NUMAZU

city, Shizuoka ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies at the mouth of the Kano River, facing Suruga Bay. It developed as a castle town in the early 16th century and later served as a post town on the Tokaido (Eastern Sea Highway). Because of the city's location at the junction of land and sea routes, it became a regional commercial and administrative centre. During the 1960s industrialization was rapid; the city's products now include machinery, photographic film, chemicals, metal, and textiles. Fishing and tourism are diminishing and being replaced by industrialization. To counteract ground subsidence and pollution resulting from the withdrawal of groundwater for industrial use, rivers are being used as alternative water sources. Numazu Park contains a municipal aquarium and Sembon-matsubara (Thousand-Pines Beach), noted for its ancient, gnarled trees. Pop. (1986 est.) 211,315.