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 Kitagunma District,

Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...

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 3,920 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 175.63 persons per km². The total area was 22.32 km². On February 20, 2006, Ikaho, along with the villages of Komochi and Onogami (all in Kitagunma District), and the villages of Akagi and Kitatachibana (both in Seta District), was merged into the expanded city of Shibukawa. Situated on the slopes of

Mount Haruna is a dormant stratovolcano in Gunma Prefecture, in the Kantō region of eastern Honshū, Japan. Outline Mount Haruna started to form more than 300,000 years ago and the last known eruption was 550 AD. The volcano has a summit caldera contai ...

, an extinct volcano, Ikaho is well known for its hot springs. Ikaho is 2.5 hours from Shinjuku by express bus, and can be easily enjoyed on a day trip from Tokyo

Onsen (Hot springs)

Ikaho Onsen is one of Gunma's 4 large onsen. This makes it one of the main

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

locations in Japan. The onsen locations are usually open during weekdays, from 09:00 AM to 06:00 PM Ikaho Onsen has been called Kogane-no-Yu (The Golden Waters), but the waters used to be clear and colorless. However, due to the iron content, they turned dark brown when in contact with the air. They are also known as Kodakara-no-Yu (Child Waters) since they tend to be mild, warm the body from inside and are popular with women.

History

* 1889 - Ikaho town is created in Nishigunma District by the uniting of the villages of Ikaho, Mizusawa, and Yunakako. * 1896 - Nishigunma District merges with Kataoka District and is renamed Gunma District. * 1949 - Kitagunma District, including Ikaho town, separates from Gunma District. * 1997 -

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

becomes a sister city. * February 20, 2006 - Ikaho, along with the villages of Komochi and Onogami (all from Kitagunma District), and the villages of Akagi and Kitatachibana (both from Seta District), was merged into the expanded city of Shibukawa.

Notable places

* Ikaho Hot Springs * Mizusawa temple * Yumeji Takehisa Memorial Museum * Roka Tokutomi Memorial Literature Museum * Art Museum

In popular media

* The town of Ikaho serves as the location for the setting of the sports manga series ''

Initial D is a Japanese street racing manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno. It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1995 to 2013, with the chapters collected into 48 volumes. The ...

.'' * A village modelled after Ikaho is also a location of the manga and anime ''

Dandadan , also script displayed as ''Dan Da Dan'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yukinobu Tatsu. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''Shōnen Jump+'' app and website since April 2021, with its chapters collected in 19 volu ...

.''

References

External links

Ikaho Official Site 2007

Shibukawa Official Site
Dissolved municipalities of Gunma Prefecture Shibukawa, Gunma {{gunma-geo-stub