Nihondaira Observatory is an astronomical observatory that is located on a hill overlooking Shimizu, Shizuoka

Shimizu, Shizuoka

is a town located in Suntō District, Shizuoka, Japan. As of 2009, the town has an estimated population of 32,205and a density of 3,640 persons per km². The total area is 8.84 km².-Geography:...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.
It has been the source for numerous minor planet
discoveries by Takeshi Urata

Takeshi Urata

is a Japanese astronomer. He is a prolific discoverer of asteroids, observing at Nihondaira Observatory.In 1978 he became the first amateur to discover a minor planet in over fifty years. He named it after it his daughter, Mizuho. His pioneering feat led to an upsurge in such discoveries. In the...

. As of September 2007, this observatory was ranked 43rd in the number of asteroids discovered, with a total of 163. The IAU

International Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...

 observatory code for Nihondaira is 385.

The asteroid 2880 Nihondaira

2880 Nihondaira

2880 Nihondaira is a main-belt asteroid discovered on February 8, 1983 by T. Seki at Geisei.- External links :*...

 (discovered by Tsutomu Seki

Tsutomu Seki

is a Japanese astronomer, born in Kōchi, Japan.He has discovered a number of comets, including the celebrated bright C/1965 S1 .He has also discovered a large number of asteroids, including the Amor asteroid 1992 JE and the Trojan asteroid .Many of his discoveries are named after famous sites in...

) is named for this observatory.

• Minoru Kizawa
  Minoru Kizawa
  is a Japanese astronomer.He has discovered or co-discovered a number of asteroids:-References:...