270px, Takachiho-mine (1574 m) and Lake Miike 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 Nishimorokata District,

Miyazaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,028,215 as of 1 January 2025 and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefectur ...

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

, 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 8137 in 3648 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 101.3 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Takaharu is located in the southwestern part of Miyazaki Prefecture, approximately 40 kilometers west of the prefectural capital at Miyazaki City, and borders

Kagoshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

on the west. Located at the foot of the Kirishima volcanic group, approximately 50% of the town area is a highland area, and the remaining 50% is a mountain forest.

Surrounding municipalities

* Kirishima

Kobayashi Kobayashi (Japanese language, Japanese: , 'small woods') is the 8th most common Japanese surname. A less common variant is . Notable people with the surname include: Arts Film, television, theater and music *, Japanese actress and voice a ...

Miyakonojō is a city in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 158,235 in 72394 households, and a population density of 240 persons per km2. The total area of the city is , making it the largest city in the prefecture in t ...

Climate

Takaharu has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Takaharu is 15.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2295 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Takaharu population statistics
/ref> the population of Takaharu has declined in recent decades.

History

The area of Takaharu was part of ancient

Hyūga Province was a province of Japan in the area of southeastern Kyūshū, corresponding to modern Miyazaki Prefecture Hyūga bordered on Ōsumi to the south, Higo to the west, and Bungo to the north. Its abbreviated form name was , although it was als ...

, and 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 ...

was completely within the borders of

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a Han system, domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of ...

. In 1871, with the

abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...

, the area was incorporated into Kagoshima Prefecture, but was later transferred to Miyazaki Prefecture. The village Takaharu within Nishimorokata District, Miyazaki was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Takaharu was raised to town status on October 5, 1934.

Government

Takaharu 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 council of ten members. Takaharu, collectively with the cities of Ebino and Kobayashi, contributes two members to the Miyazaki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Miyazaki 1st 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 ...

Economy

The local economy is overwhelmingly centered on agriculture and forestry.

Education

Takaharu has four public elementary schools and two public junior high schools operated by the town. The town no longer has a high school.

Transportation

Railways

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

- Kitto Line * -

Highways

Higashikyushu Expressway * * *

Local attractions

Lake Miike is a lake in Miyakonojō and Takaharu in Miyazaki Prefecture, 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 ...

*Tonari no Totoro Bus Stop

References

External links

*
Takaharu official website
Towns in Miyazaki Prefecture {{Miyazaki-geo-stub