290px, Minamiogun Town Hall 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 Aso District,

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture t ...

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 3,831 in 1870 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 33 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Minamiogun is located in a plateau area at an altitude of 430 to 945 meters outside the northern outer rim of

Mount Aso or Aso Volcano is the largest active volcano in Japan and among the largest in the world. Common use relates often only to the somma volcano in the centre of Aso Caldera. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the i ...

. To the east, it overlooks Mount Kuju in Oita Prefecture, the highest peak on the Kyushu mainland, and is also the source of the

Chikugo River The flows through Kumamoto, Ōita, Fukuoka and Saga prefectures in Japan. With a total length of , it is the longest river on Kyūshū. It flows from Mount Aso and empties into the Ariake Sea. It is also nicknamed "Tsukushi Jirō". The upp ...

, Kyushu's largest river. Parts of the town are within the borders of the Aso-Kuju National Park.

Neighboring municipalities

Kumamoto Prefecture * Aso * Oguni * Ubuyama

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 ...

* Hita * Kokonoe * Taketa

Climate

Minamioguni 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 climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa'') with hot, humid summers and cool winters. There is significant precipitation throughout the year, especially during June and July. The average annual temperature in Minamioguni is . The average annual rainfall is with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Minamioguni was on 19 August 2020; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 10 February 1984.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Minamioguni in 2020 is 3,750 people. Minamioguni has been conducting censuses since 1920.

History

The area of Oguni was part of ancient

Higo Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. It was sometimes called , with Hizen Province. Higo bordered on Chikugo, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Provinces. History The cas ...

, 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 part of the holdings of

Kumamoto Domain The , which was in existence from 1600 to 1871, had a significant influence in the region. Initially, it controlled its vast territory of 520,000 koku, which later expanded to 540,000 koku after the division of the 8th generation territory and the e ...

. After the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, the village of Minamioguni was established.Minamioguni was raised to town status on November 1, 1969.

Government

Minamioguni 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 12 members. Minamioguni, collectively with the other municipalities of Aso District contributes one member to the Kumamoto Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Kumamoto 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 main economic activities in Minamioguni are agriculture (rice, highland vegetables, livestock), forestry (Oguni cedar and cypress), and tourism (hot springs, outdoor activities).

Education

Minamiguni has three public elementary schools and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railways

The town does not have any passenger railway service. Aso Station on the

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 ...

Hōhi Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, southern Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects the west and east coasts of the island. The line originates at Kumamoto Station in Kumamoto and ends at terminal of Ōita Station ...

is the nearest station.

Highways

* *

Local attractions

*Kurokawa onsen

References

External links

* *
Minamioguni official website

kurokawa onsen
Towns in Kumamoto Prefecture {{Kumamoto-geo-stub