Hamura

Hamura is a city in the western part of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan, roughly in the west-centre of the metropolis on the Musashino Terrace, flanking the Tama River about 50 kilometres upriver from its mouth. Its English Wikipedia article gives an estimated population of 57,174 as of 1 May 2010 and a total area of 9.90 square kilometres. The Tamagawa Josui, a waterway completed in 1653 to carry drinking water from the Tama River to Edo, begins in what is now Hamura. In 1889 several hamlets merged to form Nishitama Village, which became the town of Hamura in 1956 and was elevated to city status on 1 November 1991. The city is mainly a regional commercial centre and a bedroom community for central Tokyo and neighbouring Ōme, and Hino Motors and Toyota have a plant and test track there.