Nishiwaki 4.54

Nishiwaki is a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It was founded on April 1, 1952.The city calls itself "The Navel of Japan (Nihon no Heso)." Located at the crossing of the 135° East meridian and the 35° North parallel, the city's Nihon no Heso Park marks the center of the nation. JR West operates Nihon Heso Station on the Kakogawa Line (in addition to other stations in Nishiwaki).As of May 1, 2017, the city had an estimated population of 41,336, with 16,858 households, and a population density of 310 persons per km². The total area is 132.47 km².On October 1, 2005, the town of Kurodashō (from Taka District) was merged into Nishiwaki.Sister cityNishiwaki has been the sister city of Renton, Washington, U.S.A since 1969. Since then there have been mutual exchanges between the cities, most notably the annual middle school exchange program which began in 1989. (The US delegation was in Japan October 3-13, 1989.) The initial delegation from the US included (future) actress Casey Strand.MascotNisshi(にっしー） She was made to promote the city in 2010, and she wears a blue clothes made of "Banshu-Ori", which is a kind of textile and famous in Nisiwaki city.