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

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

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 9,981 in 4960 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 50 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Nakadomari is in Kitatsugaru District of Aomori Prefecture, and consists of two discontinuous geographic areas in northern

Tsugaru Peninsula The is a peninsula in Aomori Prefecture, at the northern end of Honshū island, Japan. The peninsula projects north into the Tsugaru Strait separating Honshū from Hokkaidō. The western coast is on the Sea of Japan, while on its eastern coast ...

. The larger area is in the south, and consists of the former town of Nakasato. The smaller area is in the north, and consists of the former village of Kodomari with a coastline on the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

at the western end of

Tsugaru Strait The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles ...

. The

Kodomari Dam The is a dam on the Kodomari River, located in the town of Nakadomari, Kitatsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture in the Tohoku region of Japan. The dam is a concrete gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone ...

is located in the town.

Neighboring municipalities

Aomori Prefecture *

Goshogawara file:Goshogawara city center area Aerial photograph.1975.jpg, Aerial View of Goshogawara city center is a Cities of Japan, city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 51,578 in 25,615 households, and a popul ...

Sotogahama is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan and a part of the Aomori metropolitan area. , the town had an estimated population of 4,990 in 2239 households, and a population density of 22 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geogra ...

* Tsugaru * Yomogita

Climate

Nakadomari has a cold

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 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 warm short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Nakadomari is 9.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1399 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around -2.3 °C. Snowfall typically begins in late November and lasts through March and sometimes April. Blizzard-like conditions, created by strong winds and a heavy accumulation of snow, are common during winter. During these times visibility can be reduced to several feet or less.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Nakadomari peaked around the year 1960 and has decreased steadily since then. It is now less than it was a century ago.

History

The area around Nakadomari was controlled by the

Tsugaru clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled the northwestern half of what is now Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. The Tsugaru were ''daimyō'' of Hirosaki Domain and its semi-subsidiary, ...

Hirosaki Domain file:Hirosakijo.jpg, Hirosaki Castle, the seat of the Hirosaki Domain , also known as , was a ''tozama'' Han (Japan), feudal domain of Edo period JapanRavina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 It is located in Muts ...

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 ...

. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, the villages of Nakasato and Kodomari were created within

Kitatsugaru District, Aomori * Japan > Tōhoku region > Aomori Prefecture > Kitatsugaru District is a rural district located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. As of September 2013, the district had an estimated population of 40,171 and an area of 304.54 km2. Much the city ...

. Nakasato was raised to town status on September 10,1941. The town of Nakadomari was created on March 28, 2005 as a result of the merger of Nakasato with Kodomari.

Government

Nakadomari 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 legislature of 15 members. Together with the city of

, it contributes three members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of

Aomori 3rd district Aomori 3rd district is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan. It is located on the island of Honshu, in Aomori Prefecture, and includes the cities of Hirosaki, Goshogawara, and Ajigasawa. As ...

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 economy of Nakadomari is heavily dependent on agriculture, forestry and

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

Education

Nakasato has four public elementary schools (three in Nakasato and one in Kodomari) and two public junior high schools (one in Kodomari and one in Nakasato) operated by the town government. The town has one public high school, located in Nakasato, operated by the Aomori Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

Tsugaru Railway The is a railway line in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, connecting in the city of Goshogawara and in the town of Nakadomari, in central-southern Tsugaru Peninsula. The line is the only railway line operated by the Tsugaru Railway Company, whic ...

Source: * - - ,

Highway

Local attractions

* Lake Jūsan, National Historic Site

Culture

Nakadomari has several yearly festivals including a firefly festival, summer festival and winter snow festival. The area is known locally for producing high quality blueberries and dried squid.

Noted people from Nakadomari

Takarafuji Daisuke is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He made his professional debut in January 2009, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division in July 2011. He wrestles for the Isegahama stable (2007), Isegahama Stable. The highest rank he has reached is ''s ...

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestler *

Ōnoshō Fumiya , born July 4, 1996, as is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Aomori Prefecture. He debuted in professional sumo in January 2013 for Ōnomatsu stable and made his makuuchi, top division debut in May 2017. He won one championship i ...

, sumo wrestler *

Kan Mikami is a Japanese folk singer-songwriter and actor. His music, heavily influenced by American blues, was popular in Japan in the 1970s. He re-wrote the lyric of the song "Yume wa Yoru Hiraku" for his cover version in 1972, which was banned for its n ...

, folk singer

External links

*
Live Camera Feed of Nakadomari

References

{{Authority control Towns in Aomori Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan