is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

located in

Higashimatsuura District is a district located in Saga Prefecture, Japan. At the present it has only one town. As of April 1, 2021, the district has an estimated population of 5,211 and a density of 145 persons per square kilometre. The total area is . Municipalities ...

Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasak ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It has an area of 36.00 km² and as of February 28, 2017 has a population of 5,855. It is currently the only

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in Higashimatsuura District. There was a town with the same name in

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

, but it now no longer exists.

History

*September 30, 1956 - The villages of Chika and Ariura merge to form the town of Genkai. *December 31, 1957 - The neighborhoods of Sosorogawachi, Yunoo, Fujihira, Tashiro from the village of Kirigo are incorporated into Genkai. Kirigo's remaining neighborhoods are incorporated into

Karatsu is a city located in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Its name, formed from the Japanese word roots 唐 ''kara'' (China, or continental East Asia in general), and 津 ''tsu'' (port), signifies its historical importance as a ...

The great Heisei merger

All other

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

from

were incorporated into

between 2005 and 2006. Genkai originally planned to merge into Karatsu with the rest of the district, but was concerned about the slow administrative response of the surrounding areas. Eventually they withdrew their decision to merge and decided to continue as an autonomous municipality. Genkai is now enjoying a relatively high amount of revenue from the

Genkai Nuclear Power Plant The is located in the town of Genkai in the Higashimatsuura District in the Saga Prefecture in Japan. It is owned and operated by the Kyūshū Electric Power Company. The reactors were all built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and are of the 2 ...

, built in 1975, but there is a question as to its administration in the future.

Geography

Fishing village Kariya Genkai Saga Japan up20060427

Wind turbine Genkai Saga Japan up20060427

The town is located on the northwestern edge of the prefecture on the Higashimatsuura Peninsula and faces the

Genkai Sea The is a body of water that comprises the southwestern tip of the Sea of Japan and borders the northern coasts of Fukuoka and Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game ...

on its west side. It is located about 50 km (31 mi) northwest of the city of

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

and about west of

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

. Genkai is home to one of sixteen

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

plants in Japan, with the only other nuclear power plant in the

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

area being located in

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

. It is the only town in the Higashimatsuura District of Saga that has not merged with

Adjoining municipalities

Education

Genkai has one public high school overseen by the prefectural government, and one combined elementary/middle school operated by the city government. Previously home to four elementary schools and two junior highschools, in 2017 these schools were amalgamated into Genkai Mirai. Opened on April 1, 2015, the school had 498 students from grades 1 - 9 across 19 classes and 6 special needs classes.

Current

Prefectural high schools

* Karatsu Seishō High School (佐賀県立唐津青翔高等学校)

Municipal school

* Genkai Mirai Gakuen (玄海みらい学園)

Previously

Municipal junior high schools

*Ariura Junior High School (有浦中学校) *Chiga Junior High School (値賀中学校)

Municipal elementary schools

*Ariura Elementary School (有浦小学校) *Chiga Elementary School (値賀小学校) *Kariya Elementary School (仮屋小学校) *Mukata Elementary School (牟形小学校)

Transportation

Rail

There are no train stations in Genkai.

Bus

Local public buses are run by the SHOWA bus company. School buses are available for all students attending Genkai Mirai.

Road

National highways National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...

Route 204 The following highways are numbered 204: Canada * Manitoba Provincial Road 204 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 204 * Nova Scotia Route 204 * Prince Edward Island Route 204 * Quebec Route 204 China * China National Highway 204 Costa Rica ...

*Main prefectural roads **Hizen-Yobuko Route 47

Scenic and historic places

*Kaijō Onsen Parea (海上温泉パレア) * Hamanoura Rice Terraces (浜野浦の棚田) *Genkai Energy Park (玄海エネルギーパーク)

References

External links

*
Genkai official website
{{Authority control Towns in Saga Prefecture