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 ori ...

located in Minami-Matsuura District,

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 Square kilometre, km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders ...

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 ...

. The town was established on August 1, 2004 after the merger of the towns of Arikawa, Kamigotō, Narao, Shin-Uonome and Wakamatsu, all from Minami-Matsuura District. It occupies the two main islands of

Nakadōri is a region comprising the middle third of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It is sandwiched between the regions of Aizu to the west and Hamadōri to the east. The principal cities of the area are Kōriyama and the prefecture's capital, Fukushima ...

and Wakamatsu, which are connected by Wakamatsu Oohashi ("Wakamatsu Great Bridge") via the small, unpopulated islet of Kaminakajima (上中島), as well as several smaller islands, including the populated islands of Arifuku, Hinoshima, Ryōzegaura, Kashiragashima, and Kirinoko. Wakamatsu Island is connected at its northwestern extremity to Ryōzegaura Island by the Ryōzegaura Bridge, and Ryōzegaura Island is further linked with the islands of Arifuku and Hinoshima by breakwaters that allow traffic of automobiles. Kashiragashima Oohashi connects the eastern end of the main island of Nakadōri with Kashiragashima, on which the famous Kashiragashima Church and the defunct Kamigotō Airport are located. The islands that comprise the territory of Shin-Kamigotō Town also form the northeastern half of the

Gotō Islands The are Japanese islands in the East China Sea, off the western coast of Kyūshū. They are part of Nagasaki Prefecture. Geography There are 140 islands, including five main ones: , , , , and . The group of islands runs approximately fr ...

archipelago, which is the origin of the name Kamigotō (literally, "Upper Five Islands"), in which ''Gotō'' ("Five Islands") is the name of the entire archipelago, and ''Kami-'' ("Upper") refers to the fact that this half of the archipelago is located closer to the Japanese capital relative to the southwestern half. The prefix ''Shin-'' (新) at the beginning of the town's name means "new," so its full name may be translated literally to English as "New Upper Five Islands Town," though the name may be interpreted to refer to the town as a new and expanded version of the former Kamigotō Town, which was centered on the port of Aokata on the western side of the middle of Nakadōri Island. As of March 31, 2017, the town has 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 19,866 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 93 persons per km². The total area is 213.98 km².

Geography

Climate

Shin-Kamigotō has the typical

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfa'') of Kyūshū, characterized by mild winters and long, hot, and humid summers. The average annual temperature in Shin-Kamigotō is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . Its record high is , reached on 21 August 2013, and its record low is , reached on 23 January 1981.

Population

Changes in Population

File:Aosagaura_Church.JPG, Aosagaura Church File:Kamigoto_Oil_Storage_Company_Oil_Tank.JPG, Oil Storage Company File:Whale bone shrine Arikawa Shinkamigoto.JPG, Whale Bone Shrine File:Hifumi Waterfall Shinkamigoto.JPG, Hifumi Waterfall File:Yagatame Sunset Shinkamigoto.JPG, Yagatame Park File:View of Koenoura Bay Shinkamigoto.JPG, View of Koenoura Bay File:Great Tree of Akou Shinkamigoto.JPG, Great Tree of Akou File:Great Wakamatsu Bridge Shinkamigoto.jpg, Wakamatsu Great Bridge File:Wakamatsu_Oohashi.JPG, Wakamatsu Strait & Great Bridge from Ryūkanzan

References

External links

*
Shinkamigotō official website

English Tourist Information Website
Towns in Nagasaki Prefecture Populated places established in 2004 2004 establishments in Japan {{Nagasaki-geo-stub