270px, Minabe Town Hall
is a small
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
Hidaka District,
Wakayama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture ...
in the
Kansai region
The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...
of
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 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 12,137 in 4725 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 100 persons per km².
The total area of the town is .
Geography
Minabe is located at the southernmost edge of Hidaka District in central Wakayama Prefecture. The main part of Minabe, including the train station, government buildings, and business district, lies around the basin of the Minabe River as it flows into Minabe Bay on the Pacific Ocean. There are three distinguishing features of Minabe Bay: Kashima Island situated approximately 1 km offshore, a long non-swimming beach that runs parallel to the central business district, and two prominent rocky points at either end. The central area of town is largely flat and comprises the majority of houses and people. It is moderately populated, with many cultivated fields and buildings.
To the west-northwest of central Minabe is the Iwashiro region which is centered on the Iwashiro River Basin. This area is lightly populated and a mixture of farmland and forested mountains. To the northeast is the Kamiminabe region. This area is partly mountainous. Following the river farther upwards, the valley becomes increasingly narrow and forested, with little ground suitable for cultivation or houses. The path of the Minabe River here is narrow, no more than 30 meters across. Approximately eight kilometers from the center of town is the lightly populated region of Takagi which features some farmland and houses. A further six kilometers up the river valley is the even smaller region of Kiyokawa, which is the end of Minabe. The highest point is located here: 768 meters above sea level.
Neighboring municipalities
Wakayama Prefecture
*
Tanabe
*
Inami
Climate
Minabe has a
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Minabe is 16.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2077 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 6.4 °C. The area is subject to
typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
s in summer.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,
Minabe population statistics
/ref> the population of Minabe has remained relatively constant for the past century.
History
The area of the modern town of Minabe was within ancient Kii Province
, or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...
. Its location has been mentioned in ancient texts since the 8th century. The village of Minabe was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It was elevated to town status on September 11, 1897. The neighboring village of Iwashiro was annexed on April 1, 1954. On October 1, 2004 the village of Minabegawa, from Hidaka District, was merged into Minabe.
Government
Minabe 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 multic ...
city council of 14 members. Minabe collectively with the other municipalities of Hidaka District contributes three members to the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly
The is the prefectural parliament of Wakayama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Pref ...
. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Wakayama 3rd district
Wakayama 3rd district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan (national legislature). It is located in Wakayama Prefecture and consists of Arida, Gobo, Shingu, and Tanabe cities and the Arida, Hidaka, Higashimu ...
of the lower house
A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
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 paralle ...
.
Economy
The economy of Minabe is centered on forestry and agriculture. The town is famous for its ''umeboshi
Umeboshi (Japanese: 梅干し, pronounced , literally 'dried ume') are pickled ( brined) ''ume'' fruits common in Japan. The word ''umeboshi'' is often translated into English as 'salted Japanese plums', 'Japanese plums' or 'preserved plums'. ...
'' (Japanese pickled plum), of which it is the leading producer. The plums are primarily grown on the hillsides and mountainsides of the small valley around the Minabe River. The town is also famous for craft charcoal called ''binchōtan
''Binchō-tan'' ( ja, 備長炭), also called white charcoal or ''binchō-zumi,'' is a type of charcoal traditionally used in Japanese cooking. Its use dates to the Edo period, when, during the Genroku era, a craftsman named Bichū-ya Chōzae ...
'', which is produced by small, family-operated operations primarily in the upper mountainous areas of Minabe. Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...
and other agricultural products also play a role in the local economy.
Education
Minabe has five public elementary schools and three public middle schools operated by the town government and one public high school operated by the Wakayama Prefectural Department of Education. The town also has one private middle school and one private high school.
Transportation
Railway
JR West
, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...
– Kisei Main Line
The is a railway line that parallels the coastline of the Kii Peninsula in Japan between Mie Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture. The name takes the ''kanji'' characters from the names of the old provinces of and .
The line is operated by Ce ...
* -
Highways
*
Hanwa Expressway
The is a national expressway in the Kinki region of Japan. It is owned and operated by West Nippon Expressway Company.
Naming
Hanwa is a kanji acronym of two characters. The first character represents Osaka (大阪) and the second character re ...
*
*
Local attractions
*Senri-no-hama, part of the Kumano Kodō
The is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Kii Hantō, the largest peninsula of Japan. These trails were used by pilgrims to "Kumano Sanzan" (熊野三山) or the Three Grand Shrines of Kumano: Kumano Hongū Taisha_(熊野 ...
* Minabe Bairin
References
External links
Official Minabe homepage
(in Japanese)
(in Japanese)
{{Wakayama
Towns in Wakayama Prefecture
Minabe, Wakayama
Populated coastal places in Japan