Storage business in the three most populated prefectures (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Osaka) - Kanagawa

I am examining the current state of the storage business in the three prefectures with the highest populations, Tokyo, Kanagawa and Osaka. Here, in part three, I look at Kanagawa.
Many people have the image of Osaka being Japan’s second city, but in terms of population Kanagawa is number two, just slightly higher than Osaka. In terms of number of households, however, Osaka is number two (January 1, 2014 Basic Resident Register, Population and Household Numbers). There are many other similar examples of statistical rivalry between Kanagawa and Osaka, as seen below.

[Kanagawa Prefecture statistics (Number in brackets indicates ranking among prefectures)]

Kanagawa Prefecture, like Tokyo and Osaka, combines elements of a city with elements of residential areas. Demand for storage is therefore expected to be high. In fact, Kanagawa ranks third in both rental storage and container storage in terms of number of business units and number of rooms.
I will now describe these storage services in the Kanagawa area using GIS data and statistical data.

™Development of rental storage and container storage in Kanagawa

(Blue = rental storage, Yellow = container storage)

In Kanagawa Prefecture, as of July 2013, approximately 1,100 rental storage and container storage business units have been developed.
The above mapping data shows that rental storage business units (blue dots) are relatively concentrated in the urban areas of Kawasaki-shi and Yokohama-shi. We can see that container storage business units (yellow dots), on the other hand, are scattered fairly evenly throughout the prefecture except in mountainous areas.
In the suburbs of Yokohama-shi (where there are relatively many residential areas and detached houses), storage business units are relatively few and not concentrated. Business units stand side by side along national highways and other major roads.
For example, alongside the coastal National Route 134 are rental storage and container storage business units where many people seem to store their surfboards and other marine sport equipment. This is an illustration of how urban areas and suburban areas each have their own different storage needs.

[Kanagawa Prefecture municipal districts – Ranking for storage business units]

Looking at the ranking of administrative districts within Kanagawa Prefecture for the number of storage business units, among the most populated districts (1st: Fujisawa-shi, 2nd: Yokosuka-shi, 3rd: Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, 4th: Aoba-ku, Yokohama-shi, 5th: Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama-shi), fourth most populated Aoba-ku has only 18 storage locations. Second and third most populated Yokosuka-shi and Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi may have the potential for more than 50 locations, like the highest three ranking districts.
In such areas, however, the populations of administrative districts have been rising sharply in recent years. This is particularly true of areas where children are born and brought up. Examples are areas that have recently had high-profile problems with waiting lists for kindergartens or schools. Such areas have large potential because demand for storage will gradually increase in future as the children grow up and require more storage.
There are more than 20 rental storage business units each in central Kawasaki-shi (Kawasaki-ku) and central Yokohama-shi (Chuo-ku). Rental storage is also concentrated in districts of Kanagawa Prefecture that have a lot of industry and commerce and a high population, such as Tsurumi-ku, located between Kawasaki and Yokohama, where there are more than 20 business units.
The leading districts for container storage are the suburbs of Fujisawa-shi, Hiratsuka-shi and Atsugi-shi. Fourth placed Tsurumi-ku is also highly ranked for rental storage. Although Kanagawa is not demarcated in any way like Tokyo (by the Yamanote Line or ring road No.7), we can say there tends to be lot of rental storage in the so-called urban areas of Yokohama-shi and Kawasaki-shi, a mixture of rental and container storage in mostly residential areas, and a lot of container storage in urban areas outside Yokohama-shi and Kawasaki-shi.