Shimoda, Aomori

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 Kamikita District in central

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 east, ...

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 ...

. On March 1, 2006 Shimoda, along with the neighboring town of Momoishi (also from Kamikita District), was

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

to create the town of

Oirase is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 25,149, and a population density of 350 persons per km², in 10,423 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Oirase is located on the eastern c ...

, and thus it no longer exists as an independent municipality. Shimoda Village was founded on April 1, 1889. On August 1, 1969 it was elevated to town status. Located inland in central Aomori Prefecture and along the

Oirase River The is a river located in eastern Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. __NOTOC__ The Oirase River is the only river that drains Lake Towada, a large caldera lake that lies on the border of Aomori and Akita Prefectures. Th ...

, the town had an agriculture-based economy based on the production of rice, carrots, and Japanese yams. The town also served as a

bed town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for nearby Misawa. The former town also continues to host

AEON Group is a group of retail and financial services companies based in Chiba, Japan, which is centered on ÆON Co., Ltd. It has sister companies in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. The group also trades ...

and

Jusco is the acronym for Japan United Stores Company, a chain of "general merchandise stores" (or hypermarket) and the largest of its type in Japan. The various JUSCO companies are subsidiaries of the ÆON supermarket chain. The JUSCO name was adopte ...

and large-scale

shopping center A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

s, expanding the town's commercial base. At the time of its merger, 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 14,282 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 283 persons per km². The total area was 50.44 km². Shimoda was served by the

National Route 45 The following highways are numbered 45: International * Asian Highway 45 * European route E45 * AH45A, Asian Highway 45A Burma * National Road 45 (Burma) Canada * Alberta Highway 45 * Manitoba Highway 45 * Ontario Highway 45 * Saskatchew ...

highway, and by

Shimoda Station is a railway station on the Aoimori Railway Line in the town of Oirase in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, operated by the third sector railway operator Aoimori Railway Company. Lines Shimoda Station is served by the Aoimori Railway Line, and is 37 ...

and

Mukaiyama Station is a railway station on the Aoimori Railway Line in the town of Oirase in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, operated by the third sector railway operator Aoimori Railway Company. Lines Mukaiyama Station is served by the Aoimori Railway Line, and is 79 ...

on the

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukush ...

railway. Dissolved municipalities of Aomori Prefecture {{aomori-geo-stub