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 Hata District, Kōchi, Japan. On April 10, 2005, Nishitosa, along with the city of Nakamura, was merged to create the city of Shimanto.

Geography

The population of Nishitosa was 3,492 people as of May 31, 2008. The total area was . It is approximately from the capital city of Kōchi. As per a 2010 Natural Census, a total area of 7105 square kilometers, Kochi is the largest prefecture of the four on Shikoku Island and 18th largest in Japan. 84% of this land area is covered in forest, with a population of 764,456.

Access

The main train station, Ekawasaki station on the

JR Shikoku The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has ...

Yodo Line The is a railway line in Shikoku, Japan, operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects Station, Shimanto, Takaoka District in Kōchi Prefecture and Uwajima in Ehime Prefecture. Its name comes from the ancient provinces of ( ...

, sees only a few local trains each day. There are two other smaller stations, Nishigahō Station and Hage Station. It is accessible from

Ehime prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tok ...

and the town of Shimanto by route 381 and from Nakamura via route 441. It is roughly 3 hours by car to Kōchi city. There is also a limited bus service, centered on Ekawasaki Station.

Temperature

In the summer, the temperatures reach an average of 32 ℃ in the day and about 26 ℃ at night. In Kōchi, typhoon season lasts from July until September. In the winter, temperatures average 13 ℃ in the daytime and 5 ℃ at night. It occasionally snows in the winter and many people use kerosene heaters to keep warm.

Tourism

The area is known for the views of the

Shimanto river The is a river in western Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. 196 km in length, it has a watershed of 2,270 km². Its name is written with kanji meaning "forty thousand and ten". Since the river is remote from major cities and does not have a ...

, said to be the cleanest river in Japan, and for the ayu fish. Tourists flock to the area in the summer for camping and canoeing. The area is also good for firefly viewing. In June, there is a firefly festival, and fireflies can easily be seen from many of the "chinkabashi" (Low water crossing).

Wildlife

Wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

tanuki Tanuki may refer to: *Japanese raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes viverrinus'' or ''Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus''), a mammal native to Japan *Bake-danuki, a type of spirit (yōkai) in Japanese mythology that appears in the form of the mammal *A de ...

, rabbits and monkeys are frequently seen in the area. Deer in particular are a pest to farmers, and can be seen on many of the roads at night.

Education

Prior to April 2012, there were seven elementary schools, one junior high school, one high school and three

nursery school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary schoo ...

s in the former village's area. However, due to falling student numbers, the elementary schools merged into one school, Nishitosa Elementary School, and one of the nursery schools closed. Currently, the junior high school, elementary school, and two nursery schools are visited regularly by one resident ALT, as part of the

JET Programme The , or , is a Japanese government initiative that brings college (university) graduates—mostly native speakers of English—to Japan as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) and Sports Education Advisors (SEAs) in Japanese kindergartens, element ...

. The high school is visited by a separate, privately contracted ALT.

External links

Official website of Nishitosa
in Japanese
Official website of Shimanto
in Japanese Dissolved municipalities of Kōchi Prefecture Shimanto, Kōchi (city) {{Kochi-geo-stub