was a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in Nishikubiku District,

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Overview

Ōmi was located on the Japan Sea coast, about four hundred kilometres north-west of

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. The town also had two additional neighborhoods, Oyashirazu and Ichiburi, located six kilometres and thirteen kilometres respectively further down the coast from the main part of Ōmi. On March 19, 2005, Ōmi, along with the town of Nō (also from Nishikubiki District), was merged into the expanded city of Itoigawa.

Demographics

The town was a classic case of rural decline now often found in modern Japan. Over a period of 30 years, the population had decreased from around 17,000 to 9,797 as of 2003, with a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 75.87 persons per km². The total area was 129.13 km². After graduating from high school, many young people are forced to move to major population centres for university or in search of work. This was reflected in the population, with the majority of residents aged over 35. Concurrently the number of students attending Ōmi Junior High School fell from 568 to below 300 over a period of 20 years. Ōmi had many well-funded facilities, including regular local bus and train services (but only a few long-distance services), an indoor heated pool, gymnasium, baseball field, several small local parks, mountain camping sites, plus a new natural history museum,

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

, and performance hall seating 500 people. However, there were only a few small local shops, supermarkets and restaurants, and no entertainment facilities. With the declining population many such facilities (such as the movie theatre and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

stadium) were closed and demolished in recent years.

Travel information

Ōmi — The temple and park above Ōmi Kindergarten are quite pretty with a good view of the town. There is also a natural history museum at Kirara Ōmi Hall near the train station. Apart from these the only other real attractions are the nearby mountains and beach where one can go fossicking for jade washed down from Hisui Gorge in the nearby mountains. Oyashirazu — An old village with many older houses. It is a popular beach during summer with some beer stalls, plus a "Sunset Station" (Pier Park) and shops. Ichiburi — This is a quaint little fishing village with still many signs of old Japan.

Festivals

''Ōmi no take no karakai'' is a traditional New Years event that has been carried out since the Edo period (1603–1867). The event is performed in competition between the Eastern area of the town and the Western side. It begins with "Omatsutori" on January 7, where the two sides try to compete over ''kazaritake'' (ornamental bamboo) and two bamboos (isamitake and awasetake) tell the fortune regarding any bumper crop. The ''isamitake'' and ''awasetake'' activities, where bamboo branches are hooked and pulled, are joined in by young and old alike while the audience cheers. Although it is said that there used to be a few similar examples of this kind of New Years event in Japan, this one in Ōmi is the only remaining one. This event was designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property on December 28, 1987.

Sister city relationship

* Yamagata, Nagano

References

The need for community involvement in schools - a Japanese case study''Omi no take no karakai''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Omi, Niigata Dissolved municipalities of Niigata Prefecture Itoigawa, Niigata