Utsunomiya 6

Utsunomiya is the capital and largest city of Tochigi Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. As of May 2015, the city had an estimated population of 518,200 and a population density of 1240 persons per km². Its total area was 416.85 km². Utsunomiya is famous for its gyoza (pan fried dumplings). There are more than two hundred gyoza restaurants in Utsunomiya.Greater Utsunomiya had a population of 888,005 in the 2000 Census. The nearby city of Oyama is included in Greater Tokyo, but Greater Utsunomiya is not, despite the two areas amalgamating somewhat. It is the 10th most populated city in the Kanto region.HistoryArchaeologists have uncovered evidence that the area of Utsunomiya has been continuously settled since the Japanese Paleolithic period onwards, and numerous burial mounds from the Kofun period are found within its borders. The Utsunomiya Futarayama Shrine, which is the Ichinomiya of Shimotsuke Province claims to have been founded in 353 AD. The town of Utsunomiya developed around this shrine, and the area was under the control of the Utsunomiya clan, an offshoot of the Fujiwara clan from the Heian through Sengoku periods, and was destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.