The Famous Scenes of the Sixty States 54 Awaji

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 ...

in the Tsuna District,

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

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 ...

, located on the central-western coast of Awaji Island, facing the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Ba ...

, in the

Kansai region The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropol ...

of southern

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

. In February 2006, it was merged into the city of Sumoto.

Geography and location

Goshiki was a

in the Tsuna District,

. Located on the central-western coast of Awaji Island, facing the

, in the

of southern

. On 11 February 2006, Goshiki was merged into the expanded city of Sumoto. Goshiki covered the western third of Sumoto and consists of five village: Tsushi and Torikai on the coast and Aihara, Hiroishi, and Sakai inland. For tourists, Goshiki is notable for its

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

es and coastal

campground Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

Transport

Goshiki's public transportation was relatively limited, particularly outside the coastal village of Tsushi. Tsushi enjoyed direct highway

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

connections to and from

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, providing a convenient link to the mainland. However, these buses bypassed Goshiki's inland villages, which were instead connected by three infrequent local bus routes. The Tsushi Route linked Sumoto with Aihara and Tsushi, occasionally continuing to Torikai and Minato in neighboring

Minamiawaji is a Cities of Japan, city in the southern part of Awaji Island in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 45,489 in 19856 households, and a population density of 200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . ...

. The Torikai Route connected

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its '' kofun'', keyhole-shaped burial mounds dating from the fifth century. The ''kofun ...

and Torikai with Sumoto and Minato, while the Hiroishi Route served Hiroishi and Aihara with a connection to Tsuna further north. Reaching more remote sites such as the Shirasu Castle Ruins often required a combination of bus travel and

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

. The town's

road network A street network is a system of interconnecting lines and points (called ''edges'' and ''nodes'' in network science) that represent a system of streets or roads for a given area. A street network provides the foundation for network analysis; for e ...

played a more significant role in local transport. Two main north–south routes passed through Goshiki: Route 31, which ran along the coast and was relatively flat, and Route 66, which traversed the hillier inland areas between Tsuna and Minamiawaji. East-west travel was supported by Routes 46 and 472, which linked Tsushi and Torikai with Sumoto, although these roads could be narrow and winding. Despite its

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

setting, Goshiki was considered a favorable location for budget-conscious travelers and

cyclists Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world for pur ...

exploring Awaji Island.

Demographics

As of the 2020

Japanese census This is a list of national population and housing censuses. Census advisory The United Nations recommends a census enumeration at least once every ten years, and once every five years for even better data, rather than simply relying on estim ...

conducted by the Statistics Bureau of Japan, Goshiki had a

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 8,602 people, divided into 4,115 males and 4,487 females.

International relations

Goshiki became a

sister city 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 inte ...

with Van Wert,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in February 1996. The two cities remained sister cities also after Goshiki merger into Sumoto in 2006. Five years later, Goshiki became a sister city with

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in July 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goshiki, Hyogo Dissolved municipalities of Hyōgo Prefecture Sumoto, Hyōgo