[4] Shizuoka is the 5th largest city in Japan in terms of geographic area after Takayama, Hamamatsu, Nikkō, and Kitami.

The fan-like shape of the Shizuoka Plain and Miho Peninsula were formed over the ages by the fast-flowing Abe River, carrying along collapsed sand and earth.

[7] It is close to the warm Kuroshio Current and is wet even by Japanese standards with only slightly less precipitation than Kanazawa on the opposite side of Honshū, but it is paradoxically the sunniest of Japan's major cities owing to the absence of summer fog and its sheltered location from the northwesterly winds off the Sea of Japan.

The Imagawa were defeated at the Battle of Okehazama, and Sunpu was subsequently ruled by Takeda Shingen, followed by Tokugawa Ieyasu.

After the Toyotomi were defeated in the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu recovered Sunpu, reassigning it to his own retainer, Naitō Nobunari in 1601.

In 1914, due to heavy rains caused by a typhoon, the Abe River flooded, inundating the downtown area.

During World War II, Shizuoka lacked targets of major military significance, and was initially only lightly bombed during several American air raids.

However, in a major firebombing raid of 19 June 1945, the city suffered an extreme amount of damage with high civilian casualties.

On 1 October 1964, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen began services to Shizuoka, and on 25 April 1969 the city was connected to the Tōmei Expressway.

On 7 July 1974, the Abe River flooded, and landslides occurred during heavy rains, killing 23 people.

[citation needed] On 16 August 1980, a major gas leak in an underground shopping center near Shizuoka Station resulted in an explosion, killing 15 people and seriously injuring 233 others.

On 1 April 1992, Shizuoka was designated a core city by the central government, giving it increased autonomy.

[citation needed] Despite being somewhat geographically isolated from the rest of the city, the town of Kanbara (from Ihara District) was merged into Shizuoka on 31 March 2006,[15] becoming part of Shimizu-ku.

[16] Shizuoka has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 48 members.

Shizuoka has a long history of being involved in the craft industries going back over 400 years ago, using trees, including hinoki cypress.

[29][30] The town has since become internationally notable for its plastic scale model kits[31] and is resident to long-established companies such as Aoshima, Fujimi, Hasegawa, and Tamiya.

The book trilogy “Paper Gods” by Amanda Sun takes place in this city.

The under construction Chūō Shinkansen will pass through the mountainous area in the northern tip of the city.

The Port of Shimizu has a water depth of about 12 metres (39 ft); its attractiveness has been enhanced over the past years by the construction of new road and rail links which contribute to expanding its commercial hinterland.

The Port of Shimizu container traffic is about balanced, with over 250,000 TEU in each direction, with auto parts and chemicals amongst the main cargo types.

[42] The arts center is the first publicly funded cultural organization in Japan to have its own troupe of actors and other staff to manage its own venues and facilities for artistic purposes.