Katori, Chiba


Katori is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
As of April 2012, the city has an estimated population of 81,240, and a population density of 310 persons per km2. The total area is 262.31 km2.
Katori Shrine is in the city of Katori, as is the old merchant town and canal of Sawara.

Geography

Katori is located in far northeastern Chiba Prefecture, along the lower reaches of the Tone River.

Surrounding municipalities

After the Meiji Restoration, the area consisted of the towns of Sawara and Omigawa, and the villages of Katori, Kanishi and Higashi-Daito. Katori was raised to town status on May 5, 1897. On March 15, 1951, the city of Sawara was formed by the merger of Katori, Sawara, Omigawa and Higashi-Daito. Sawara expanded on February 11, 1955 by annexing the neighboring villages of Niijima, Okura, Mizuho and Tsunomiya.
On March 27, 2006, the modern city of Katori was created when Sawara was merged with the towns of Kurimoto, Omigawa and Yamada.

Economy

Katori is a regional commercial center. The economy is primarily agricultural, with rice, chives, onions, and greater burdock as major crops.

Transportation

Railways