270px, Panorama of Kamiichi 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 Nakaniikawa District,

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 993,848 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

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 20,827 in 7958 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 88 persons per km². The total area of the town was .

Geography

Kamiichi is located in east-central Toyama Prefecture, approximately 15 kilometers to the east of the capital of Toyama city. Most of the town is very mountainous, with peaks rising to almost 3000 meters in the southeast. The 2999 meter Mount Tsurugi is located in Kamiichi.

Surrounding municipalities

*Toyama Prefecture **

Kurobe is a city in Toyama Prefecture, in the Chūbu region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 41,564 in 15,387 households and a population density of 95.8 persons per km2. Its total area was . Geography Kurobe is located in northeaste ...

** Namerikawa **

Toyama Toyama may refer to: Places * Toyama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on the main Honshu island * Toyama (city), the capital city of Toyama Prefecture * Toyama Station, the main station of Toyama, Toyama * Toyama Sta ...

** Uozu

Climate

The town 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 Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cfa'') characterized by hot summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kamiichi is 13.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2243 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kamiichi has decreased slightly over the past 40 years.

History

The area of present-day Kamiichi was part of ancient

Etchū Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today Toyama Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Etchū bordered on Noto and Kaga Provinces to the west, Shinano and Hida Provinces to the south, Echigo Province to the east and the Sea o ...

. The town of Kamiichi was created with the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889.

Education

Kamiichi has six public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Toyama Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

* 18px

Toyama Chihō Railway Main Line The is a Japanese railway line that connects Dentetsu-Toyama Station in Toyama, Toyama with Unazuki Onsen Station in Kurobe, Toyama. It is owned and run by Toyama Chihō Railway The is a transportation company in Toyama, Toyama, Toyam ...

** - - -

Highway

Local attractions

* Ōiwa-san Nisseki-ji, Buddhist temple with

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

bas-relief carvings; a National Historic Site * Kamiichi Kurokawa Sites, a number of

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

s with

Heian The Japanese word Heian (平安, lit. "peace") may refer to: * Heian period, an era of Japanese history * Heian-kyō, the Heian-period capital of Japan that has become the present-day city of Kyoto * Heian series, a group of karate kata (forms) * ...

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

ruins registered as a National Historic Site. *A traditional Japanese house that was used as a model for the house in the film ''

Wolf Children is a 2012 Japanese animated fantasy drama film directed and co-written by Mamoru Hosoda. The second original feature film directed by Hosoda and the first work written by him, the film stars the voices of Aoi Miyazaki, Takao Osawa, and H ...

'' (directed by Kamiichi native Mamoru Hosoda).

In popular culture

Much of the 2012 film ''

'' is set in Kamiichi.

Notable people from Kamiichi

Mamoru Hosoda is a Japanese film director and animator. He is known for the short films that made up '' Digimon: The Movie'' (2000), '' The Girl Who Leapt Through Time'' (2006) and '' Summer Wars'' (2009). He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category ...

, director

References

External links

* * Towns in Toyama Prefecture {{Toyama-geo-stub