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 Nagano Prefecture, 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 a ...

of 11,045 in 4892 households, 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 23 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Kiso Town is listed as one of

The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan is a Japanese nonprofit organization of listing some of the most beautiful villages and towns in Japan. The association is active on enhancement and protection of Japanese rural heritage, cultural fairs & branding and promotion of regional, nat ...

Geography

Kiso is located in mountainous southwest Nagano Prefecture, bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the west.

Surrounding municipalities

*Nagano Prefecture **

Matsumoto Matsumoto (松本 or 松元, "base of the pine tree") may refer to: Places * Matsumoto, Nagano (松本市), a city ** Matsumoto Airport, an airport southwest of Matsumoto, Nagano * Matsumoto, Kagoshima (松元町), a former town now part of the c ...

** Shiojiri ** Ina ** Agematsu ** Kiso (village) ** Ōtaki ** Miyada * Gifu Prefecture ** Takayama **

Gero Gero I ( – 20 May 965), sometimes called the Great ( la, magnus),Thompson, 486. Also se was a German nobleman who ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg in the south of the present German state of Saxony-Anhalt, which he expande ...

Climate

The town has a climate characterized by characterized by warm and humid summers, and cold winters with heavy snowfall (

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 ...

''Dfb''). The average annual temperature in Kiso is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

History

The area of present-day Kiso was part of ancient Shinano Province. The modern town was created through a merger of the town of Kiso-Fukushima with the villages of Hiyoshi, Kaida and Mitake on November 1, 2005.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Kiso population statistics
/ref> the population of Kiso has decreased rapidly over the past 60 years and is now less than half what it was in 1940.

Education

Kiso has four public elementary schools and three public middle schools operated by the town government, and one high school operated the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education. The prefectural also operates a special education school. The Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University is located in Kiso.

Transportation

Railway

JR Tōkai – Chūō Main Line ** - -

Highway

* *

Local attractions

Mount Ontake , also referred to as , is the 14th highest mountain and second highest volcano in Japan (after Mount Fuji) at . It is included in ''100 Famous Japanese Mountains''. Description Mt. Ontake is located around northeast of Nagoya, and around 200& ...

References

External links

*
Official Website
Towns in Nagano Prefecture {{Nagano-geo-stub