270px, Hiji Town Hall
270px, Hiji Castle ruins
is 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
Hayami District,
Ōita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,081,646 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, K ...
,
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 ...
. , 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 28,025 in 12811 households, 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 380 persons per km
2.
The total area of the town is .
Geography
Hiji is located in central Ōita Prefecture, at the southern tip of the
Kunisaki Peninsula
The Kunisaki Peninsula (国東半島, ''Kunisaki Hantō'') is a peninsula in northern Ōita Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan that juts out into the Seto Inland Sea. The peninsula is almost circular. There is Mount Futago ( 両子山, ''Futago-san'') in t ...
, about 25 kilometers north of the prefectural capital at Ōita City. It occupies the northern shore of
Beppu Bay
is an arm of the western end of the Seto Inland Sea of Japan.
Beppu Bay is located on the northeast coast of Kyushu in Ōita Prefecture. The city of Ōita, Ōita, Ōita lies on its southern coast and the city of Beppu, Ōita, Beppu at its west ...
.
Neighbouring municipalities
Ōita Prefecture
*
Beppu
270px, Beppu City Hall
is a city in Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. As of November 30, 2023, the city had a population of 113,045 in 62,702 households, and a population density of 900 persons per km2. The total area of the ci ...
*
Kitsuki
*
Usa
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 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
Climate
Hiji has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hiji is 16.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1623 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.6 °C.
Hiji climate: Average Temperature, weather by month
/ref>
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Hiji is as shown below
History
The area of Hiji was part of ancient Bungo Province
was a province of Japan in the area of eastern Kyūshū, corresponding to most of modern Ōita Prefecture, except what is now the cities of Nakatsu and Usa. Bungo bordered on Hyūga to the south, Higo and Chikugo to the west, and Chikuze ...
. During the Edo period
The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
it was mostly under control of Hiji Domain
270px, Kinoshita Toshimasa, final ''daimyō'' of Hiji Domain
270px, Stone walls of Hiji Castle
was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now central Ōita Prefecture. It was centered around Hiji Castle ...
and was ruled by the Kinoshita clan, relatives of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...
. The town of Hiji within Hayami District, Ōita
is a district located in Ōita Prefecture, Japan.
As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 35,462 and the density
Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symb ...
was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. on March 31, 1954 Hiji expanded through a merger with the town of Toyooka and villages of Ogami, Kawasaki, and Fujiwara in Hayami District.
Government
Hiji 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 consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
town council of 16 members. Hiji contributes one member to the Ōita Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Ōita 3rd district of the lower house
A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...
of the Diet of Japan
, transcription_name = ''Kokkai''
, legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet
, coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg
, house_type = Bicameral
, houses =
, foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...
.
Economy
The economy of Hiji has traditionally been centered on agriculture and commercial fishing, with flounder
Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuary, estuaries.
Taxonomy
The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related speci ...
from Beppu Bay a notable local speciality. The area has been designated as a new industrial urban development area in the Ōita area and as a technopolis in the northern Kunisaki area of the prefecture, and many companies are moving into the area. The population has increased significantly as a commuter town
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
for Ōita City and Beppu City.
Education
Hiji has five public elementary schools and two public junior high schools operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Ōita Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture operates one special education school for the handicapped.
Transportation
Railways
JR Kyushu
The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...
- Nippō Main Line
The is a railway line in Kyushu, in southern Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). Also known as the Fukuhoku Nippo Line, The line connects Kokura Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, K ...
* - - -
Highways
*
Ōita Expressway
is a Japanese expressway in Kyushu that travels from Tosu to Hiji, where it connects to the Higashikyushu Expressway. It runs through the southern half of Fukuoka Prefecture, and the northern half of Ōita Prefecture. The total length of Ōi ...
*
Higashikyushu Expressway
*
*
*
Places of interests
The town has a trappist
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...
monastery and is also the home of Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and manufactures products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and Fashion accessory, a ...
's Harmonyland theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
.
Noted people from Hiji
* Megumi Asaoka, singer, actress
References
External links
*
Town of Hiji
Towns in Ōita Prefecture
Populated coastal places in Japan
Hiji, Ōita
{{Oita-geo-stub