Saga Castle. It is one of the rare castles in Japan surrounded by a wall rather than built on one. First built between 1591 to 1593, there was a fire in 1726. Renovated in 1728, there was yet another fire in 1835. Naomasa Nabeshima of the Nabeshima clan renovated it within two years and moved in. In 1874 it was a court building and a prefectural office. 1883 saw it become a junior school. The buildings were eventually replaced by modern school buildings. The castle is divided into two main buildings, Honmaru and Ni no Maru.

Education

Universities

enior High Schools

Transportation

Air

There is one airport inside the city of Saga, Saga Airport, located in the former town of Kawasoe. Before the opening of Saga Airport, Fukuoka Airport was the nearest airport. However, many people in Saga still use Fukuoka Airport due its greater number of routes and flights offered. There is an express bus which connects the two airports.

Rail

*JR Kyushu
**Nagasaki Main Line
***Igaya Station - Saga Station - Nabeshima Station - Balloon Saga Station (only in operation during the Saga International Balloon Fiesta) - Kubota Station
**Karatsu Line
***Kubota Station

Road

*Expressways
**Nagasaki Expressway
***Interchanges: Saga Yamato Interchange
***Other facilities: Kinryū Service Area

*National highways
**Route 34 ("Hokubu Bypass")
**Route 35
**Route 207
**Route 208 ("Nambu Bypass")
**Route 263
***Toll section: Mitsuse Tunnel
***Yamato Roadside Station
**Route 264
**Route 323
**Route 385
**Route 444

Attractions

Kakurintei Tea House located in the grounds of Kono Koen is a very quaint and picturesque Japanese tea house overlooking a pond.

Saga Castle (Also called the Saga Castle Historical Museum) is the largest reconstruction of a wooden building in Japan, with a total floor space of 2500 square meters and the historical atmosphere of the Saga Castle main keep.

Famous People from Saga

*Shigeo Shingo, a Japanese industrial engineer who distinguished himself as one of the world’s leading experts on manufacturing practices.
*Hidenori Chiwata, a singer whose song カサブタ (Kasabuta / "Scab") was used as a theme song in the anime Zatch Bell!.
*Hanawa, Japanese singer and comedian. He released a CD about Saga city and he became famous.
*Yasuko Matsuyuki, Japanese singer and actress known for her glamorous and sophisticated personality. She is mentioned in Hanawa's song as being one of the celebrities that won't admit being from Saga. She moved away from Saga at the age of 19 to be a model.
* Yuna Katsuki (born Yohei Matsuyuki), Japanese singer and musician, of Lazy Knack, RED, The Flare, and Candelars, and also the younger brother of Yasuko Matsuyuki. He freely admits being from Saga, unlike his sister. [http://y-cross.jp/bio.html Yuna's Official Website] He moved to Tokyo at the age of 16.
*, a comedian
*Noriko Nakagoshi, an actress

ister cities

*flagicon|United States Warren County, New York and Glens Falls, New York
*flagicon|South Korea Yeonje-gu, Busan
*flagicon|China Lianyungang
*flagicon|France Cussac-Fort-Médoc
*flagicon|Brazil Limeira

External links

* [http://www.city.saga.lg.jp/ Official website] in Japanese
* [http://www.hyoho.com/Hagakure1.html About the Hagakure the Castle] in English
* [http://www.netcom.gr.jp/balloon/sibfo_e/index.html Saga International Balloon Fiesta] Web site (in English)