Makinohara 牧之原市
City
Tea plantations in Makinohara
Flag Seal
Location of Makinohara in Shizuoka Prefecture
Makinohara
Coordinates: 34°44′N 138°13′E / 34.733°N 138.217°E / 34.733; 138.217
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu (Tōkai)
Prefecture	Shizuoka
First official recorded	6 BC
Sagara Town settled	April 1, 1889
Haibara Town settled	April 1, 1955
Both town merged and city settled	October 11, 2005
Government
• Mayor	Kikuo Sugimoto (from October 2017)
Area
• Total	111.69 km2 (43.12 sq mi)
Population  (July 31, 2019)
• Total	45,813
• Density	410/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Phone number	548-23-0001
Address	447 Shizunami, Makinohara-shi, Shizuoka-ken 421-0495
Climate	Cfa
Website	Official website
Symbols
Flower	hydrangea
Tree	camellia sinensis

Makinohara (牧之原市, Makinohara-shi) is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 July 2019, the city had an estimated population of 45,813 in 16980 households ^[1] and a population density of 410 persons per km². The total area of the city was 111.69 square kilometres (43.12 sq mi).

Makinohara is located in south-central Shizuoka Prefecture. It is bordered by Suruga Bay on the Pacific Ocean to the east, and rises gradually to the Makinohara Plateau in the west. The area has a temperate maritime climate, characterized by hot, humid summers and mild winters, with the warm Kuroshio Current off shore providing a moderating effect.

Shizuoka Prefecture

• Kikugawa
• Omaezaki
• Shimada
• Yoshida, Haibara District

Per Japanese census data,^[2] the population of Makinohara has been relatively steady over the past 50 years.

The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Makinohara is 16.0 °C (60.8 °F). The average annual rainfall is 2,269.4 mm (89.35 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.6 °C (79.9 °F), and lowest in January, at around 5.6 °C (42.1 °F).^[3]

The area of present-day Makinohara was part of former Tōtōmi Province. During the Edo period, the town of Sagara was the castle town of Sagara Domain. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system in the early Meiji period on April 1, 1889, Sagara was incorporated as a town within Haibara District.

The city of Makinohara was established on October 11, 2005, from the merger of the towns of Haibara and Sagara (both from Haibara District).

Makinohara has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 16 members. The city contributes one member to the Shizuoka Prefectural Assembly.

The local economy of Makinohara is dominated by the production of green tea, and to a lesser extent by commercial fishing, and manufacturing of automobile components for Suzuki Motors (Sagara Plant).^[5]

Fuji Dream Airlines has its headquarters in Makinohara.^[6]

Makinohara has seven public elementary schools operated by the city government and one shared between Makinohara and Kikugawa, and three shared between Makinohara and Omaezaki. The city likewise operates two public junior high schools and shares operated with one junior high school with Kikugawa and one with Omaezaki. The city has two public high schools operated by the Shizuoka Prefectural Board of Education.

Although both the Tokaido Shinkansen and the Tokaido Main Line pass through Makinohara, the city has no passenger railway services. The nearest train station is Kikugawa Station in neighboring Kikugawa or Kanaya Station in neighboring Shimada.

• Tōmei Expressway - Makinohara Interchange
• National Route 150
• National Route 473

Shizuoka Airport, which opened in 2009, straddles the border between Makinohara and Shimada.

• Sagara Oil field, Japan's only oil field on the Pacific coast. Hand-pumping began in 1873, and the following year, Nippon Oil opened the first mechanical pumping operation in the country at Sagara. Operations ceased in 1955, and in 1980 the field was made into the "Yuden no Sato" Park, operated by the Shizuoka Prefectural government.^[7][8]
• Sagara Castle ruins

• Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, Japan
• Kelso, Washington, United States
• Matsukawa, Nagano (Shimoina), Japan
• Sannohe, Aomori, Japan

• Takuma Edamura, professional soccer player
• Hideji Katō, professional baseball player
• Umetaro Suzuki, scientist, pioneer in vitamin research
• Kazuo Ueda, economist, the 32nd Governor of the Bank of Japan

Media related to Makinohara, Shizuoka at Wikimedia Commons

• Makinohara City official website (in Japanese)