Shizuoka.Shizuoka City

Shizuoka (静岡市, Shizuoka-shi, [ɕizɯꜜoka]) is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and the prefecture’s second-largest city in both population and area. It has been populated since prehistoric times. As of 1 December 2019, the city had an estimated population of 690,881 in 106,087 households,^[3] and a population density of 489 persons per km².

The city’s name is made up of two kanji, 静 shizu, meaning “still” or “calm”; and 岡 oka, meaning “hill(s)”.^[4] In 1869, Shizuoka Domain was first created out of the older Sunpu Domain, and that name was retained when the city was incorporated in 1885. In 2003, Shizuoka absorbed neighboring Shimizu City (now Shimizu Ward) to create the new and expanded city of Shizuoka, briefly becoming the largest city by land area in Japan. In 2005, it became one of Japan’s “designated cities“.

Country	Shizuoka

Culture and History

Culture

There are three main festivals on Shizuoka's calendar.

Shizuoka Festival (静岡まつり,)
The city's April festival during the high point of the year for cherry blossoms. A flower-viewing procession imitates the shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu's custom of taking daimyōs (feudal lords) to Sengen Shrine to view the cherry blossoms.

Abekawa Fireworks (安倍川花火, Abekawa Hanabi)
A gigantic fireworks display held upstream on Shizuoka's Abe River in late July.

Daidogei World Cup (大道芸ワールドカップ, Daigougei Waarudo kappu)
Street Performance World Cup. Probably the biggest event on Shizuoka's Calendar, it is an annual international busker's festival, held in November. It includes various shows such as juggling, pantomime, magic, etc. Performers come from around the world and perform throughout the central part of the city as well as in some peripheral locations. From 2005, it expanded from a 3-day to a 4-day festival.