is a city in southern Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 304,274 in 135,323 households and a population density of 6,200 people per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Akashi located in southern Hyōgo prefecture, and is a long and narrow municipality along the Seto Inland Sea. It is separated from Awaji Island by Harima Bay; however, the terminus of the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, which connects Honshu to Awaji Island and to Shikoku, is not in Akashi but in Tarumi-ku, Kōbe. The 135th meridian east line that determines Japan Standard Time passes though the city. Neighbouring municipalities Hyōgo Prefecture Kōbe Kakogawa Harima Inami Climate Akashi has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot summers and cool to cold winters. Precipitation is significantly higher in summer than in winter, though on the whole lower than in most parts of Honshū, and there is no significant snowfall. The average annual temperature in Akashi is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Akashi was on 13 August 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 30 January 2003. Demographics History Akashi is mentioned in a waka (five-line, 31-syllable poem) written by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro in the 7th century and it is the setting for one of the chapters of the 11th-century novel The Tale of Genji. It developed as the castle town of Akashi Domain during the Edo Period, from 1617 to 1871 due to its location dominating the San'yōdō highway connecting the Kinai region with western Japan. The famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi is claimed to have laid out the design of the castle town. The town of Akashi was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to city status on November 1, 1919. The city annexed the neighboring villages of Hayashizaki on February 11, 1942 and Okubo, Uozumi and Futami on January 10, 1951 to reach its present dimensions. A proposal to merge with the city of Kobe was rejected by a referendum in 1955. The city suffered from the Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995 with 4,839 houses were completely or partially destroyed and nine fatalities. On July 21, 2001, 11 people