is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in

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 ...

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 city 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 31,374 in 12,408 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 70 people per km². The total area of the city was . Myōkō is a member of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

’s

Alliance for Healthy Cities The Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC) is a cooperative international alliance aimed at protecting and enhancing the health and health care of city dwellers. It is composed of groups of cities, urban districts and other organizations from countries ...

(AFHC).

Geography

Myōkō is located in an inland region of north-central Niigata Prefecture, on the border of

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

. It lies in mountain surroundings near the historical entrance to the Echigo Plains. The city is surrounded by five mountains. Mount Madarao, Mount Myōkō, Mount Kurohime, Mount Togakushi and Mount Iizuna are collectively known as the Five Mountains of Northern Shinshu (北信五岳, ''Hokushingogaku''). They make up the border of Nagano and Niigata Prefectures. Most of the city is covered with mountains and forests. As the city name implies, Mount Myōkō () is in the city, much of which is within the borders of the Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park. In addition to its namesake, Mount Myōkō, the city is home to two other

100 Famous Japanese Mountains is a book written in 1964 by Mountaineering, mountaineer and author Kyūya Fukada.Hyakumeizan, Hiking Japan ...

: Mount Hiuchi () and Mount Takatsuma ().

Surrounding municipalities

** Iiyama ** Nagano ** Otari ** Shinano *

** Itoigawa ** Jōetsu

Climate

Myōkō has a Humid climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Myōkō is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

Demographics

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

History

The area of present-day Myōkō was part of ancient

Echigo Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen Province, Uzen, Iwashiro Province, Iwashiro, Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Etchū Province, ...

. 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 ...

the area was divided between the holdings of Takada Domain and ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil war ...

'' territory administered directly by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. With the creation of the modern municipalities system on June 26, 1890, the village of Arai was created within Nakakubiki District, Niigata. Arai was raised to town status on September 9, 1892 and to city status on November 1, 1954. The city of Myōkō was created on April 1, 2005, by the merger of the city of Arai with the town of Myōkōkōgen, and the village of Myōkō (both from Nakakubiki District).

Economy

The economy of Myōkō is dependent on seasonal tourism, agriculture and forestry, and light manufacturing.

Government

Myōkō 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 ...

city legislature of 18 members. Myōkō contributes one member to the Niigata Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Niigata 6th 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 ...

Education

Myōkō has nine public elementary schools and three public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Niigata Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

–

Hokuriku Shinkansen The Hokuriku Shinkansen () is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo with Tsuruga, Fukui, Tsuruga in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It is jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR ...

Echigo Tokimeki Railway The , officially abbreviated as ETR, is a Japanese third-sector railway operator. It was established in 2010 to operate passenger railway services on the sections of the JR East Shinetsu Main Line and JR West Hokuriku Main Line within Niigata P ...

- Myōkō Haneuma Line * - - <'> - - Shinano Railway Symbolmark

Shinano Railway - Kita-Shinano Line *

Highway

* 20px

Jōshin-etsu Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. Naming is a kanji acronym consisting of 3 characters, each representing the former names of the prefectures that the route traverses. consis ...

– Myōkō IC * * Note: Jōetsumyōkō station is actually in Jōetsu, 1.5 km away from the border with Myōkō.

Local attractions

Myōkō Kōgen and the former village of Myōkō are famed for their ski resorts. The first of these, Akakura, was founded in the 1930s, making it one of the oldest established ski areas in the world. It is also a traditional mountain retreat of Japan's imperial family. The Myōkō Ski Area has nine main mountain resorts: Myōkō Akakura, Ikenotaira Onsen, Myōkō Suginohara (which boasts the longest ski run in Japan), Seki Onsen, Kyukamura, Myōkō Ski Park, Lotte Arai Resort, Madarao Kogen and Tangram Ski Circus. In November 2023, Singaporean real estate investment firm Patience Capital Group acquired the Myōkō Suginohara Ski Resort and outsourced its operations to

Seibu Holdings is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company that primarily owns Seibu Railway, Prince Hotels, and Seibu Bus and its subsidiary, subsidiaries, which are collectively known as the . In total, fifty-three companies across ...

. The company plans to invest 200 billion yen over 10 years to transform Myōkō Kōgen into a year-round tourist destination, attracting several luxury hotels. Some locals, however, fear that Myōkō's skyrocketing real estate prices will lead to higher taxes and increased cost of living, turning Myōkō into a resort similar to

Niseko Niseko (, , ) is a resort area located in Hokkaido, Japan. Officially called the , it consists of three towns: Kutchan Town, Niseko Town, and Rankoshi Town at the foot of Niseko Annupuri. The name Niseko is derived from the Nisekoanbetsu River ...

. * Myōkō Kōgen is also well known for its many local ''

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 ...

'' (hot springs) emanating from the Jigoku-dani valley between Mts. Myōkō and Mae.Japan Onsen Guide - Niigata
/ref> * Kannondaira-Tenjindō Kofun Group is a

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

National Historic Site * Kanzuri, a traditional fermented condiment, is made in Myōkō. * Samegao Castle, ruins of a

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

castle and National Historic Site * Hida Sites,

Yayoi period The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

archaeological site and National Historic Site

Sister cities

Myōkō is twinned with: *

Slovenj Gradec Slovenj Gradec (; '', ''after about 1900 ''Windischgraz'') is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the centre of the Urban Municipality of Slovenj Gradec. It is part of the historical Styria region, and since 2005 it has belonged to the NUTS-3 C ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Zermatt Zermatt (, ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Visp (district), Visp in the German language, German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is cl ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

References

External links

Official Website

Travel Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myoko, Niigata Cities in Niigata Prefecture