is a

village 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 ...

located in

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

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 ...

. , the village 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 a ...

of 414 in 192 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 5.4 persons per km². The total area of the village is .

Geography

Hiraya is located in mountainous southwestern Nagano Prefecture, surrounded by 1500 meter mountains, and bordered by

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

to the west. Hiraya is at an average altitude of 900 meters, and contains Mount Ōkawairi and the source of the

Yahagi River , a historical Japanese occupation equivalent to "fletcher", may refer to: * Yahagi, a former village now part of Rikuzentakata, Iwate, Japan * Yahagi Domain, Shimōsa Province, now in Chiba Prefecture, Japan * , several ships * Rikuzen-Yahagi S ...

Surrounding municipalities

*Nagano Prefecture ** Achi ** Urugi ** Anan ** Neba *

Nakatsugawa Magome-juku on the Nakasendō is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,930, and a population density of 120 persons per km2 in 30,788 households The total area of the city was . Geography Nakatsugawa is in ...

Ena Ena or ENA may refer to: Education * École nationale d'administration, French Grande école, for civil service * Education Networks of America, Internet service provider Fictional characters * Ena Sharples, from the British soap opera ''Coron ...

Climate

The village has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cold winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Hiraya is 9.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2106 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 21.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around -2.1 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Hiraya population statistics
/ref> the population of Hiraya has declined by more than two-thirds over the past 80 years.

History

The area of present-day Hiraya was part of ancient

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...

. The village of Namiai was established on April 1, 1889 by the establishment of the modern municipalities system. A portion of Namiai separated to become the village of Hiraya on April 1, 2006.

Economy

The economy of Hiraya is based on tourism to its ski and hot spring resorts.

Education

Hiraya has one public elementary school operated by the village government and one public middle school shared with the neighbouring village of Achi. The village does not have a high school.

Geography

Surrounding municipalities

Climate

Demographics

History

Economy

Education

Transportation

Railway

Highway

References

External links