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

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata 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 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 18,951 in 7917 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 112 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Tatsuno is located in the Ina Valley of south-central Nagano Prefecture, bordered by the

Kiso Mountains are a mountain range in Nagano Prefecture, Nagano and Gifu Prefecture, Gifu prefectures in Japan. They are also called the and they combine with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the Akaishi Mountains ("Southern Alps") to form a group col ...

. The

Tenryū River The is a river in central Honshū, Japan. With a length of , it is Japan's ninth longest river. Its source is Lake Suwa in the Kiso Mountains near Okaya in Nagano Prefecture. It then flows through Aichi Prefecture and western Shizuoka Prefec ...

flows through the town, which is surrounded by mountains and is rich in a natural environment. It is takes about 3 hours from

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, 2 hours from

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, 5 hours from

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

by train and equally by car. Part of the town is within the borders of the

Enrei Ōjō Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in central Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1964, the park spans the borders of the municipalities of Okaya, Shiojiri, and Tatsuno. See also * National Parks of Japan National may refer to: Common ...

. The

Yokokawa Dam Yokokawa Dam () is a dam in the Nagano 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 and extends ...

is located in Tatsuno. In the city neigbourhood, the geographical center of Japan is located.

Surrounding municipalities

*Nagano Prefecture **

Minamiminowa is a village located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 15,463 in 6115 households, and a population density of 371 persons per km2. The total area of the village is . Geography Minamiminowa is located in ...

** Minowa ** Okaya ** Shiojiri ** Suwa

Climate

The village has a climate characterized by characterized by warm and humid summers, and cold winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Dfa''). The average annual temperature in Tatsuno is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

History

The area of present-day Tatsuno was part of ancient

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...

. The village of Inatomi established on April 1, 1889, by the establishment of the municipalities system, and was elevated to town status on January 1, 1947, changing its name to Tatsuno at that time. The neighboring village of Asahi was annexed on April 1, 1955, followed by Kawashima on September 30, 1956, and Ono on March 31, 1961.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Tatsuno has declined slightly in recent decades.

Education

Tatsuno has five public elementary schools and five public middle school operated by the town government, and one high school operated the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education. The

Shinshu Honan Junior College 200px is a private junior college in Tatsuno, Nagano, 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 exte ...

is also located in Tatsuno.

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

Chūō Main Line The , commonly called the Chūō Line, is one of the major trunk railway lines in Japan. It connects Tokyo and Nagoya, although it is the slowest direct railway connection between the two cities; the coastal Tōkaidō Main Line is slightly faste ...

(old line) ** - - *

Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and occasionally as JR Tokai (). The term ''Tōkai'' refers to the southern portion of Central Japan, ...

Iida Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Toyohashi Station in Toyohashi, Aichi with Tatsuno Station in Tatsuno, Nagano, operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The line links eastern Aichi Prefecture and southern Nagano Pr ...

** - - -

Highway

Chūō Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by NEXCO Central. Naming Officially the expressway is designated as the Chūō Expressway Nishinomiya Route (from Takaido Interchange to Komaki Junction), the Chūō Expressway N ...

International relations

* -

Waitomo Waitomo is a rural community in the King Country region of New Zealand's North Island. There are several solutional cave systems in the area around the village, which are popular tourist attractions. Restaurants and accommodation are centred in ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Local attractions

The geographical centre of Japan
*

* : one of the most famous places in Japan for

fireflies The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

(called in Japan) every summer. However, the intentional introduction of non-native fireflies and its negative influence on the native fireflies of Tatsuno were highlighted in an academic journal. and several major newspapers.

Yomiuri Shimbun The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...

(July 28, 2008; evening edition, p13).

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{Nagano Towns in Nagano Prefecture Geographical centres