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 ...

located in Tōhaku District,

Tottori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the least populous prefecture of Japan at 570,569 (2016) and has a geographic area of . Tottori Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to the west, Hiro ...

, Japan. It is also home to the official treasure of

Sanbutsu-ji is a Buddhist temple in the town of Misasa, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. The of Sanbutsu-ji, built in the Heian period is designated a National Treasure of Japan. By tradition Sanbutsu-ji was founded by the Buddhist ascetic and mystic of t ...

, the

Misasa Onsen is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Tōhaku District, Tottori, Tōhaku District, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. It is also home to the official treasure of Sanbutsu-ji, the Misasa Onsen, and Okayama Hospital. The name "Misasa" (literally "t ...

, and Okayama Hospital. The name "Misasa" (literally "three mornings") originates from the belief that one who stays to enjoy three mornings in the town's famous hot springs will find all of his ailments cured. As of June 1, 2016, the town has 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 6,407 and a

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 27.4 persons per km². The total area is 233.46 km². Misasa is for the most part a spa resort, boasting springs of

radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rathe ...

-rich water, exhausting

radon Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colourless, odourless, tasteless noble gas. It occurs naturally in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the normal radioactive decay chains through ...

, a

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...

gas. Locals believe that bathing one in such waters can be good for one's health, although there is no scientific consensus on whether doing so is detrimental or helpful to one's health (see

Radiation hormesis Radiation hormesis is the hypothesis that low doses of ionizing radiation (within the region of and just above natural background levels) are beneficial, stimulating the activation of repair mechanisms that protect against disease, that are not ...

). For this reason, the town of Misasa organizes a yearly

Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

festival – Marie Curie discovered radium. The film ''

Koitanibashi is a 2011 Japanese film directed by Kōichi Gotō. Cast * Takako Uehara * Kensei Mikami is a Japanese actor. After being active as a fashion model in Japan, he went to New York at the age of 18. After returning home, he started work as an ...

'' was shot in Misasa.

Education

Primary schools

* Nishi Elementary School * Higashi Elementary School * Minami Elementary School

Junior high schools

* Misasa Junior High School

Universities

* Institute for Planetary Materials,

Okayama University is a national university in Japan. The main campus is located in Tsushima-Naka, Okayama, Okayama Prefecture. The school was founded in 1870 and it was established as a university in 1949. History Okayama University was originally founded as t ...

Neighboring municipalities

** Tottori ** Kurayoshi **

Yurihama is a town located in Tōhaku District, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. As of October 31, 2019, the town had an estimated population of 16,837 and a density of 216 persons per km2. The total area is 77.95 km2. Yurihama was created on October 1, ...

* Okayama Prefecture ** Kagamino ** Maniwa

Places of note

: A radium-rich hot spring. * Oshika Valley : It is named a special location, or "meishou" (名所) by the government, and is about 4 km long. *

: A temple located on a cliff on the north face of

Mount Mitoku , is a mountain located in Misasa, Tottori, Misasa, Tottori Prefecture. Mount Mitoku has an Topographical summit, elevation of . Mount Mitoku was known from ancient times as a place of both religious significance and scenic beauty. The mountain is ...

, it is designated as one of the National Treasures of Japan.

Twin towns

Misasa is town twinning, twinned with: * Lamalou-les-Bains, France, since 1990 * Jōyō, Kyoto, Japan, since 2012

References

External links

Official town website

Official town website
{{Authority control Towns in Tottori Prefecture Tōhaku District, Tottori