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 ...

and a part of the

Aomori metropolitan area The , also known as the is a metropolitan region in the Japanese prefecture of Aomori that includes the city of Aomori and its surrounding satellites, Hiranai, Imabetsu, Sotogahama, and Yomogita. The metropolitan area is defined as the Aomori ...

. , the town had an estimated population of 5,429, and a population density of 25.4 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Sotogahama is in Higashitsugaru District of Aomori Prefecture, and consists of two discontinuous geographic areas in northern

Tsugaru Peninsula The is a peninsula in Aomori Prefecture, at the northern end of Honshū island, Japan. The peninsula projects north into the Tsugaru Strait separating Honshū from Hokkaidō. The western coast is on the Sea of Japan, while on its eastern coast ...

. The larger area is in the south, and consists of the former town of Kanita with a coastline on Mutsu Bay, and the former village of Tairadate in the centre of northern Tsugaru Peninsula. The smaller area is in the north, and consists of the former village of Minmaya with a coastline on the Tsugaru Strait. Much of the town is within the limits of the Tsugaru Quasi-National Park. Most of the settlements and arable land are located along the coastline, with about 89% of the total area of town as mountainous national forest.

Neighbouring municipalities

Aomori Prefecture * Goshogawara *

Imabetsu is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan and a part of the Aomori metropolitan area. , the town had an estimated population of 2,562 in 1414 households, and a population density of 20 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geogr ...

Nakadomari is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 10,779 in 5093 households, and a population density of 50 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Nakadomari is in Kitatsugaru Distric ...

Yomogita is a village located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan and a part of the Aomori metropolitan area. , the village had an estimated population of 2740 in 1147 households, and a population density of 34 persons per km2. The total area of the village is . ...

Climate

The town has a cold humid continental climate ( Köppen ''Cfb'') characterized by warm short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Sotogahama is 10.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1267 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.8 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Sotogahama has decreased by more than half over the past 60 years and is now considerably less than it was a century ago.

History

The Tsugaru Peninsula has been inhabited since

Japanese Paleolithic The is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC; although any date of human presence before 35,000 BC ...

times, and some of the world's oldest pottery has been discovered at the Odai Yamamoto I site. The area around Sotogahama was controlled by the Tsugaru clan of Hirosaki Domain during the Edo period. During the post- Meiji restoration establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889 Minmaya, Kanita and Tairadate villages were separated from

. On March 28, 2005, these three municipalities

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 form the new town of Sotogahama. Minmaya is a geographically discontinuous

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

from the town's center in Kanita.

Government

Sotogahama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town legislature of 11 members. Higashitsugaru District contributes one member to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of

Aomori 1st district Aomori 1st district (青森県第1区, ''Aomori-ken dai-ikku'' or simply 青森1区, ''Aomori-ikku'') is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan. It is located in Northern Aomori and covers the c ...

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

The economy of Sotogahama is heavily dependent on commercial fishing. Some of the locally caught seafood include sea urchin roe, sea pineapple,

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothuria ...

scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...

and

squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...

Education

Sotogahama has three public elementary schools and three public junior high schools operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

(JR East) - Tsugaru Line * , , JR logo (hokkaido)

Hokkaidō Railway Company The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a sm ...

(JR Hokkaido) -

Kaikyō Line The is an 87.8-kilometer long railway line operated mainly by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The line connects Naka-Oguni Station in Sotogahama, Aomori, through the Seikan Tunnel between Honshu and Hokkaido, to Kikonai Station in K ...

Highway

* *

Local attractions

Cape Tappi is a headland on the northwestern point of the island of Honshu in Japan. The name is believed to be derived from ''tampa'' which means "sword's edge" in the Ainu language. It is located on the northern tip of the Tsugaru Peninsula within the bor ...

, the northwestern tip of Honshu *

Tappizaki Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the outermost extremity of Cape Tappi, the northernmost point of Tsugaru Peninsula, Honshu, in Sotogahama, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is located within the Tsugaru Quasi-National Park and on clear days, Hokkaido can b ...

, one of the “50 Lighthouses of Japan” by the Japan Lighthouse Association.Japan Lighthouse Association home page
* Odai Yamamoto I site, National Historic Site

Noted people from Sotogahama

*Jackal Maruyama, boxer *Takuya Tazawa, nonfiction writer

References

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in Aomori Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Aomori metropolitan area