Nagano (city)

關於Nagano (city)

Nagano is the capital and largest city of Nagano Prefecture, located in the Nagano Basin (Zenkoji Daira) in the central Chūbu region of Japan. Nagano is categorized as a core city of Japan. Nagano City is the highest prefectural capital in Japan, with an altitude of 371.4 meters (1,219 ft).

The city is surrounded by mountains, the highest of which is Mount Takatsuma (2,353 m), and it is near the confluence of the Chikuma River—the longest and widest river in Japan—and the Sai River. As of 1 July 2023, the city had an estimated population of 365,296 in 160,625 households, and a population density of 438 persons per km². The total area of the city is 834.81 square kilometres (322.32 sq mi).

Nagano City, located in the former Shinano Province, developed in the Nara period (AD 710 to 794) as a temple town (monzen machi). The city of Nagano is home to Zenkō-ji, a 7th-century Buddhist temple that is listed as a Japanese National Treasure. Zenkō-ji was established at its current location in 642 AD. The location of Zenkō-ji is approximately two kilometers from the present-day central Nagano Station.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.