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 ...

in Mima District,

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

, on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

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 formed on March 1, 2005 as a result of the merger of the towns of Handa and Sadamitsu, and the village of Ichiu, all from Mima District. The area is 194.84 km² and the registered population, as of June 1, 2019, was 7,877 by a population density of 40.4 per km².

Geography

Tsurugi is located in the northwestern part of Tokushima Prefecture. The

Yoshino River The Yoshino River (吉野川 ''Yoshino-gawa'') is a river on the island of Shikoku, Japan. It is long and has a watershed of . It is the second longest river in Shikoku (slightly shorter than the Shimanto), and is the only river whose watershe ...

, Shikoku's second-longest, forms the northern border of Tsurugi. Two tributaries, the Sadamitsu River and the Handa River, form the town's two main valleys. Sadamitsu and Handa are located at the mouths of these two rivers, while Ichiu is located further up the Sadamitsu river. Most of the town's area is covered by steep mountains. Tsurugi is bordered by Mima to the north and east, Higashimiyoshi to the west, and Miyoshi to the south.

Education

*Sadamitsu Technical High School *Sadamitsu JHS *Handa JHS *Ichiu JHS (closed 2010) *Sadamitsu Elementary *Ota Elementary (Sadamitsu) *Handa Elementary *Yachiyo Elementary (Handa) *Komi Elementary (Ichiu)

Transportation

The

JR Shikoku The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has it ...

Tokushima Line The is a railway line in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). The Tokushima Line connects Sako Station in Tokushima and Tsukuda Station in Miyoshi from west to east in central Tokushima Pre ...

serves Tsurugi with two stations: Awa-Handa Station and Sadamitsu. Two

national highways of Japan Japan has a nationwide system of distinct from the expressways. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and other government agencies administer the national highways. Beginning in 1952, Japan classified these as Class 1 or ...

pass through the town: Routes 192 and

438 Year 438 (Roman numerals, CDXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, ye ...

Sightseeing

Sadamitsu

*Sadamitsu's main street is lined with Edo-era merchants' houses featuring ''udatsu'', an architectural feature that both prevented the spread of fires between buildings and served as a decorative symbol of the merchant's wealth and status. *Narutaki is a waterfall at the southern edge of Sadamitsu. Its upper falls is approximately 40 meters tall, and is followed by two smaller cascades of 25 and 20 meters.

Handa

*Handa is famous for its

sōmen , ''somyeon'' ( ko, 소면; 素麵), or ''sùmiàn'' () is a very thin noodle made of wheat flour, less than 1.3 mm in diameter. The noodles are used extensively in East Asian cuisines. Japanese ''sōmen'' is made by stretching the dough ...

noodles. "Handa Sōmen" has been a special product of the area for over 250 years, and several sōmen makers still operate today. *Ishido-yama (1636 m) and Yahazu-yama (1848 m), although located in Ichiu, are easily accessed via a trailhead at Oso Ishido Jinja, in Handa. Yahazu-yama provides panoramic views of the

Iya Valley The Iya Valley (祖谷 ''Iya'') region in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan is a scenic area known for its dramatic mountain valleys, thatched roof farmhouses and historic vine bridges. Although access has improved in recent years, the Iya Valley and ...

and prominent mountains such as

Mount Tsurugi Mount Tsurugi may refer to: * Mount Tsurugi (Hokkaido) (剣山), in Hokkaido, Japan * Mount Tsurugi (Tokushima) (剣山), in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan * Mount Tsurugi (Toyama) (剱岳), in Toyama Prefecture, Japan See also

* Tsurugisan (trai ...

, Jirogyu, and Miune.

Ichiu

*Ichiu is known as "The Land of Giant Trees," and is home to a number of large, old trees. "Akabane Taishi no Enoki" is the oldest hackberry tree in Japan at an estimated 800 years old; it has a circumference of 8.7 meters. Ichiu is also home to Shikoku's oldest horse chestnut and Japanese red pine. *Dogama is a series of pools, rapids and waterfalls formed as the Sadamitsu river flows through a

slot canyon A slot canyon is a long, narrow channel or drainageway with sheer rock walls that are typically eroded into either sandstone or other sedimentary rock. A slot canyon has depth-to-width ratios that typically exceed 10:1 over most of its length and ...

. It is notable for the deep blue-green color of its water.

Other areas

* Tsurugisan (trai ...

*Oku-Iya double vine bridges (kazura-bashi) *

References

External links

*
Tsurugi official website
{{Tokushima Towns in Tokushima Prefecture