Joyo City (城陽市)

Joyo City is a city in Kyoto Prefecture and is roughly located in the middle between Kyoto City and Nara City.

The city has a wealth of historic buildings such as the Shodo-kanga-iseki Ruins (ruins designated as a national historical relic site), the Kuse-jinja Shrine (its main shrine being designated as Important Cultural Property) and the Mito-jinja Shrine (its main shrine also being designated as Important Cultural Property), as well as Sanga Town Joyo, a training ground for Kyoto Sanga F.C.

Joyo City is believed to produce sixty percent of the purl in Japan.

The city has a relatively warm climate.

Geography
Joyo City belongs to the southern portion of Kyoto City and the Yamashiro area, located in the southern region of Kyoto Prefecture. The National Route 24, connecting Kyoto City and Nara City, runs north-south; Joyo City is located between the two cities. Additionally, the JR Nara Line and the Kintetsu Kyoto Line run north-south.

The city is situated on the right side of the Kizu-gawa River (Kyoto Prefecture), while the Aodani-gawa River flows east-west in the southern part of the city. Geographically, the land on the western part (area around the Okubo Bypass) of Joyo City is flat overall while the land contains more ups and downs further east.

History
April 1, 1951: Four villages of Kutsukawa-mur, Terada-mura, Tonosho-mura in Kuse-gun and Aotani-mura in Tsuzuki-gun were merged to form Joyo-cho in Kuse-gun.

May 3, 1972: The shisei (grant of city status) was implemented.

The public was consulted when the city was being named. The word "Joyo" means 'a rich land full of sunshine in south Yamashiro Province'.

Population

Politics and government
Mayor: Akio HASHIMOTO

Economy
Industries
Main industries.
Suntory Kyoto Brewery

Industry population

Sister cities
Domestic

International

Gyeongsan-si (Gyeongsangbuk-do, Republic of Korea)

Joyo City established a sister-city relationship with Gyeongsan-si on January 22, 1991.

Vancouver (Washington State, the United States of America. Not to be confused with Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.)

Joyo City established a sister-city relationship with Vancouver on October 30, 1995.

District

Adjacent municipalities
Uji City, Yawata City, Kyotanabe City, Ide-cho, Ujitawara-cho, and Kumiyama-cho
Joyo City does not have any adjacent prefectures.

Transportation
The main means of transportation is the JR Nara Line, the Kintetsu Kyoto Line, and the National Route 24 (the Okubo Bypass and the Keinawa Expressway).

Railroad
The railroad centers around Joyo Station (JR Nara Line, Rapid Train Stop) and is the closest station to the city hall. However, looking at the number of passengers, Terada Station (Kyoto Prefecture) on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line can be said to be the working central station of Joyo City.

In addition to the stations above, the city has the following four stations: Nagaike and Yamashiro-Aodani Stations on the JR Nara Line, and Kutsukawa and Tonosho Stations on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line. Since Okubo Station, an express train stop on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line and Shinden Station (Kyoto Prefecture) on the JR Nara Line are within walking distance in the northern part of Joyo City, many people use these two stations; furthermore, Okubo Station has bus routes running the entire area of Joyo City and has even more passengers.

The Kintesu Line at both Okubo and Shin-tanabe Stations has a relatively large number of connections between local and express trains, mainly during rush hours and daytime, making the railway line more accessible.

Additionally, many commuters to Osaka City take the Kintetsu Kyoto Line, connecting on foot from Shin-tanabe Station (Kyotanabe City) to Kyotanabe Station to take a rapid train on the JR Katamachi Line to Osaka City.

Fixed-route bus
Keihan Uji Bus Co., Ltd., operates in the eastern part of the city, centering around the Joyo residential complex while, in the west, there are fewer routes. To fill any gaps, Keihan Uji Bus Co., Ltd. operates the city circular bus, 'Joyo Sansan Bus' (城陽さんさんバス), once or twice every hour across three routes.

Roads
Expressway
Shin-Meishin Expressway (planning)

Scenic sites, historic sites, tourist spots, festivals and events
Mito-jinja Shrine: the main shrine (Important Cultural Property)
Arami-jinja Shrine: the main shrine (Important Cultural Property)
Kuse-jinja Shrine: the main shrine (Important Cultural Property)
Amida-ji Temple (Joyo City) : Mokuzo-yakushi-nyorai-ritsuzo, or Wooden Standing Image of Healing Buddha (Important Cultural Property)
Nakatenman-jinja Shrine
Shodo-kanga-iseki Ruins
Hirakawa-haiji (dilapidated) Temple Ruins (平川廃寺跡): ruins designated as a national historical relic site
Aodani-bairin (Aodani plum grove): twenty hectares wide and 10,000 plum trees
TWINKLE JOYO: a light pageant illuminated with 200,000 lights
Note that 'Important Cultural Properties' means Important Cultural Properties designated by the national government.

Specialty crops
fig
purl

ZIP code

Joyo Post Office: 610-01

[Original Japanese]