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 ...

in Nishimuro District,

Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture ...

, Japan. , 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 20,704 in 11024 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 100 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Shirahama is located on the Pacific coast of the

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. Overview The area south of the “ Central Tectonic Line” is called , and is home to reef-like coral communities which are among ...

in the southwestern part of Wakayama prefecture. Many

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

can be found here, most notably Nanki-Shirahama Onsen.

Neighboring municipalities

Wakayama Prefecture * Tanabe * Kozagawa * Kamitonda * Susami

Climate

Shirahama has a

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 ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Shirahama 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 . The area is subject to

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

s in summer.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Shirahama population statistics
/ref> the population of Shirahama has decreased steadily over the past 50 years.

History

The area of the modern city of Shirahama was within ancient

Kii Province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...

. The hot springs in this area have been used since ancient times and are mentioned on several occasions in the '' Nihon Shoki'' and throughout the pre-modern period. The seaside of Shirahama was famous for its white quartz sands, which had also been celebrated in poetry as a ''

makurakotoba are figures of speech used in Japanese poetry in association with certain words. The set phrase can be thought of as a "pillow" for the noun or verb it describes, although the actual etymology is not fully known. It can also describe association ...

'' for "whiteness". These sands were exploited commercially for their high silica content for use in glass production and were also exported. The village of was established with the creation of then modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. From 1919, local volunteers began developing the seaside area in competition to the older springs in the mountains and efforts to drill for a hot spring source were successful by 1922. A local commercial shipping company, the Shirahama Onsen Motor Co., Ltd. began promotion of the area as a resort. This received a boost by a visit of

Emperor Showa Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

in 1929. The village was promoted to town status on March 1, 1940. The neighboring village of Minami-Tonda was annexed on March 15, 1955 and Nishi-Tonda on July 1, 1958. On March 1, 2006 the town of Hikigawa, from Nishimuro District, was merged into Shirahama.

Government

Shirahama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

town council of 14 members. Shirahama, collectively with the other municipalities in Nishimuro District, contributes three members to the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of

Wakayama 3rd district Wakayama 3rd district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan (national legislature). It is located in Wakayama Prefecture and consists of Arida, Gobo, Shingu, and Tanabe cities and the Arida, Hidaka, Higashimu ...

of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

Economy

Shirahama is primarily a resort town. After World War II, the area was promoted as a honeymoon resort and as a destination for group tourism from them 1960s. The opening of Nanki Shirahama Adventure World in the 1990s have gradually changed the focus of the resort towards families. Aside from tourism,

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

and the raising of hothouse flowers are also contributors to the local economy.

Education

Shirahama has ten public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the town government and one public high school operated by the Wakayama Prefectural Department of Education.

Transportation

Railway

JR West , 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 ...

–

Kisei Main Line The is a railway line that parallels the coastline of the Kii Peninsula in Japan between Mie Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture. The name takes the ''kanji'' characters from the names of the old provinces of and . The line is operated by Ce ...

* - - -

Highway

Kisei Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. Naming The name is a kanji acronym consisting of characters found in the former names of the provinces linked by the expressway. consists ...

Airport

* Nanki-Shirahama Airport

Local attractions

File:NankiShirahamaAdventureWorld.JPG, Shirarahama Adventure World theme park *

Adventure World (Japan) Adventure World ( ja: 白浜アドベンチャーワールド, ''Shirahama Adventure World'') is a theme park that integrates a zoo, a public aquarium, and an amusement park in the town on Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by ...

, a mega theme park with a safari park, aquarium and amusement park combined in one facility. ( :ja:アドベンチャーワールド) *

Kumano Kodo literally means 'Bear Field'. It is a name adopted by various places in Japan. * Kumano Shrine * Kumano Shrines Grand Shrines * Kumano Kodō, ancient pilgrimage routes * Kumano Region * Kumano River * Kumano, Mie, a city in Mie Prefecture * Ja ...

: an ancient pilgrimage route across the

linking several large shrines. *: Cliffs along on the ocean edge that are 50 meters high. It is said that pirates (kumano suigun) used to inhabit the caverns; the remains of their dwellings can be seen. *: A rocky point near Shirahama beach. *Minakata Kumagusu Museum, which houses much of scientist

Minakata Kumagusu was a Japanese author, biologist, naturalist and ethnologist. Biography Minakata was born in Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. In 1883, he moved to Tokyo, where he entered the preparatory school '' Kyōryū Gakkō''. The headmaster of ...

's books, specimens, and memorabilia. * Engetsu-tō: A

natural arch A natural arch, natural bridge, or (less commonly) rock arch is a natural landform where an arch has formed with an opening underneath. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs, coastal cliffs, fins or stacks are subject to erosion f ...

just off the coast

White-sand beach

One of Shirahama’s main attractions is its crescent-shaped white-sand beach; “Shirahama” means “white beach” or “white bay”. In the 1960s, when Shirahama was connected by rail to Osaka, the city became a popular tourist destination, and blocky white hotel towers were erected along the coastal road. The increased development accelerated erosion, and the famous sand began to wash into the sea. Worried that the town of White Beach would lose its white beach, according to a city official, Wakayama Prefecture began in 1989 to import sand from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, 4,700 miles away. 745,000 cubic meters was imported over 15 years.

Sister cities

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, United States (Goodwill Beach City Relationship) *

Gwacheon Gwacheon () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies close to Seoul in the heart of the Seoul National Capital Area, and also lies just east of Anyang, Gyeonggi, Anyang. Seoul Subway Line 4 passe ...

, South Korea

Notable people

Kazuhiro Mizoguchi is a Japanese former javelin thrower. He set the world best year performance in 1989, throwing 87.60 metres at a meet in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cu ...

, former

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Shirahama, Wakayama Towns in Wakayama Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan