Frankston
Susono
Frankston
Images from Frankston City Council website.
Frankston City, located 50 kilometres south of Melbourne, is home to around 140,000 people and is a vibrant and exciting City on the Bay, with its premium location at the heart of Port Phillip Bay and golden beaches along 10 kilometres of beautiful coastline.
Frankston was first settled in the 1850s, the site chosen due of its supply of freshwater from Kananook Creek. The arrival of the railway in the 1880s brought significant population growth. The town functioned as a resort town for Melbourne in the early part of the 20th century. Significant growth took place from the 1950s through to the 1980s, when areas such as Frankston North, Karingal and Frankston South were developed. The 1980s and 1990s saw significant residential development in Carrum Downs and Langwarrin, both of these areas still having zoned land available for further development.
Frankston denotes the edge of the Melbourne metropolitan area and the entry point to the Mornington Peninsula. As such, it enjoys the best of both worlds. A fast train service or freeway to the business centre of Melbourne in an hour or travel to the recreational heart of the Peninsula just 20 minutes down the road.
Central Frankston functions as the major regional retail and commercial centre, servicing outer southern Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula. Major facilities include the Frankston Town Centre shopping area, Frankston Hospital, Peninsula Institute of TAFE and the Peninsula Campus of Monash University. Frankston City is also served by shopping centres at Karingal Hub, Langwarrin and Carrum Downs.
The Frankston Arts Centre is a major venue for music, theatrical and artistic events. The City also has a selection of nightclubs, cinemas, hotels, galleries, museums and restaurants.
Residents and visitors can also explore Frankston’s botanic gardens or natural reserves, take a step back in time through one of the historic homesteads, or take in an art exhibition at one of the local galleries.
Frankston’s high standard leisure and recreation facilities provide enjoyment and fitness for all ages, from aquatic centres and golf courses, to football grounds and yacht clubs. Frankston also offers water sports such as swimming, surfing, sailing, fishing and windsurfing.
Olivers Hill is the scenic high point of the city with the views over northern Port Phillip being outstanding. Frankston and its neighbouring beaches provide a wide and continuous stretch of clean sand for bathing and watersports.
Susono
Susono City is located on the Pacific coast of Honshu Island, 95 kilometres south-west of Tokyo, at the foot of Mount Fuji in the west and Mount Hakone in the east. Suruga Wan (Bay) lies 20 kilometres south of Susono City. The City consists of an area of 137.82 square kilometres, which extends 23.5 kilometres from east to west and 21 kilometres from north to south. The elevation varies from 78.5 to 2,163 metres above sea level.
Susono City consists of five regions. For the fifty years preceding 1952 it consisted of five separate villages. On April 1, 1952 two of the villages formed a new town named Susono. At that time, the population was only 10,840 and there were 1,879 households. In 1956 another village joined Susono and in 1957 the remaining two villages also became part of the town. These five villages are the basis of the present Susono City. The population grew to 14,733 and the number of households increased to 3,258.
On January 1 1971, according to Japanese law that states that communities with a population of 30,000 or more can be declared Cities, Susono became a City. It is the 20th established City in Shizuoka Prefecture (State) and the 594th established City in Japan.
During the nearly fifty years following the adoption of the City system, Susono has been progressing in its development as a modern City but always with consideration for maintaining the balance of the natural environment. At present, the population consists of around 53,000 residents.
Industry in Susono includes:
- Yazaki Corporation
- Mitsubishi Aluminium Company
- Kanto Auto Works (car assembling plant of the Toyota Group)
- Research Institute and Vehicle Testing Track of Toyota
