250px, Minakami hot spring Matsunoi 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

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 ...

. , 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 18,383 in 7938 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 24 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Much of the town is within the borders of

Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park is a national park in the Chūbu region of the main island of Honshū, Japan formed around several active and dormant volcanoes. It spans the mountainous areas of Gunma Prefecture, Gunma, Nagano Prefecture, Nagano, and Niigata Prefecture, Niiga ...

Geography

Located in northern Gunma, Minakami is bordered by

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

to the north. The town is very mountainous. * Mountains: Mount Mikuni (1636 m), Mount Sennokura (2026 m), Mount Ōmine,

Mount Tanigawa is a mountain on the border of Gunma Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture in Japan. It is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan. Routes The mountain trail leading to the summit of Mount Tanigawa from four directions: north, south, east and ...

(1977 m), Asahidake (1945 m), Mount Hiragatake (2141 m) * Rivers:

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano River) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the ...

, Akatani River * Lakes: Lake Okutone, Lake Naramata, Lake Fujiwara, Lake Dogen * Dams: Yagisawa Dam, Naramata Dam, Fujiwara Dam, Aimata Dam, Sudagai Dam, Takatsudo Dam

Surrounding municipalities

* Katashina * Kawaba * Nakanojō * Numata

Minamiuonuma is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 55,354 with 20,047 households, and a population density of 96.1 persons per km2. Its total area was . Geography Minamiuonuma is situated in a valley in a ...

* Uonuma * Yuzawa

Climate

Minakami has a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(Köppen ''Dfa'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Minakami is 6.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1864 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 18.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around -5.2 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Minakami has declined steadily over the past 60 years.

History

The

Mikuni Kaidō was an ancient highway in Japan that stretched from Takasaki-juku (present day Gunma Prefecture) on the Nakasendō to Teradomari-juku (present day Niigata Prefecture) on the Hokurikudō. History The separated the Kantō region from Echigo Provin ...

connecting

Takasaki is a Cities of Japan, city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as th ...

with Niigata from the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

onwards passed through area of present-day Minakami, with nine post stations. The area was contested between the competing Uesugi,

Takeda is a Japanese name, Japanese family name.1990 Census Name Files