Amagasaki

Amagasaki (尼崎市, Amagasaki-shi) is an industrial city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1916. Its population is around 460,000, below its peak of over 554,000 in 1971.

As of 2012, the city has an estimated population of 450,244 and a population density of 9,010 persons per km². The total area is 49.77 km².

History

During the Edo period, the Amagasaki Domain had its administrative headquarters at Amagasaki Castle here.

Notable residents

Amagasaki is the hometown of comedy duo Downtown stars Masatoshi Hamada and Hitoshi Matsumoto. It is also the hometown of Formula 1 driver Kamui Kobayashi, Chiyu, the bassist of SuG, author Koushun Takami and Heath, bassist of X Japan. Toshiaki Nishioka, a former world champion boxer, is also from this area.

Transportation

Railways