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 o ...

located in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

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 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 usi ...

of 10,514 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 280 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Matsuda is located in hilly western Kanagawa Prefecture. The Sakawa River, Kawaoto River, Nakatsu River and their tributaries form the outline of the town. In the north, the 1,200m-class high peaks of the Nishi-Tanzawa Mountains, with parts of the town within the borders of the Tanzawa-Ōyama Quasi-National Park.

Surrounding municipalities

Kanagawa Prefecture *

Hadano is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 163,787 and a population density of 1600 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hadano is located in the foothills of the ...

* Minamiashigara * Kaisei, Yamakita, Ōi

Climate

Matsuda 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 Matsuda is 12.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2144 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 1.6 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Matsuda population statistics
/ref> the population of Matsuda peaked in around 1990 and has been declining since.

History

During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

area around present-day Matsuda was part of Odawara Domain in Sagami Province. After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, it became part of Ashigarakami District in Kanagawa Prefecture. On April 1, 1889 Ashikagakami District was administratively divided into several villages, including the villages of Yadoriki and Matsuda, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The growth of Matsuda was favored by the opening of

Matsuda Station is a passenger railway station located in the southern portion of the town of Matsuda in Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa, Japan, operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). It is also a freight depot for the Japan Freight Railway C ...

the same year, and it attained town status on April 1, 1909. Shin-Matsuda Station opened in 1927. On April 1, 1955, Yadoriki merged into Matsuda. A new town charter was promulgated in 1989, leading to the "Matsuda Plan 21" in the year 2001.

Government

Matsuda 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 multi ...

town council of 12 members. Matsuda, together with the other municipalities in Ashigarakami District and Minamiashigara city, collectively contributes one member to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Kanagawa 17th district 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 paral ...

Education

Matsuda has two public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government. The town does not have any public high school, but there is one private high school.

Transportation

Rail

JR Tokai – Gotemba Line * OdakyuGroup logo2

Odakyū Odawara Line The is the main line of Japanese private railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway. It extends 82.5 km from Shinjuku in central Tokyo through the southwest suburbs to the city of Odawara, the gateway to Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture. ...

Highway

* (Ōi-Matsuda Interchange) * * *

Local attractions

Some local attractions include Sakawa River fishing, Tanzawa Mountain Range hiking, paragliding and camping, and blueberry, tangerine and sweet potato harvesting. Other attractions include the local ''

matsuri Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions often celebrated with dance and music in Japan. Many festivals have their roots in traditional Chinese festivals, but have undergone extensive changes over time to have little resemblance ...

'', the Matsudayama Herb Garden, Children's Museum, Nature Hall, the

ridable miniature railway A ridable miniature railway (US: riding railroad or grand scale railroad) is a large scale, usually ground-level railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by diesel or petrol ...

, the Yadoriki Petting Zoo & Dog Park
Yadoriki Fishing Area
two golf courses, and the Matsuda Health & Welfare Center ''

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 ...

''.

Events

*Matsuda Sakura Festival (late February) *Wakaba Festival (May 5) *Herb Festival (June and October) *Yadoriki Hotaru (Firefly) Festival (June) *Matsuda Tourism Festival (August) *Emmei Temple Festival (December 28)