is a
city||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...
located in
Naganois a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano, and was divided among many local daimyo during the Sengoku period....
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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...
. It was founded on 1 April 1936.
As of 2003, the city has an estimated
populationIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings. Individuals within a population share a factor may be reduced by statistical means, but such a generalization may be too vague to imply anything...
of 55,613 and a
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
of 653.19 persons per km². The total area is 85.14 km².
The city is
twinnedSister cities, also known as town twinning, is an agreement between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties...
with
Mount PleasantMount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Isabella County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 25,946. The 2008 census estimate places the population at 26,675....
,
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
,
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and in 2005 donated forty trees to it, honoring forty years of association between the two cities.
From the
Meiji periodThe , or Meiji era denotes the period in Japanese history during the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor . During this time, Japan began its modernization and rose to world power status...
through into the start of the
Shōwa periodThe , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa , from December 25, 1926 to January 7, 1989. In his coronation message which was read to the people and to the army, the newly enthroned emperor referenced this Japanese era name or nengō: "I have...
(1868-1930), Okaya was one of Japan's largest producers of export-quality silk, thanks to the introduction of a new silk-reeling machine from overseas.
After the second world war, Okaya established itself as a city of precision machinery, focusing on the manufacturing of products such as watches and cameras.
The region's local industry is predominantly made up of medium and small-sized businesses, but also some big-name businesses such as
Seiko Epson, or Epson, is a Japanese company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of inkjet, dot matrix and laser printers, scanners, desktop computers, business, multimedia and home theatre projectors, large home theatre televisions, robots and industrial automation equipment, point of sale docket...
,
Olympusis a Japan-based company that manufactures optics and imaging products. Olympus was established on October 12, 1919, initially specialized in microscope and thermometer businesses...
and
Kyocerais a multinational manufacturer based in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. The company has diversified its founding technology in ceramic materials through internal development as well as strategic mergers and acquisitions...
.
In addition, the city is known for its Onbashira and Taiko Festivals, as the birthplace of modern day skating, and
unagiUnagi is the Japanese word for freshwater eels, especially the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica. Saltwater eels are known as anago in Japanese. Unagi are a common ingredient in Japanese cooking...
(eel) dishes.
See also
- Okaya & Co., Ltd.
- Okaya Station
Okaya Station is a railway station of Chūō Main Line, East Japan Railway Company in Honchō, Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.-Layout:-Adjacent stations:|-!colspan=5|
JR East...
, served by JR Eastis the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese.-History:...
External links