Greater Kyoto

Greater Kyoto is a metropolitan area in Japan encompassing Kyoto City, the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as its surrounding areas including Ōtsu, the capital of Shiga Prefecture.^[3]

Kyoto metropolitan area
Municipal partnership
Country	Japan
Membership	30 municipalities[1] Ōtsu Ōmihachiman Kusatsu Moriyama Ritto Koka Yasu Konan Takashima Higashiōmi Hino Ryūō Kyoto City Uji Kameoka Jōyō Mukō Nagaokakyō Yawata Kyōtanabe Nantan Kizugawa Ōyamazaki Kumiyama Ide Ujitawara Seika Kyotamba Takatsuki Shimamoto
Established	1995
Area
• Total	5,189.41 km2 (2,003.64 sq mi)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	3,783,014
• Density	730/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Website	www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/sogo/page/0000308453.html

The metropolitan area is also referred to as Keiji (京滋) or Keishin (京津). The name Keiji is constructed by extracting a representative kanji from Kyoto (京都) and Shiga (滋賀). The name Keishin is constructed by extracting a representative kanji from Kyoto (京都) and Ōtsu (大津).

Definitions

Light blue represents the Kyoto metropolitan area defined by Kyōto Toshiken Jichitai Network, blue represents Kyoto–Kusatsu MEA, and dark blue represents Kyoto City.

Urban Employment Area

Kyoto–Kusatsu MEA
Urban Employment Area
Kyoto Tower and Downtown Kyoto
Coordinates: 35°0′N 135°46′E
Country	Japan
Prefectures	Kyoto Prefecture Shiga Prefecture
Core cities	Kyoto City Kusatsu
Area (2015)[4]
• Total	2,959.11 km2 (1,142.52 sq mi)
Population  (2015)[5]
• Total	2,801,044
• Rank	4th in Japan
• Density	950/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
GMP	¥10.12 trillion (2010)[4]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1980	2,361,205	—
1990	2,485,352	+5.3%
1995	2,539,639	+2.2%
2000	2,583,304	+1.7%
2005	2,560,850	−0.9%
2010	2,679,049	+4.6%
2015	2,801,044	+4.6%
Source: [5]

The greater Kyoto area is defined by Urban Employment Area as Kyoto–Kusatsu Metropolitan Employment Area (Kyoto–Kusatsu MEA). The metropolitan area had a total population of 2,801,044 as of 2015 and is the fourth-largest in Japan. The cities and towns of the metropolitan area with their 2020 populations are listed below.^[2]

• Kyoto Prefecture
  • Kyoto City (1,463,723)
  • Uji (179,630)
  • Kameoka (86,174)
  • Nagaokakyō (80,608)
  • Jōyō (74,607)
  • Kyōtanabe (73,753)
  • Mukō (56,859)
  • Nantan (31,629)
  • Kumiyama (15,250)
  • Ōyamazaki (15,953)
  • Kyotamba (12,907)
  • Ujitawara (8,911)
  • Ide (7,406)
• Shiga Prefecture
  • Ōtsu (345,070)
  • Kusatsu (143,913)
  • Moriyama (83,236)
  • Ritto (68,820)
  • Yasu (50,513)

Municipalities network

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1990	3,263,277	—
1995	3,341,125	+2.4%
2000	3,401,130	+1.8%
2005	3,602,596	+5.9%
2010	3,795,678	+5.4%
2015	3,789,750	−0.2%
2020	3,783,014	−0.2%
Source: [1][2][6]

A wider metropolitan area based on commuting patterns is also defined by Kyōto Toshiken Jichitai Nettowāku Kaigi (京都都市圏自治体ネットワーク会議, Conference of Kyoto metropolitan area municipalities network) as the Kyoto metropolitan area. This area consists of 13 cities and towns of Shiga Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, and Osaka Prefecture, in addition to Kyoto MEA. The total population as of 2020 for the region was estimated at 3,785,351. The following areas, along with the above Kyoto MEA, are included in the Kyoto metropolitan area, with their 2020 populations:^[1][2]

• Kyoto Prefecture
  • Yawata (70,433)
  • Kizugawa (77,907)
  • Seika (36,198)
• Shiga Prefecture
  • Takashima (46,377)
  • Konan (54,460)
  • Koka (88,358)
  • Ōmihachiman (81,122)
  • Higashiōmi (112,819)
  • Hino (20,964)
  • Ryūō (11,789)
• Osaka Prefecture
  • Takatsuki (352,698)
  • Shimamoto (30,927)

Geography

Biwako Hall in Ōtsu

• Lake Biwa – the largest lake in Japan
• Ohmi Basin [Wikidata] – Shiga Prefecture
• Kyoto Basin [Wikidata] – the southern part of Kyoto Prefecture
• Mount Hiei – mountain on the border between Kyoto and Ōtsu
• Seta River and Uji River
• Kizu River
• Yasu River
• Katsura River

Higher Education

48 universities and colleges in the area participate in the Consortium of Universities in Kyoto [Wikidata].^[7]

• Bukkyo University – 5 campuses in Kyoto and Nantan
• Doshisha University – 2 campuses in Kyoto and Kyōtanabe
• Heian Jogakuin University – 2 campuses in Kyoto and Takatsuki
• Kyoto University – 3 campuses in Kyoto and Uji
• Kyoto University of Advanced Science – 2 campuses in Kyoto and Kameoka
• Ritsumeikan University – 4 campuses in Kyoto, Kusatsu, and Ibaraki
• Ryukoku University – 3 campuses in Kyoto and Ōtsu

Sports

• Kyoto Sanga FC – a football club
• MIO Biwako Shiga – a football club
• Kyoto Hannaryz – a basketball team
• Shiga Lakestars – a basketball team
• Kyoto Marathon
• Kyoto Racecourse
• Sanga Stadium by Kyocera

Media

• Kyoto Shimbun – newspaper
• KBS Kyoto – TV and radio station
• BBC Biwako – TV station
• FM-Kyoto [Wikidata] – radio station
• PHP Institute [Wikidata] – publishing house
• Leaf Publications – publishing house

Transportation

Rail

Railway map around Kyoto City

View of Kyoto Station from Kyoto Tower

Kyōto Station is a hub of the rail network in the area.

• Tōkaidō Shinkansen – inter-city rail (JR Central)
• Biwako Line and JR Kyoto Line – regional and commuter rail (JR West)
• Kosei Line – regional and commuter rail (JR West)
• San'in Main Line – regional and commuter rail (JR West)
• Nara Line – commuter rail (JR West)
• Kusatsu Line – commuter rail (JR West)
• Kyoto Line (Kintetsu) – regional and commuter rail (Kintetsu)
• Keihan Main Line and Uji Line – commuter rail (Keihan)
• Keishin Line – commuter rail, subway, and tram (Keihan)
• Ishiyama Sakamoto Line – commuter rail and tram (Keihan)
• Hankyu Kyoto Main Line and Hankyu Arashiyama Line – commuter rail (Hankyu)
• Arashiyama Line and Kitano Line – commuter rail and tram (Randen)
• Karasuma Line and Tōzai Line – Kyoto City Subway
• Eizan Main Line and Kurama Line – commuter rail (Eiden)

Road

Expressway map around Kyoto City. Roads and junctions under planning are shown by dotted lines.

• Meishin Expressway
• Shin-Meishin Expressway
• Kyoto-Jukan Expressway
• Keinawa Expressway
• Keiji Bypass
• Daini-Keihan Road
• Japan National Route 1
• Japan National Route 8
• Japan National Route 9
• Japan National Route 24
• Japan National Route 161
• Japan National Route 171

See also

• List of metropolitan areas in Japan by population

References

1. "京都都市圏自治体ネットワーク" (in Japanese). City of Kyoto. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
2. 2020 Population Census
3. "京都市の観光行政を戦略部長に聞いてきた、「量より質」への転換で解決すべき5つの課題" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2016-11-23.
4. Kanemoto, Yoshitsugu. "Metropolitan Employment Area (MEA) Data". Center for Spatial Information Science, the University of Tokyo. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
5. Kanemoto, Yoshitsugu. "Urban Employment Area (MEA) Code Table". Center for Spatial Information Science, the University of Tokyo. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
6. "京都都市圏の範囲及び取組" (in Japanese). 京都都市圏自治体ネットワーク. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
7. "Leaflet" (PDF). The Consortium of Universities in Kyoto. 2013. Retrieved 2018-06-02.

External links

• Workers and Students Commuting to Kyoto-shi - Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (in Japanese)
• 京都都市圏自治体ネットワーク Archived 2023-04-01 at the Wayback Machine(in Japanese)
  • Live京都まわり on Facebook (in Japanese)