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 ...
in
Nakakubiki District,
Niigata Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...
,
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 ...
In 1916, Myōkō Kōgen became nationally famous when it came first in a vote taken to find the most popular summer resort in Japan.
The area is dominated by 'Hokushingogaku' - a series of five mountains (Madarao, Myōkō, Kurohime, Togakushi and Iizuna) that make up the border of Nagano and Niigata prefectures. Mt. Myoko 妙高山 is listed as one of the hundred most famous mountains in Japan with its summit recorded as 2,454 meters above sea level.
, the town had an estimated population of 6,234 and a population density of 48.49 persons per km². The total area was 128.57 km².
On April 1, 2005, Myōkōkōgen, along with the former village of
Myōkō (also from
Nakakubiki District), was merged into the expanded city of
Arai
Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) is co-operative industrial research association by the automotive industry with the Ministry of Industries, Government Of India The objectives of the Association are Research and Development in auto ...
. Arai changed its name to
Myōkō City at the same time.
Activities
Myōkō Kōgen is famed for its ski resorts which were founded in the 1930s, making it one of the oldest established ski areas in the world. It is also a traditional mountain retreat of Japan's imperial family. The area includes nine mountain resorts: the main resorts of Akakura Onsen, Akakura Kanko Resort (also known as Akakan), Ikenotaira Onsen, Myōkō Suginohara (which boasts the longest ski run in Japan), the smaller Seki Onsen, Kyukamura RunRun and Myōkō Ski Park, and two resorts just over the border in Nagano: Madarao Kogen and Tangram Ski Circus.
Myōkō Kōgen is also well known for its many local ''
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 ...
'' (hot springs) emanating from the Jigoku-dani valley between Mt. Myoko and Mt. Maeyama
Japan Onsen Guide
/ref>
References
External links
Myōkō Tourist Office official site
Myoko Ski Resort
English guide for skiers and snowboarders
Myoko Kogen Japan
English travel guide to Myoko Kogen
Destination Joetsu Myoko
Regional travel guide
Dissolved municipalities of Niigata Prefecture
Myōkō, Niigata
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