is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in Nagano Prefecture,

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 n ...

. , the city 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 27,559 in 11861 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 49 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Ōmachi is located west of Nagano, the capital of Nagano Prefecture, in the of the prefecture. The 3000 meter Northern Japanese Alps (or Hida Mountains) are to the west ranges to the west of the city and mountains of around 1000 meters form the eastern border. The Takase River runs through the city, which is located in the northern Matsumoto basin. The Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line active fault system is also running through the city. *Mountains:

Mount Yari is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. The peak lies in the southern part of the Hida Mountains (Northern Alps) of Japan, on the border of Ōmachi and Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture and Takayama in Gifu Prefecture. The priest Banryū ...

gatake, , , , , , , , , , , *Rivers: Takase River *Lakes and marshes: (, , )

Surrounding municipalities

*Nagano Prefecture **

Matsumoto Matsumoto (松本 or 松元, "base of the pine tree") may refer to: Places * Matsumoto, Nagano (松本市), a city ** Matsumoto Airport, an airport southwest of Matsumoto, Nagano * Matsumoto, Kagoshima (松元町), a former town now part of the c ...

** Nagano **

Azumino is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 97,761 in 39744 households. and a population density of 290 persons per km2. Its total area is . Etymology of Azumino Azumino is a combination of two ...

** Matsukawa ** Ikeda ** Hakuba ** Ikusaka **

Ogawa Ogawa (written: lit. "small river" or in hiragana) is the 30th most common Japanese surname. Less common variants are (also "small river") or ("tail river"). Notable people with the surname include: *, American poet *, Japanese footballer * ...

* Toyama Prefecture ** Toyama ** Tateyama **

Kurobe is a city in Toyama Prefecture, in the Chūbu region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 41,564 in 15,387 households and a population density of 95.8 persons per km². Its total area was . Geography Kurobe is located in northeas ...

* Gifu Prefecture ** Takayama

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōmachi has been declining over the past 40 years.

Climate

Due to its elevation, the city has a

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Dfa'' climate. Winters are cold and very snowy, while summers are very warm and wet. The average annual temperature in Ōmachi is 12.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1140 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 21.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around -4.5 °C.Ōmachi climate data
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History

The area of present-day Ōmachi was part of ancient Shinano Province. The area was part of the holdings of Matsumoto Domain during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

. The modern town of Ōmachi was established with the creation of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It merged with the neighboring villages of Taira, Tokiwa and Yashiro on July 1, 1954 to form the city of Ōmachi. On January 1, 2006, the villages of Miasa and Yasaka (both from Kitaazumi District) were merged into Ōmachi.

Government

Ōmachi 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 multi ...

city legislature of 16 members. The city contributes one member to the Nagano Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, Ōmachi is grouped with

, Higashichikuma District, Nagano, Kitaazumi District, Nagano, Kamiminochi District, Nagano and part of the city of Nagano to form Nagano 2nd District in the lower house of the National Diet.

Economy

Ōmachi is a regional commercial center and a producer of aluminum, cotton thread and rice. Seasonal tourism to the mountains is also an important source of local income.

Education

Ōmachi has five public elementary schools, three public middle schools and one combined elementary/middle school operated by the city government. There are two public high schools operated by the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education.

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 ar ...

- Ōito Line ** - - - - - - - - - * Kansai Electric Power Company ** Kanden Tunnel Trolleybus

Highway

* * * *

International relations

* - Innsbruck,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, since November 20, 1972 * - Mendocino, California, United States since May 1980

Local attractions

* Nishina Shinmei Shrine, a National Treasure * Ōmachi Aloine Museum * Ōmachi Dam * Shin-Takasegawa Pumped Storage Station

References

External links

Official Website

Ōmachi City Tourism Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omachi, Nagano Cities in Nagano Prefecture