Suma-ku, Kobe

Suma-ku 須磨区
Ward of Kobe
View of Suma Beach from Mount Sumaura Amusement Park
Location of Suma-ku in Kobe
Suma-ku
Coordinates: 34°39′01″N 135°07′50″E
Country	Japan
Region	Kinki (Kansai)
Prefecture	Hyogo
City	Kobe
Area
• Total	30.00 km^2 (11.58 sq mi)
Population  (February 1, 2012)
• Total	166,324
• Density	5,544.13/km^2 (14,359.2/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Phone number	078-731-4341
Address	1-1-1Nakashima-cho, Suma-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo-ken, 654-8570
Website	www.city.kobe.lg.jp/ward/kuyakusho/suma

Suma (須磨区, Suma-ku) is one of 9 wards of Kobe, Japan. As of February 1, 2012, it had an area of 30.0 km² and a population of 166,324, with 71,745 households.

There is a white sandy beach in this ward, which attracts tourists to the Kansai region for sunbathing and popular events during the summer. The beach is also a location in the Japanese literary classics Ise Monogatari, Genji Monogatari, and Heike Monogatari. Suma is often referred to as an utamakura or meisho, and is mentioned frequently in waka, and in Noh, Kabuki and Bunraku dramas.
Nowadays, people mainly live in Myodani, Myohoji and other northern parts of the ward.^[1] Myōdani Station is a major station in western Kobe.

Suma Temple

Tainohata Yakuyoke Hachimangu

Suma Aquarium at Suma beach

Mount Sumaura Park

Places of interest

• Suma Rikyu Park
• Suma Aqualife Park

Notable people

• Shintaro Ishihara - Governor of Tokyo
• Yone Suzuki - businesswoman, lived in Suma-ku before 1927
• Nobu Jo - social worker, founder of a suicide prevention campaign in Suma^[2]

See also

• Japanese cruiser Suma
• Japanese gunboat Suma
• Kobe child murders
• Myōdani Station

References

1. "神戸市須磨区：区の概要".
2. "A Signboard for Suicides in Japan". The Missionary Review. 44: 308–310. April 1921.

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)