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

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the eas ...

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 10,779 in 5093 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 RosenberPopu ...

of 50 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Nakadomari is in Kitatsugaru District of Aomori Prefecture, and consists of two discontinuous geographic areas in northern Tsugaru Peninsula. The larger area is in the south, and consists of the former town of Nakasato. The smaller area is in the north, and consists of the former village of Kodomari with a coastline on 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, i ...

at the western end of

Tsugaru Strait The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles (1 ...

. The Kodomari Dam is located in the town.

Neighboring municipalities

*Aomori Prefecture ** Goshogawara ** Tsugaru **

Yomogita is a village located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan and a part of the Aomori metropolitan area. , the village had an estimated population of 2740 in 1147 households, and a population density of 34 persons per km2. The total area of the village ...

** Sotogahama

Climate

Nakadomari has a cold

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

( Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Nakadomari is 9.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1399 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around -2.3 °C. Snowfall typically begins in late November and lasts through March and sometimes April. Blizzard-like conditions, created by strong winds and a heavy accumulation of snow, are common during winter. During these times visibility can be reduced to several feet or less.

History

The area around Nakadomari was controlled by the

Tsugaru clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled the northwestern half of what is now Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. The Tsugaru were ''daimyō'' of Hirosaki Domain and its semi-subsidiary, ...

Hirosaki Domain Hirosaki Castle, the seat of the Hirosaki Domain , also known as , was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period JapanRavina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 It is located in Mutsu Province, in northern Honsh� ...

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 ...

. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, the villages of Nakasato and Komadari were created within

Kitatsugaru District, Aomori is a rural district located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. As of September 2013, the district had an estimated population of 40,171 and an area of 304.54 km2. Much the city of Goshogawara and part of the city of Aomori was formerly part of K ...

. The town of Nakadomari was created on March 28, 2005 as a result of the merger of these two municipalities.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Nakadomari has peaked around the year 1960 and has decreased steadily since. It is now less than it was century ago.

Government

Nakadomari 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 legislature of 15 members. Together with the city of Goshogawara, it contributes three members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of

Aomori 3rd district Aomori 3rd district is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan. It is located on the island of Honshu, in Aomori Prefecture, and includes the cities of Hirosaki, Goshogawara, and Ajigasawa. ...

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 ...

Economy

The economy of Nakadomari is heavily dependent on agriculture, forestry and

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 oft ...

Education

Nakasato has four public elementary schools (three in Nakasato and one in Kodomari) and two public junior high schools (one in Kodomari and one in Nakasato) operated by the town government. The town has one public high school, located in Nakasato, operated by the Aomori Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

Tsugaru Railway The is a railway line in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, connecting in the city of Goshogawara and in the town of Nakadomari, in central-southern Tsugaru Peninsula. The line is the only railway line operated by the Tsugaru Railway Company, wh ...

* - - ,

Highway

Local attractions

* Lake Jūsan

Culture

Nakadomari has several yearly festivals including a firefly festival, summer festival and winter snow festival. The area is known locally for producing high quality blueberries and dried squid.

Noted people from Nakadomari

* Takarafuji Daisuke,

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by t ...

wrestler * Ōnoshō Fumiya, sumo wrestler *

Kan Mikami is a Japanese folk singer-songwriter and actor. His music, heavily influenced by American blues, was popular in Japan in the 1970s. He re-wrote the lyric of the song " Yume wa Yoru Hiraku" for his cover version in 1972, which was banned for its ...

, folk singer

External links

*
Live Camera Feed of Nakadomari

References

{{Authority control Towns in Aomori Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan