was a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in Yamamoto District,

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is estimated 915,691 as of 1 August 2023 and its geographi ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. As of 2003, the town had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 11,421 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

of 62.96 persons per km². The total area was 181.40 km². While Futatsui is the name of the settlement at the center of town, Futatsui actually consists of a collection of several villages at its outskirts. To the north is Taneume, to the east Tenjin, to the south is Nibuna and Tashiro, and to the west is Kirishi and Tomine. Futatsui is famous for having the tallest virgin cedar tree in Japan, as well as a hill, Kimimachi-zaka—named by the Emperor when he came to visit the town. Kimimachi-zaka is especially well known for its autumn leaves, and the park that covers the hill is extensive and well maintained. The town has several small Shinto shrines, one of which, at the center of town, holds the heaviest portable shrine in the area. Locals carry this shrine across town on

Children's Day Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honour of children, whose date of observance varies by country. In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Sin ...

(May 5) as a climax to Golden Week. To the east, near the Route 7 overpass is the town's Buddhist temple. The temple was transported on top of a hill to make way for Route 7, as was the graveyard. Among its less savory attractions is the so-dubbed 'Million Dollar Toilet,' an unofficial tribute to pork barrel spending just off of Route 7 on the east side town. On the eastern border of Futatsui is Yakushi, a hill that sports a large Sugichi-kun in summer and autumn, and operates as a small ski area in winter. It is one of few ski areas in northern Akita that offers night skiing. On March 21, 2006, Futatsui was merged into the expanded city of Noshiro.

References

External links

Noshiro official website
Dissolved municipalities of Akita Prefecture Noshiro, Akita {{Akita-geo-stub