Tsukuba, Ibaraki

Tsukuba つくば市
Special city
View of Mount Tsukuba and Tsukuba Center
Flag Seal
Location of Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture
Tsukuba
Coordinates: 36°5′0.5″N 140°4′35.2″E / 36.083472°N 140.076444°E / 36.083472; 140.076444Coordinates: 36°5′0.5″N 140°4′35.2″E / 36.083472°N 140.076444°E / 36.083472; 140.076444
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Ibaraki Prefecture
Area
• Total	283.72 km2 (109.54 sq mi)
Population (September 2015)
• Total	223,151
• Density	787/km2 (2,040/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
- Tree	Japanese zelkova
- Flower	Hoshizaki-yukinoshita (Saxifraga stolonifera Curtis f. aptera (Makino) H.Hara)
- Bird	Ural owl
Address	2530-2 Karima, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken 305-8555
Website	Official website

Tsukuba (つくば市, Tsukuba-shi^?) is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. As of September 2015^[update], the city had an estimated population of 223,151 and a population density of 787 persons per km². Its total area is 283.72 square kilometres (109.54 square miles). It is known as the location of the Tsukuba Science City (, Tsukuba Kenkyū Gakuen Toshi^?), a planned science park developed in the 1960s.

Located in southern Ibaraki Prefecture, Tsukuba is located to the south of Mount Tsukuba, from which it takes its name.

Mount Tsukuba has been a place of pilgrimage since at least the Heian period. During the Edo period, parts of the what later became the city of Tsukuba were administered by a junior branch of the Hosokawa clan at Yatabe Domain, one of the feudal domains of the Tokugawa shogunate. With the creation of the municipalities system after the Meiji Restoration on April 1, 1889, the town Yatabe was established within Tsukuba District, Ibaraki). On November 30, 1987 the town of Yatabe merged with the neighboring towns of Ōho and Toyosato and the village of Sakura to create the city of Tsukuba. The neighboring town of Tsukuba merged with the city of Tsukuba on January 1, 1988, followed by the town of Kukizama on November 1, 2002.