| Namerikawa | |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Pushpin Map: | Japan |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | |
| Coordinates: | 36.7644°N 137.3412°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Japan |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Chūbu (Hokuriku) |
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture |
| Subdivision Name2: | Toyama |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Tetsuo Mizuno (from February 2022) |
| Area Total Km2: | 54.63 |
| Population Total: | 32728[1] |
| Population As Of: | January 1st 2024 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | Japan Standard Time |
| Utc Offset1: | +9 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Symbols |
| Blank Info Sec1: | |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | • Tree |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | Pine |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | • Flower |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | Chrysanthemum morifolium |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | • Flowering Tree |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | Rhododendron |
| Blank4 Name Sec1: | • Fish |
| Blank4 Info Sec1: | Firefly squid |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Phone number |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 076-475-2111 |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Address |
| Blank1 Info Sec2: | Jikei-machi 104, Namerikawa-shi, Toyama-ken 936-8601 |
is a city in eastern Toyama Prefecture, Japan., the city had an estimated population of 32,728[2] in 12,372 households [3] and a population density of 605 persons per km2. Its total area was 54.63sqkm. The coast of Namerikawa is the habitat of the world famous glowing, which surface yearly in a phenomenon; thus, the waters of Namerikawa have been designated a Special Natural Monument by the Japanese government. The city was founded on March 1, 1954.
Namerikawa is in northeastern Toyama Prefecture, in the Hayatsuki river delta and is bordered by the Sea of Japan (Toyama Bay) to the northwest. Namerikawa is located 1 hour by air (via Toyama Airport), 3 hours by rail and 5 hours by car from Tokyo. Since March 2015, rail access is possible via Hokuriku Shinkansen high-speed train from nearby Toyama. The city area is formed on the alluvial fan between the Hayatsuki River and the Kamiichi River. Namerikawa has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa) characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Namerikawa is 13.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2317 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.6 °C.[4]
Per Japanese census data,[5] the population of Namerikawa has remained relatively steady over the past 50 years.
The area of present-day Namerikawa was part of ancient Etchū Province. During the Heian period, much of the area was part of shōen controlled by Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto. During the Edo period it was part of the territory controlled by the Maeda clan of Kaga Domain. The town of Namerkawa was created within Nakaniikawa District, Toyama with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On November 1, 1953, Namerigawa merged with the neighboring villages of Nakakazumi, Higashikazumi, Nishikazumi, Kitakazumi, Hamakazumi and Hayatsukikazumi. It was raised to city status on March 1, 1954.
Namerikawa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 15 members.
Once a rural town in the overlooking Toyama bay, then prospering as inn town on the Hokuriku Kaidō, Namerikawa has developed as an industrial city and commercial center, and is increasingly a bedroom community for nearby Uozu.
Namekawa has seven public elementary schools and two public junior high schools operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Toyama Prefectural Board of Education.
Namerikawa has several sister cities:
- Komoro, Nagano (1974) - Toyokoro, Hokkaidō (1984) - Nasushiobara, Tochigi (1996)
- Schaumburg, Illinois, United States (1997)