270px, Sagae Dam Reservoir 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

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 nor ...

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 5,225 in 1851 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 145.1 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Nishikawa is located in mountainous central Yamagata and includes

Mount Gassan is the highest of the Three Mountains of Dewa in the ancient province of Dewa (modern-day Yamagata prefecture). The Gassan Shrine stands at the mountain's summit, above sea level. It has a long hike from its trailhead and usually requires ...

and Mount Asahi within its borders. The Sagae River passes through the town. Part of the town is within the borders of the

Bandai-Asahi National Park is a national park in the Tōhoku region, Honshū, Japan. The park site straddles over Fukushima Prefecture, Yamagata Prefecture, and Niigata Prefecture. The park was designated as a national park on September 5, 1950. The park encompasses 186, ...

Neighboring municipalities

*Yamagata Prefecture ** Sagae ** Tsuruoka ** Ōe ** Asahi ** Oguni ** Shōnai ** Ōkura *Niigata Prefecture ** Murakami

Climate

Nishikawa has a

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 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, nota ...

''Dfb'') 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 Nishikawa is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Nishikawa population statistics
/ref> the population of Nishikawa peaked around 1950 and has declined considerably since then. It is now less than half what it was a century ago.

History

The area of present-day Nishikawa was part of ancient

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early per ...

. 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 ...

, the area became part of Nishimurayama District, Yamagata Prefecture. The town of Nishikawa was established on October 1, 1954 by the merger of the villages of Kawadoi, Nishiyama, Hondōji and Ōisawa.

Economy

The economy of Nishikawa is based on seasonal tourism and forestry.

Education

Nishikawa has one public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

Nishikawa is not served by any passenger rail service. The nearest station is Uzen-Takamatsu Station in the neighboring city of Sagae.

Highway

Yamagata Expressway The is a national expressway in the Tōhoku region of Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. Naming The expressway is officially referred to as the Tōhoku Ōdan Expressway Sakata Route. From Tsuruoka Junction to S ...

: Nishikawa IC, Gassan IC *

Local attractions

* Mount Asahi *Mizugatoro Dam *Sagae Dam *Iwanesawa Sanzan Shrine

Sister city relations

* Frisco, Colorado, USA – since August 29, 1990

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Towns in Yamagata Prefecture