Ube (宇部市, Ube-shi) is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan on the Seto Inland Sea. As of October 2016, the city has an estimated population of 168,398 and a population density of 590 persons per km2. The total area is 287.69 square kilometres (111.08 square miles).
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Ube
宇部市 | |
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City | |
![]() Roads in Ube | |
![]() Flag ![]() Seal | |
![]() Location of Ube in Yamaguchi Prefecture | |
![]() ![]() Ube Location in Japan | |
Coordinates: 33°57′N 131°15′E | |
Country | Japan |
Region | Chūgoku (San'yō) (San'in) |
Prefecture | Yamaguchi Prefecture |
Established | November 1, 1921 (1921-11-01) as Ube City April 1, 1889 (1889-04-01) as Ube Village in Asa District |
Government | |
• Mayor | Keiji Shinozaki[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 287.69 km2 (111.08 sq mi) |
Population (October 1, 2016) | |
• Total | 168,398 |
• Density | 590/km2 (1,500/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
City hall address | 1-7-1 Tokiwachō, Ube-shi, Yamaguchi-ken 755-8601 |
Climate | Cfa |
Website | www |
Symbols | |
Flower | Scarlet sage and azalea |
Tree | Camphor laurel |
Ube Village (宇部村) as a modern municipality was established in Yamaguchi's Asa District as part of the modernization of municipalities in most prefectures in 1889. It became Ube City (宇部市) on November 1, 1921 in a rare direct elevation from village to city, without being a town in between.
Previously a coal mining town, the city has developed an effective policy to improve its environment. In particular it has combated the problem of air pollution and its success in doing so saw it being recognised by the United Nations Environment Programme as among UNEP's Global 500 Roll of Honour in 1997.[2]
On November 1, 2004, the town of Kusunoki (from Asa District) was merged into Ube. This brought the city to its current extent, together with previous municipal mergers (Fujiyama in 1931, Kōnan in 1941, Nishi- (West) Kiwa in 1943, Great Shōwa mergers/1954: Kotō, Futamatase, Ono, Higashi- (East) Kiwa).
Climate data for Ube (2002−2020 normals, extremes 2002−present) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 16.6 (61.9) |
18.7 (65.7) |
23.3 (73.9) |
26.6 (79.9) |
30.3 (86.5) |
32.1 (89.8) |
35.2 (95.4) |
37.0 (98.6) |
33.7 (92.7) |
30.2 (86.4) |
24.3 (75.7) |
22.8 (73.0) |
37.0 (98.6) |
Average high °C (°F) | 9.4 (48.9) |
10.2 (50.4) |
13.3 (55.9) |
17.8 (64.0) |
22.3 (72.1) |
25.2 (77.4) |
28.9 (84.0) |
30.8 (87.4) |
27.7 (81.9) |
22.9 (73.2) |
17.3 (63.1) |
11.7 (53.1) |
19.8 (67.6) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.8 (42.4) |
6.5 (43.7) |
9.3 (48.7) |
13.8 (56.8) |
18.4 (65.1) |
22.0 (71.6) |
25.8 (78.4) |
27.5 (81.5) |
24.2 (75.6) |
18.9 (66.0) |
13.4 (56.1) |
8.1 (46.6) |
16.1 (61.0) |
Average low °C (°F) | 2.0 (35.6) |
2.6 (36.7) |
5.1 (41.2) |
9.8 (49.6) |
14.7 (58.5) |
19.3 (66.7) |
23.6 (74.5) |
24.9 (76.8) |
21.1 (70.0) |
15.0 (59.0) |
9.2 (48.6) |
4.1 (39.4) |
12.6 (54.7) |
Record low °C (°F) | −6.1 (21.0) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
2.1 (35.8) |
5.5 (41.9) |
11.6 (52.9) |
17.5 (63.5) |
18.5 (65.3) |
12.9 (55.2) |
4.4 (39.9) |
0.8 (33.4) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 56.2 (2.21) |
65.7 (2.59) |
106.0 (4.17) |
129.0 (5.08) |
162.7 (6.41) |
242.5 (9.55) |
291.1 (11.46) |
131.3 (5.17) |
133.5 (5.26) |
77.9 (3.07) |
74.4 (2.93) |
57.0 (2.24) |
1,527.2 (60.13) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 8.6 | 8.9 | 10.1 | 9.3 | 8.6 | 11.7 | 10.3 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 5.7 | 7.9 | 8.6 | 105.8 |
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[3][4] |
![]() | This section does not cite any sources. (November 2019) |
Ube publicizes itself as "a city of greenery, flowers, and sculptures". Tokiwa Park is the centerpiece of this marketing, as it covers a large area near the center of the city and houses a large number of modern, mostly domestic sculptures on the shores of Lake Tokiwa. The sculptures can be found around the city. A sculpture competition is held biennially to provide new additions.
A well-known attraction of the park was a great white pelican called "Katta-kun", so named after his parents who were from Kolkata, India. Hatched in the park in 1985, he became famous as he began visiting schools in the vicinity. Katta-kun died in 2008, but there are a number of pelicans still residing in an enclosure there. In addition to the pelicans there were many mute swans and black swans residing there until 2011, when they were culled after an outbreak of H1N5 avian influenza. Two new mute swans were introduced in 2017.
There is a coal mining museum with a view over the city and airport.
Ube is twinned with:[5]
Ube holds two festivals each year, one in May and the other in November featuring food stands and carnival games.
The city is served by Yamaguchi Prefecture's only airport, Yamaguchi Ube Airport, with daily flights to and from Tokyo.
There are no Shinkansen stations in this city. The closest Shinkansen stations are: Asa Station (Sanyo Onoda) and Shin-Yamaguchi Station (Yamaguchi)
The main train station located in 'downtown' Ube is called Ube-Shinkawa Station (Ube Line). Ube Station is farther inland and is located in a more suburban area known as Kōnan (厚南).
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The city formerly had a North Korean school, Ube Korean Elementary and Junior High School (宇部朝鮮初中級学校).[6]
Ube Industries is headquartered and has major plants in Ube. Also, petroleum product company of Solato, printer machine product company of Riso Kagaku, glass product company Central Glass, semiconductor and parts product company of Renesas, pharmaceutical research and product company of Kyowa Hakko Kirin, clinical laboratory research company of Miraca Holdings are plant and factory base on Ube.[citation needed]
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