260px, Morito Beach is a

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

located in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

, on central

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island ...

, Japan. , the town had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using ...

of 32,961 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

of 1900 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Since 1894, the Japanese Imperial Family has maintained a residence in Hayama, the seaside

Hayama Imperial Villa , located in the town of Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan is a residence owned by the Japanese Imperial Family, and used on infrequent intervals as an informal winter retreat. History The Imperial Family of Japan previously had residences in ...

Geography

Hayama is located at the northern end of

Miura Peninsula is a peninsula located in Kanagawa, Japan. It lies south of Yokohama and Tokyo and divides Tokyo Bay, to the east, from Sagami Bay, to the west. Cities and towns on the Miura Peninsula include Yokosuka, Miura, Hayama, Zushi, and Kama ...

, facing

Sagami Bay lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while ...

on the Pacific Ocean. Geographically, it is often cited as the easternmost point of the Shōnan region.

Surrounding municipalities

Kanagawa Prefecture * Zushi * Yokosuka

Climate

Hayama has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hayama is 15.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1872 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 6.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Hayama has grown relatively steadily until around the year 2000 and is now slightly declining.

History

During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

, all of eastern Sagami Province was ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedi ...

'' territory under direct control of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

, and administered by various '' hatamoto''. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system the early

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

in April 1889, the area was reorganized into Hayama village through the merger of six hamlets. Hayama was elevated to town status in 1925.

Government

Hayama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

town council of 14 members. Hayama, together with neighboring Zushi, contributes one member to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Kanagawa 4th district of the lower house of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paral ...

Economy

Despite its lack of rail connections, Hayama is now primarily a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many ...

for Tokyo and

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

and, due to its mild climate, a popular resort area with a

marina A marina (from Spanish language, Spanish , Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a Dock (maritime), dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina dif ...

. From the

it became a prestigious summer home location for the upper classes of Tokyo, partly due to the prestige of the Imperial villa. In the postwar period, its popularity continued with actors, artists and wealthy expatriates. Local agricultural produce includes '' shiitake'' mushrooms, and a brand of beef known as "Hayama-gyu".

Education

Hayama has four public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government. In addition, the Graduate University for Advanced Studies's main administrative campus is hosted here.

Transportation

Railway

Hayama has no passenger rail service. The nearest train station is the Yokosuka Line Zushi Station or Keikyū Zushi Line Zushi·Hayama Station in neighboring Zushi.

Highway

Sister city relations

* – Kusatsu, Gunma, since March 1969 * – City of Holdfast Bay,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

(Australia) since 1997; November 18, 2009, Holdfast Bay wrote a letter signed by their Deputy Mayor admonishing Hayama for Japan's whaling in the Southern Ocean.

Local attractions

* Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama

Notable people from Hayama, Kanagawa

Prince Tomohito of Mikasa was a member of the Imperial House of Japan and the eldest son of Takahito, Prince Mikasa and Yuriko, Princess Mikasa. He was a first cousin of Emperor Akihito, and was formerly sixth in the line of succession to the Japanese throne and the ...

(1946–2012), member of the Imperial House of Japan and the eldest son of Takahito, Prince Mikasa and Yuriko, Princess Mikasa * Yasuko Kosuge (born 1974), Japanese former windsurfer * Sekai (born 1991), singer, dancer and J-pop idol, leader and member of J-pop boygroup Fantastics from Exile Tribe (Real Name: Sekai Yamamoto, Nihongo: 山本世界, ''Yamamoto Sekai'') *

miwa Miwa (みわ, ミワ) is a feminine Japanese given name which can also be used as a surname. Possible writings Miwa can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *三和 "three, harmony" *三輪 "three, wheel/ring" *美和 "beauty ...

(born 1990), Japanese singer-songwriter and actress

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Towns in Kanagawa Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Hayama, Kanagawa