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 Kōka District,

Shiga Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,398,972 as of 1 February 2025 and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to th ...

, Japan. As of 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 9,007 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 71.37 persons per km². The total area is 126.2 km². On October 1, 2004, Tsuchiyama and the towns of

Kōka was a after ''Tenpō'' and before '' Kaei.'' This period spanned the years from December 1844 through February 1848. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * December 2, 1844 (): The new era name of ''Kōka'', meaning "Becoming Wid ...

, Kōnan, Minakuchi and

Shigaraki was a town located in Kōka District, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Population As of 2004, the town had an estimated population of 13,885 and a density of 84.92 persons per km2. The total area is 163.5 km2. History On October 1, 2004, Shiga ...

(all from Kōka District), were merged to create the city of

. Tsuchiyama is famous for Tsuchiyama-juku, one of the 53 post stations along the Tokaido road and for its production of

green tea Green tea is a type of tea made from the leaves and buds of the '' Camellia sinensis'' that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process that creates oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China in the late 1st millenn ...

. Kōka city produces 80% of all green tea in Shiga Prefecture. The

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

of Tsuchiyama is

Traverse City Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although it partly extends into Leelanau County. The city's population was 15,678 at the 2020 census, while the four-county Traverse C ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, United States.

Climate

References

External links

Koka Sightseeing Guide
Kōka, Shiga Dissolved municipalities of Shiga Prefecture {{Shiga-geo-stub