Shin'asahi, Shiga

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 Takashima District,

Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...

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 11,188 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 340.68 persons per km². The total area was 32.84 km². On January 1, 2005, Shin'asahi, along with the towns of Takashima, Adogawa, Imazu and

Makino History Makino was established in 1937 by Tsunezo Makino in Japan, developing Japan's first numerical control, numerically controlled (NC) milling machine in 1958 and Japan's first milling machine, machining centre in 1966. The North America ...

, and the village of Kutsuki (all from Takashima District), was merged to create the city of Takashima. "Shin'asahi" means "new sunrise" which derives from its western position on

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th ol ...

. Shin'asahi has a stop on the JR

Kosei Line The is a commuter rail line in Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line was completed in 1974 by the former Japanese National Railways (JNR) to provide faster access from the Kansai region t ...

Shin-Asahi Station. Shin'asahi is famous for it natural clear water that are taken from natural sources close to the town. There is at least one sake brewery in town which takes advantage of the availability of the water. The area of Lake Biwa is fantastic for its natural surroundings. It has monkeys, bears and giant bamboo. Don't be surprised to see children walking to school wearing bear bells, even though bear attacks are much rarer than in other parts of the world. Water sports including swimming and windsurfing are activities during the summer. Winter activities include snowboarding in the nearby mountains. Dissolved municipalities of Shiga Prefecture Takashima, Shiga {{Shiga-geo-stub