was 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 Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It is now part of the city of Isa. The city was founded on April 1, 1954. As of 2008, 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 using a ...

of 21,643 and the

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 78.02 persons per km². The total area was 291.88 km². On November 1, 2008, Ōkuchi was merged with the town of Hishikari (from Isa District) to create the city of Isa. Isa District was dissolved as a result of this merger. Ōkuchi was the northernmost city on the mainland part of Kagoshima Prefecture. Only the Nagashima island of Nagashima city extends further north. Ōkuchi is a mountainous area that borders on

Kumamoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to the northeast, M ...

and

Miyazaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders ...

. Part of the southern border of the city is the Sendai River and the artificial lake formed from the Tsuruta dam. It is the only city in Kagoshima Prefecture that is not bordered by the sea. At one time, Ōkuchi was a prosperous city but has declined for several reasons in recent years. First, there has been a decline in forestry and agriculture in the area, but the aging Japanese population and the flight to larger cities have also been significant factors. For these reasons two

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...

railway lines that served Ōkuchi were discontinued in the 1987 and 1988. They were the Yamano line that went from Minamata to Kurino and the Miyajo line that went from Sendai to Ōkuchi.

Neighboring municipalities

Cities: Izumi, Hitoyoshi (Kumamoto), Minamata (Kumamoto), Ebino (Miyazaki) Districts: Satsuma District, Isa District, Kuma District (Kumamoto).

Transportation

Railways

Shin-Minamata Station is a railway station in Minamata, Kumamoto, Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). The station building was designed by Makoto Sei Watanabe and opened on 13 March 2004. Lines * Kyushu Railway Company **Kyūshū Shinkansen *H ...

on the

Kyushu Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed railway network. It is an extension of the San'yō Shinkansen from Honshu connecting the city of Fukuoka (Hakata Station) in the north of Japan's Kyushu Island to the city of Kagoshima ( Kagoshima-Chuo St ...

is 35 km northwest (operated by Kyushu Railway Company)

Highways

* National Highway 267 * National Highway 268 * National Highway 447 * Kyushu Expressway Hitoyoshi Interchange is 30 km northeast and Kurino Interchange is 20 km southeast of Ōkuchi

Bus

*Nangoku Kotsu Bus

Airport

Kagoshima Airport is an airport located in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, northeast of Kagoshima-Chūō StationAIS Japan
in ...

in Kirishima (35 km SSE of Ōkuchi)

Sister cities

Ōkuchi has two

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

: * Nishinoomote, Japan * Namhae,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

References

External links

Isa official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okuchi, Kagoshima Dissolved municipalities of Kagoshima Prefecture