Toyohashi 6.02

Toyohashi is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan., the city had an estimated population of 372,710 and a population density of 1,420 persons per km². The total area was 261.86sqkm. By area, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-largest city until March 31, 2005 when it was surpassed by the city of Toyota, which had merged with six peripheral municipalities.GeographyToyohashi is located in southeastern Aichi Prefecture, and is the capital of the informal "Higashi-Mikawa Region" of the prefecture. It is bordered by Shizuoka Prefecture to the east, and by Mikawa Bay and the headlands of the Atsumi Peninsula to the west. To the south is the Enshu Bay of the Pacific Ocean. The presence of the warm Kuroshio Current offshore gives the city a temperate climate. The Katahama Jusan-ri Beach in Toyohashi is a sea turtle nesting spot.Neighboring municipalitiesAichi Prefecture:ToyokawaShinshiroTaharaKita-ku, HamamatsuKosaiHistoryThe area around present-day Toyohashi has been inhabited for many thousands of years. Archaeologists have found human remains from the Japanese Paleolithic period, which have been carbon dated to more than 10,000 BC along with the bones of Naumann elephants. Numerous remains from the Jomon period, and especially from the Yayoi and Kofun periods have also been found, including many kofun burial mounds.