Odawara

Odawara (小田原市, Odawara-shi) is a city located in western Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

As of February 2015, the city had an estimated population of 194,672 and a population density of 1,710 persons per km². The total area is 113.79 km².

Geography

Odawara occupies the Ashigara Plains, in the far western portion of Kanagawa Prefecture. It is bordered by the Hakone Mountains to the north and west, the Sakawa River to the east and Sagami Bay of the Pacific Ocean to the south.

Surrounding municipalities

Climate

History

The area around present day Odawara has been settled since prehistoric times, and archaeological evidence indicates that the area had a high population density in the Jomon period. From the Ritsuryō system of the Nara period, the area became part of Ashigarashimo District of Sagami Province. It was divided into shōen during the Heian period, mostly controlled by the Hatano clan and its various branches. During the Gempei War between the Heike clan and Minamoto no Yoritomo, the Battle of Ishibashiyama was fought near present-day Odawara. During the Sengoku period, Odawara developed as a castle town and capital of the domains of the late Hōjō clan, which covered most of the Kantō region. The Hōjō were defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the Battle of Odawara in 1590, despite the impregnable reputation of Odawara Castle, and the territory came under the control of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Odawara Castle

Odawara Castle (小田原城, Odawara-jō) is a landmark in the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

History

Odawara was a stronghold of the Doi clan during the Kamakura period, and a fortified residence built by their collateral branch, the Kobayakawa clan stood on the approximate site of the present castle. After the Uesugi Zenshū Revolt of 1416, Odawara came under the control of the Omori clan of Suruga, who were in turn defeated by Ise Moritoki of Izu, founder of the Late Hōjō clan in 1495. Five generations of the Late Hōjō clan improved and expanded on the fortifications of Odawara Castle as the center of their domains, which encompassed most of the Kantō region.

During the Muromachi period, Odawara Castle had very strong defenses, as it was situated on a hill, surrounded by moats with water on the low side, and dry ditches on the hill side, with banks, walls and cliffs located all around the castle, enabling the defenders to repel attacks by the great warriors Uesugi Kenshin in 1561 and Takeda Shingen in 1569. However, during the Battle of Odawara in 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi forced the surrender of the Late Hōjō clan through a combination of a three-month siege and bluff. After ordering most of the fortifications destroyed, he awarded the holdings of the Late Hōjō to Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Odawara Station

Odawara Station (小田原駅, Odawara-eki) is a railway station in Odawara, Kanagawa, Japan. It is a gateway station to the Hakone area.

Lines

This station is served by following lines.

Station layout

The JR companies have staffed Midori no Madoguchi ticket offices and seat reservation counters.

Izu-Hakone Railway platforms

JR East platforms

Odakyu and Hakone Tozan platforms

JR Central platforms

Adjacent stations

Bus services

Japan

Coordinates: 35°N 136°E / 35°N 136°E / 35; 136

Japan (ⁱ/dʒəˈpæn/; Japanese: 日本 Nippon [nip̚põ̞ɴ] or Nihon [nihõ̞ɴ]; formally 日本国  Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, "State of Japan") is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The kanji that make up Japan's name mean "sun origin", and Japan is often called the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, which make up about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan's population of 126 million is the world's tenth largest. Approximately 9.1 million people live in Tokyo, the capital city of Japan, which is the sixth largest city proper in the OECD. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the world's largest metropolitan area with over 35 million residents and the world's largest urban agglomeration economy.