Okayama岡山市

Okayama-shi. The name ends in (shi), the word for city.

Okayama (岡山市, Okayama-shi) is a city and a designated city with 4 wards in Okayama Prefecture. Population 724,691 (2020 census), area 789.95 km². Borders 10 places.

An ordinance-designated city (政令指定都市 / seirei shitei toshi). Designated status lets a city take over services a prefecture would normally provide, and requires it to be divided into administrative wards. The wards are offices of the city, not governments of their own.

The city is one municipality. Its wards are internal divisions: voters in every ward elect the same mayor.

Open Okayama on the map

Facts

Japanese name
岡山市
Reading
Okayama-shi
Kind
City (市), designated city (政令指定都市): a local government
Prefecture
Okayama 岡山県
Region
Chūgoku 中国
Population
724,691 (2020 census)
Change since 2015
+0.7% from 719,474
Area
789.95 km²
Density
917 people per km²
Households
327,620
Under 15
12.8%
65 and over
26.1%
Foreign residents
13,650 (1.9%)
Code
33100 (団体コード, the municipality code)
Website
www.city.okayama.jp
Wikipedia
English / 日本語

The 4 wards of Okayama行政区

Okayama is a designated city, so it is divided into wards. Each ward has an office for counter services, and none has a mayor or an assembly. Voters in every ward elect the same city mayor.

WardPopulationkm²
Kita Ward北区314,523450.7
Naka Ward中区149,23251.24
Higashi Ward東区93,108160.53
Minami Ward南区167,828127.48

Neighbouring municipalities

10 places share a land border with Okayama, counted through its wards. Borders across water are not counted.

Questions about Okayama

Is Okayama a city or a prefecture?
Okayama (岡山市) is a city (市, shi) in Okayama Prefecture. It is a municipality, the lower of Japan's two tiers of local government, and elects its own mayor and assembly. It is a designated city, divided into 4 wards. The wards are offices of the city, not governments. Okayama Prefecture (岡山県) is the larger unit around it. On its own, the name usually means the city.
Where is Okayama?
Okayama is in Okayama Prefecture (岡山県), in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The prefecture is a government; the region is a customary grouping of prefectures and elects nothing.
What is the population of Okayama?
724,691 at the 2020 census, up 0.7% from 719,474 in 2015. The area is 789.95 km², which is 917 people per km². 327,620 households. 26.1% of residents are 65 or older and 12.8% are under 15.
Which municipalities border Okayama?
10: Kurashiki City (倉敷市), Tamano City (玉野市), Soja City (総社市), Bizen City (備前市), Setochi City (瀬戸内市), Akaiwa City (赤磐市), Hayashima Town (早島町), Kumenan Town (久米南町), Misaki Town (美咲町), and Kibichuo Town (吉備中央町). These are the municipalities that share a land border with Okayama in the boundary data. Borders across water are not counted.
How is Okayama written in Japanese?
岡山市, read Okayama-shi. The last character, 市 (shi), is the word for city, and the name is often used without it in English.
How does an address in Okayama begin?
岡山県岡山市… (Okayama-ken, Okayama-shi, …). The prefecture name is written first, then the city name. Then the name of one of the 4 wards. After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.

Boundaries and neighbours: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population, households, and age groups: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Website and Wikipedia links: Wikidata.