is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its ge ...

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 city 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 24,291 in 9,371 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 city is .

Geography

Nikaho is located at the far southwest corner of Akita Prefecture, bordered by the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

to the west, and by

Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the north, ...

to the south. Part of the city is within the borders of the Chōkai Quasi-National Park.

Neighboring municipalities

*Akita Prefecture **

Yurihonjō is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 76,077 in 30,639 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Geography Yurihonjō is located in southwest corner of Akita Pr ...

*Yamagata Prefecture **

Yuza is a town located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 13,615 in 4956 households, and a population density of 65 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Yuza is located in the extreme no ...

Climate

Nikaho 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 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 ...

''Cfa'') with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heaviest from August to October. The average annual temperature in Nikaho is 13.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1877 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around -0.9 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Nikaho has been declining over the past 30 years.

History

The area of present-day Nikaho was part of ancient

Ugo Province is an old province of Japan in the area of Akita Prefecture and some parts of Yamagata Prefecture (specifically Akumi District).Newland, Amy Reigle. (2005). ''The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints,'' p. 428. It was sometimes calle ...

, dominated by the

Satake clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. Its first power base was in Hitachi Province. The clan was subdued by Minamoto no Yoritomo in the late 12th century, but later entered Yoritomo's service as vassals ...

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 characteriz ...

, who ruled

Kubota Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Akita Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kubota Castle in what is now the city of Akita and was thus also known as the . It was governed for the whole of its his ...

under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. After the start of the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, it became part of Yuri District, Akita Prefecture in 1878 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The village of Hirasawa was established on April 1, 1889 and was raised to town status on June 4, 1902. After merging with the villages of Koide and Innai on March 31, 1955 it was renamed Nikaho town. The city of Nikaho was established on October 1, 2005, from the merger of Nikaho, with the neighboring the towns of Kisakata and Konoura.

Government

Nikaho 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 legislature of 18 members. The city contributes one member to the Akita Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aichi District 3 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

Children's Ferrite and Science Museum 20190609b

The economy of Nikaho is based on

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 agriculture. Industry includes a large factory by the electronics firm

TDK is a Japanese multinational electronics corporation that manufactures electronic components and recording and data-storage media. Its motto is "Contribute to culture and industry through creativity". "TDK" is an initialism of the original Ja ...

Education

Nikaho has four public elementary schools and three public junior high schools operated by the city government, and one public high schools operated by the Akita Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

Uetsu Main Line The is a railway line in the Tohoku and Chubu regions of Japan. Part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) system, it connects Niitsu Station in the city of Niigata and Akita Station in Akita. The name "Uetsu" refers to the ancient ...

* - - - -

Highway

* *

Local attractions

* *:a thousand-year old temple in the south of Nikaho which was made famous by the

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or se ...

poet

Matsuo Bashō born then was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative '' haikai no renga'' form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest ma ...

's visit to the area in 1689. He wrote of the temple in his ''

Oku no Hosomichi ''Oku no Hosomichi'' (, originally ), translated as ''The Narrow Road to the Deep North'' and ''The Narrow Road to the Interior'', is a major work of ''haibun'' by the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō, considered one of the major texts of Japanese l ...

''. * *:a collection of clumps of land which used to be small islands until a major earthquake in 1804 submerged the sea around them. They were often compared to the similar small islands on the Pacific coast of

Matsushima is a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. There are some 260 tiny islands (''shima'') covered in pines (''matsu'') – hence the name – and it is considered to be one of the Three Views of Japan. Nearby cultural properties ...

. *, *:waterfall that is a National Place of Scenic Beauty . * *:a long stretch of sandy beach in the south of Nikaho. * *:An

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 spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

) located in the Nemunooka Roadside Station. The hot spring offers views of the Japan Sea coast. * *:a children's museum in the north of Nikaho with many interactive exhibits which explores the different uses of ferrite. * *:a memorial museum which focuses on the Antarctic Expedition by local explorer

Shirase Nobu was a Japanese army officer and explorer. He led the first Japanese Antarctic Expedition, 1910–12, which reached a southern latitude of 80°5′, and made the first landing on the coast of King Edward VII Land. Shirase had harboured polar ...

and includes a replica of Shirase's ship. * *:a museum full of information and exhibits about the company

. TDK was founded by a local man Kenzō Saitō and there are many TDK factories and suppliers in the area. *

TDK Akita General Sports Center TDK Akita General Sports Center is a group of sports facilities located in Nikaho, Akita, Japan. It opened in 1985 and hosted National Sports Festival of Japan soccer games in 2007. It is the former home ground of the TDK SC is a Japanese ...

*:a group of sports facilities

Parks in Nikaho

* *:a park surrounding a lake and ringed with cherry trees. It is especially attractive in late April and early May when the cherry trees start to bloom. * *:a park in the foothills of Mount Chokai with a small lake, cherry trees and hydrangeas. * *:a park which snakes along the coast on the border of Yamagata and Akita Prefectures. * *:a plateau in the foothills of Mount Chokai with splendid views of the area.

Local events

*Fireworks *:A fireworks festival is held each year over three nights in each of the former towns of Nikaho City. * *:This religious event takes place in February in which cod are carried from the Konoura fishing port to a local Shinto shrine. * *:one of the top

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

events in the Japanese calendar. * *:a mountain bike race around the base of Mount Chōkai.

Mount Chōkai

Mount Chōkai is an inactive volcano which stands alone on the border between

and

. It is 2236 metres high and is the second highest mountain in the Tōhoku area. It is popular with skiers, hikers and climbers. There are two main trails for climbing Mount Chōkai from the Akita side. One trailhead is in Yurihonjō, Akita, north of Nikaho. The other, in Nikaho, starts at the Nakajima parking area. A one-way hike from the Nakajima commonly takes 4 hours and offers outstanding views of the Japan Sea coast and the lush greenery of the Nikaho area. The mountain has its own unique Alpine plants and vegetation such as or .

Local crafts, arts, and food

* ''

Sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

'' (rice wine) *:There is one independent ''sake'' brewery in Nikaho: * *:a local

sushi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...

of raw '' hatahata'' fish. *Oysters & abalone *:the coastline of Nikaho is renowned for its

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

s and

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...

. * '' Karintō'' *:a local brown sugar-coated candy. * *:a superhero character which was born in Nikaho.

Sister city relations

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma Cit ...

, USA *

Anacortes, Washington Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman.Zhuji Zhuji () is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shaoxing, in north-central Zhejiang province, China, located about south of Hangzhou. It has with a population of 1,218,072 inhabitants at the 2020 census e ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

, China friendship city since October 23, 2008

Noted people from Nikaho

*, Antarctic explorer who led an expedition to the South Pole in 1910. *, founder of TDK. *,

mangaka A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist bef ...

Notes

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Akita Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan