is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 224,358 in 109,541 households, and a population density of 1300 persons per km<sup>2</sup>. The total area of the city is .
à Âta is located in the extreme southeastern portion of Gunma Prefecture in the northern Kantà  Plains, bordered by Tochigi Prefecture to the east and Saitama Prefecture to the south. The city is located northwest of Tokyo between the Tone and Watarase rivers. It is located about 80 kilometers northwest of central Tokyo, about 30 kilometers east of the prefectural capital at Maebashi, about 40 kilometers east of Takasaki. The elevation of the city ranges from 30 to 40 meters in lowland in the south, southwest, northeast, and east, to 40âÂÂ70 meters in the northwest.
à Âta has a Humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in à Âta is 14.4 ðC. The average annual rainfall is 1260 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.7 ðC, and lowest in January, at around 3.5 ðC.
Per Japanese census data, the population of à Âta has increased steadily over the past 60 years.
During the Edo period, the area of present-day à Âta contained two post towns on the Nikkà  Reiheishi Kaidà Â, a subroute to Nikkà  Kaidà  which connected the Nakasendà  directly with Nikkà Â, bypassing Edo, the , (from which the city takes its name) and .
à Âta Town was created within Nitta District, Gunma Prefecture on April 1, 1889, with the creation of the modern municipalities system after the Meiji Restoration. On April 1, 1940, à Âta merged with the villages of Kuai and Sawano from Nitta District, and with the village of Niragawa from Yamada District. On November 1, 1943, à Âta absorbed the village of Shimanogà Â, also from Nitta District. à Âta was elevated to city status on May 3, 1948. The city expanded on April 1, 1957, by annexing the village of Kyodo (from Nitta District), and the village of Kyà «haku (from Yamada District), and by annexing parts of the village of Yabakawa (Yamada District) on July 1, 1960. On April 1, 1963, à Âta absorbed the village of Hosen (Nitta District), followed by the village of Kesatoda (Yamada District) on December 1, 1963.
On March 28, 2005, the old city of à Âta absorbed the towns of Nitta, Ojima, and Yabuzukahon (all from Nitta District), and the area became the new city of à Âta. The former city of à Âta had a population of 152,000, with a total area of 97.96 km<sup>2</sup>; after the merger the total area became 176.49 km<sup>2</sup>, and the population went to 217,000 people. On April 1, 2007, à Âta was designated special city (tokureishi) with expanded local autonomy.
à Âta has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 30 members. à Âta contributes five members to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Gunma 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
During the years before World War II, airplane production by Nakajima Aircraft Company was the industrial mainstay of à Âta. After the war, much of the skills and technology used in the production of aircraft was redirected into the production of automobiles. à Âta's leading industry is manufacturing, centered in the southeast part of the city. à Âta leads the prefecture in manufacturing revenue, which exceeds annually. It is the home of the car manufacturer Subaru, a subsidiary of Subaru Corporation, formerly known as and Hino Motors. Subaru-chà  is where the Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86 is built, having been re-purposed from kei car production, Yajima Plant is where all current Subaru cars are built, Otakita Plant is where commercial kei trucks are built (originally the location of Nakajima Aircraft), and Oizumi Plant is where engines and transmissions are built.
The northern part of à Âta is characterized by its farms, most of which produce rice. Also, à Âta is a major transportation hub in the Tomo (Eastern Gunma) region and the home of the Panasonic Wild Knights rugby team.
à Âta has 26 public elementary schools and 17 public middle schools operated by the city government, and seven public high schools operated by the Gunma Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private high school and the Gunma Kokusai Academy, a private combined elementary/middle/high school which offers a curriculum in the English language. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.
Tà Âbu Railway â Tà Âbu Kiryà « Line
Tà Âbu Railway â Koizumi Line
Ota entered into a friendship agreement with Yingkou, Liaoning, China in September 1987. The city has also commenced an exchange relationship with Guilin, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China in 1997 and signed a friendship agreement with Hirosaki city, Aomori Prefecture in November 2006.