Welcome to Okazaki

Okazaki is a core city situated in the center of Aichi Prefecture with a population of approximately 370,000 people. Okazaki has a long and vibrant history and a beautiful natural environment featuring the Yahagigawa and Otogawa Rivers, the Mikawa Mountains and the Okazaki Plains. The city's motto is “People and nature shining together; an energetic and beautiful city: Okazaki” and we are gaining momentum in our drive to transform Okazaki into an even more vital and creative city.

The city is known throughout the country as the birthplace of Iyeyasu Tokugawa and has prospered as the center of the Mikawa Region since olden times. Okazaki has traditionally been known for the production of miso, stone products, fireworks, and knitwear. Recently, new industries have also started to become an integral part of the city's economy. These include the production of vehicles for the transportation industry, general machinery, chemicals, precision instruments, and textiles. All of these industries, combined with the city's active agricultural and commercial sectors, have helped to create a balanced economy.

Currently, Okazaki has sister city relationships with Uddevalla in Sweden, Newport Beach in the United States, and Hohhot in China. These connections have provided widespread economic, cultural and educational benefits. They have also served to dramatically increase the level of international awareness of the general population of Okazaki.

The aim of the Practical Guide to Living in Okazaki is to provide a concise, easy-to-understand guide to living in the city so as to make your stay in Okazaki safe and comfortable. Included in the guide are instructions for handling emergencies, information about submitting official applications and notices, some rules and regulations that apply to daily life in the city. For more detailed information about matters contained herein, please call or visit the department of the municipal government listed in the pertinent section of the guide. If possible, it is recommended you have a Japanese speaker place the call or accompany you on your visit.

Places that have foreign language information or services are marked as follows:

English Portuguese Chinese Spanish Tagalog