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 ...

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 n ...

. , 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 usi ...

of 755 in 350 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 RosenberPopu ...

of 13 persons per km². The total area of the village is .

Geography

Kitaaiki is located in mountainous eastern Nagano Prefecture, bordered by

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 Fuku ...

to the east. More than 90% of the village area is covered by mountains and forest. Mount Ogura (2,112 meters) is the highest point in the village.

Surrounding municipalities

** Koumi ** Sakuho ** Minamiaiki *

** Ueno

Climate

The village has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

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 ...

''Dfb''). The average annual temperature in Kitaaiki is 7.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1513 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 20.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around −4.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Kitaaiki population statistics
/ref> the population of Kitaaiki has decreased over the past 70 years and is now less than a third of what it was in 1950.

History

The area of present-day Kataaiki was part of ancient Shinano Province, and was mentioned in

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

records. The present village of Kitaaiki was created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889.

Education

Kitaaiki has one public elementary school operated by the village government. The village shares a public middle school with neighboring Minamiaika. The village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

*The village does not have any passenger rail service.

Highway

*The village is not served by any national highways

Local attractions

Tochibaraiwakage ruins The is an archaeological site consisting of a cave dwelling in use during the Jōmon period, located in the Tochihara neighborhood of the village of Kitaaiki, Nagano in the Chūbu region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site ...

, a Jomon period National Historic Site

References

External links

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