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 ...

located in Awa District,

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

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 ...

Population

As of October 1, 2004, 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 6,027 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 353 persons per km². The total area was 17.07 km².

Geography

Shirahama was located at very southern end of Chiba Prefecture, at the southern extremity of

Bōsō Peninsula The is a peninsula that encompasses the entirety of Chiba Prefecture on Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It is part of the Greater Tokyo Area. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula covers ...

, facing the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The town had a temperate

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring ...

with hot, humid summers and mild, cool winters.

History

Shirahama Village was created on April 1, 1889, within Asai District, which became part of Awa District from April 1, 1897. It became a town on April 1, 1933. On March 20, 2006, Shirahama, along with the towns of Chikura, Maruyama, Tomiura, Tomiyama and Wada, and the village of Miyoshi (all from Awa District), was merged to create the city of

Minamibōsō is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 37,143 in 17,175 households and a population density of 160 persons per km2. The total area of the city is , making it the fifth largest c ...

. Prior to the merger, Shirahama was known as Shirahama-machi in Japanese. Subsequently, it has become known as Shirahama-cho. Both "machi" and "cho" are written the same way in Japanese, but the different pronunciations convey the information that Shirahama is now a neighborhood within Minamibōsō rather than its own municipality.

Economy

The economy of Shirahama was largely based on

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 ...

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

(primarily herbs and flowers), and summer tourism.

Local attractions

Nojimazaki Lighthouse is a lighthouse located at the southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula, in the city of Minamibōsō, Chiba, Minamibōsō, Chiba Prefecture Japan. History The Nojimazaki Lighthouse was one of eight lighthouses to be built in Meiji period Japan unde ...

External links

Minamibōsō official website
Dissolved municipalities of Chiba Prefecture Minamibōsō {{Chiba-geo-stub