Hitachinaka 5.27

Hitachinaka is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. As of September 2015, the city had an estimated population of 156,619 and a population density of 1,570 persons per km². Its total area was 99.83sqkm. It is a “hiragana city”, the place name is written with the hiragana syllabary, and not the traditional kanji.GeographyHitachinaka is located in central Ibaraki Prefecture, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east.Surrounding municipalities Ibaraki PrefectureTōkai Naka Mito ŌaraiHistoryThe towns of Hiraiso and Minato, as well as the village of Katsuta were created within Naka District with the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Minato was renamed Nakaminato in 1938. Katsuta was elevated to town status in 1940. During World War II, the area was subject to air raids and to shelling by Allied warships due to its numerous factories producing war-related materials. On March 31, 1954 the towns of Nakaminato and Hiraiso merged, forming the city of Nakaminato. Katsuta was raised to city status on November 1 of the same year. The two cities merged on November 1, 1994 to form the city of Hitachinaka.