was 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 ori ...

located in Maniwa District,

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefectur ...

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 ...

. As of 2003, 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 using a ...

of 15,652 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

of 105.81 persons per km². The total area was 147.92 km². On March 31, 2005, Ochiai, along with the town of Hokubō (from Jōbō District), and towns of Katsuyama, Kuse and Yubara, and the

villages 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 to ...

of Chūka, Kawakami, Mikamo and Yatsuka (all from Maniwa District) were merged to create the

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 ...

of Maniwa.

Geography

River A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s: Asahi River (The big-3 river through Okayama Prefecture), Bicchū River (Tributary of the Asahi River)

Adjoining municipalities

** Katsuyama ** Kuse ** Hokubō **

Takahashi is the third most common Japanese surname. Less common variants include , , , , , , , and . Notable people with the surname include: * Aaron Takahashi, American actor * , Japanese singer and actress * , Japanese kickboxer * , Japanese classica ...

(Former Ukan town) **

Tsuyama is a city in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 102,294 and a population density of 200 persons per km². The total area was 185.73 km². The area increased in 2005 as the result of a merger with adjacent t ...

(Former Kume town) **

Misaki Misaki ( ja, 御先, "misaki") are a collective term for spirit-like existences in Japan like gods, demons and spirits, among other supernatural entities. Their name comes from a kannushi's vanguard. Summary Misaki are subordinate to the high ...

(Former

Asahi Asahi (朝日, 旭, or あさひ) means "morning sun" in Japanese and may refer to: Cities * Asahi, Chiba (旭市; ''Asahi-shi'') Wards * Asahi-ku, Osaka (旭区; ''Asahi-ku'') * Asahi-ku, Yokohama (旭; ''Asahi-ku'') Towns * Asahi, Aichi (旭� ...

town) ** Kibichūō (Former Kamogawa town)

Education

*Amatsu Elementary School *Ueda Elementary School **Ueyama Branch School *Ochiai Elementary School *Kawahigashi Elementary School *Kiyama Elementary School **Hinoue Branch School *Kōchi Elementary School *Tsuda Elementary School *Bessho Elementary School *Mikawa Elementary School *Ochiai Junior High School *Okayama Prefectural Ochiai High School

Transportation

Railways

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

** Kishin Line ***

Mimasaka-Oiwake Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Maniwa, Okayama, Maniwa, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Mimasaka-Oiwake Station is served by the Kishin Line, and is located 103.9 kilome ...

- Mimasaka-Ochiai Station - Komi Station

Road

Expressways Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional slide ...

: **

Chūgoku Expressway The (part of Asian Highway Network ) is an expressway in Japan, which extends from Suita, Osaka to Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. It connects Kansai and Chūgoku regions in western Honshu, Japan's main island. Other major cities along the expressway ...

***Mimasaka-Oiwake Parking Area - Ochiai Junction - Ochiai Interchange - Maniwa Parking Area ** Yonago Expressway ***Ochiai Junction *

National highways National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...

: ** Route 181 ** Route 313 * Prefectural roads: **Okayama Prefectural Route 30 (Ochiai- Takebe) **Okayama Prefectural Route 66 (Ochiai- Kamogawa) **Okayama Prefectural Route 84 ( Katsuyama-Kurihara) **Okayama Prefectural Route 204 ( Mimasaka-Ochiai Station) **Okayama Prefectural Route 329 (Nishibara- Kuse) **Okayama Prefectural Route 330 (Meki-Ōba) **Okayama Prefectural Route 332 (Kurihara- Ukan) **Okayama Prefectural Route 333 (Ueyama-Dando) **Okayama Prefectural Route 370 (Eyomi-Kamigōchi) **Okayama Prefectural Route 390 (Komi-

Tsukida Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Maniwa, Okayama, Maniwa, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Tsuboi Station is served by the Kishin Line, and is located 128.6 kilometers from ...

) **Okayama Prefectural Route 411 (Tarumi-Oiwake) * Roadside Station **Daigo no Sato

Notable places and events

* **A 1000+ year old cherry tree, named after the former Emperor Daigo, who commented upon the impressiveness of the tree when passing by on his way to exile in the

Oki Islands The is an archipelago in the Sea of Japan, the islands of which are administratively part of Oki District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The islands have a total area of . Only four of the around 180 islands are permanently inhabited. Much of the ...

External links

Official website of Maniwa
in Japanese

in Japanese Dissolved municipalities of Okayama Prefecture Maniwa {{Okayama-geo-stub