was a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

located in Shimohei District,

Iwate Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture (behind Hokkaido) at , with a population of 1,165,886 (as of July 1, 2023). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Pre ...

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 villages of Moichi, and Kariya were created on April 1, 1889 within Shimohei District with the establishment of the municipality system. The two villages merged on February 1, 1955 to create the village of Niisato. On June 6, 2005, Niisato, along with the town of Tarō (also from Shimohei District), was merged into the expanded city of Miyako and no longer exists as an independent

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. As of June 2005, the village 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 3,535 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 13.8 persons per km². The total area was 256.29 km². The population of the former village is centered on the intersection of the Shimohei and Kariya Rivers. Niisato lies along National Highway 106 between

Morioka is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 August 2023, the city had an estimated population of 283,981 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of t ...

and Miyako. There is also a small winding road from Niisato north to

Iwaizumi is a town located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the town had a population of 8,006, and a population density of 8.1 persons per km² in 4123 households. The total area of the town is . History The area of present-day Iwaizumi was part of the a ...

town. The major distinguishing travel landmarks the bus stops along Highway 106, which are shaped like giant red apples. The village had a sister city relationship with La Trinidad in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

External links

Official website of Miyako
Dissolved municipalities of Iwate Prefecture Miyako, Iwate {{Iwate-geo-stub