Oita /

Ōita (大分市, Ōita-shi) is the capital city of Ōita Prefecture located on the island of Kyūshū, Japan. Ōita is the most populous city in Ōita Prefecture. As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 467,267 and a population density of 932 persons per km². The total area of the city, after the merger with Town of Notsuharu and Town of Saganoseki on January 1, 2005, is 501.25 km². The city is bordered by City of Beppu to the northwest, City of Yufu to the west, City of Taketa to the southwest, City of Bungo-ōno to the south, and City of Usuki to the southeast. The north of the city faces the Seto Inland Sea. During the 1960s and 1970s, an industrial region was formed along the Beppu Gulf coast. Among the plants in the region were flagship plants of Nippon Steel and Showa Denko. The blast furnaces of Nippon Steel Ōita Plant are one of the biggest blast furnaces in the world. In the 1970s, Toshiba and Canon built and expanded their plants in inland area. By then, the city emerged as a major production center of electronics products such as LSIs and digital cameras. The downtown and shopping districts are located to the north of Oita Station. Recently, however, the area has been