was 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 ...

coincident with

Notojima is a volcanic island in the Nanao Bay () portion of the Sea of Japan, less than 500 meters off the coast of the Ishikawa prefecture in Japan. Notojima Island is administered as part of Nanao city. The two bridges connecting Notojima to the ...

island in Kashima District,

Ishikawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,096,721 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,186 Square kilometre, km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Pr ...

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 ...

. It was formed February 1, 1955 by merger of the three villages on

island. As of 2003, 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 3,187 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 68.13 persons per km². The total area was 46.78 km². The

Hirokami, Niigata was a village located in Kitauonuma District, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the village had an estimated population of 8,892 and a density of 84.17 persons per km2. The total area was 105.64 km2. On November 1, 2004, Hirokami, a ...

was the sister city of Notojima. On October 1, 2004, Notojima, along with the towns of Nakajima and Tatsuruhama (all from Kashima District), was merged into the expanded city of Nanao 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' ...

Sights

* At the Notojima Aquarium visitors can watch

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

and

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

shows, animal feeding and meet many species in the 'touch and feel' tank. The aquarium also has a collection of jellyfish. In addition,

whale sharks Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

also live in the facility newly established in 2010. * The Notojima Glass Museum is the only public specialized glass art museum in Japan. The open space outside the Museum also has 14 glass sculptures.

References

External links

Official website of Nanao

Notojima Glass Museum
* Notojima Aquariu
JapaneseEnglish
Dissolved municipalities of Ishikawa Prefecture Nanao, Ishikawa {{Ishikawa-geo-stub