was 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 Kitagunma District,

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...

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 ...

. As of 2003, 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 a ...

of 3,920 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

of 175.63 persons per km². The total area was 22.32 km². On February 20, 2006, Ikaho, along with the villages of Komochi and Onogami (all in Kitagunma District), and the villages of Akagi and Kitatachibana (both in Seta District), was merged into the expanded city of Shibukawa. Situated on the slopes of Mount Haruna, an extinct volcano, Ikaho is well known for its hot springs. Ikaho is 2.5 hours from Shinjuku by express bus, and can be easily enjoyed on a day trip from Tokyo

Onsen (Hot springs)

Ikaho Onsen is one of Gunma's 4 large onsen. This makes it one of the main

onsen In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

locations in Japan. The onsen locations are usually open during weekdays, from 09:00 AM to 06:00 PM Ikaho Onsen has been called Kogane-no-Yu (The Golden Waters), but the waters used to be clear and colorless. However, due to the iron content, they turned dark brown when in contact with the air. They are also known as Kodakara-no-Yu (Child Waters) since they tend to be mild, warm the body from inside and are popular with women.

History

* 1889 - Ikaho town is created in Nishigunma District by the uniting of the villages of Ikaho, Mizusawa, and Yunakako. * 1896 - Nishigunma District merges with Kataoka District and is renamed Gunma District. * 1949 - Kitagunma District, including Ikaho town, separates from Gunma District. * 1997 -

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement i ...

becomes a sister city. * February 20, 2006 - Ikaho, along with the villages of Komochi and Onogami (all from Kitagunma District), and the villages of Akagi and Kitatachibana (both from Seta District), was merged into the expanded city of Shibukawa.

Notable places

* Mount Haruna * Ikaho Hot Springs * Mizusawa temple * Yumeji Takehisa Memorial Museum * Roka Tokutomi Memorial Literature Museum * Art Museum

In popular media

* The town of Ikaho serves as the location for the setting of the sports manga series ''

Initial D is a Japanese street racing manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1995 to 2013, with the chapters collected into 48 ''ta ...

.''

References

External links

Ikaho Official Site

Dissolved municipalities of Gunma Prefecture Shibukawa, Gunma {{gunma-geo-stub