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 ...

in Mima District,

Tokushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

, on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

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 was formed on March 1, 2005 as a result of the merger of the towns of Handa and Sadamitsu, and the village of Ichiu, all from Mima District. The area is 194.84 km² and the registered population, as of June 1, 2019, was 7,877 by a population density of 40.4 per km².

Geography

Tsurugi is located in the northwestern part of Tokushima Prefecture. The

Yoshino River The Yoshino River (吉野川 ''Yoshino-gawa'') is a river on the island of Shikoku, Japan. It is long and has a watershed of . It is the second longest river in Shikoku (slightly shorter than the Shimanto), and is the only river whose watershe ...

, Shikoku's second-longest, forms the northern border of Tsurugi. Two tributaries, the Sadamitsu River and the Handa River, form the town's two main valleys. Sadamitsu and Handa are located at the mouths of these two rivers, while Ichiu is located further up the Sadamitsu river. Most of the town's area is covered by steep mountains. Tsurugi is bordered by Mima to the north and east, Higashimiyoshi to the west, and Miyoshi to the south.

Education

*Handa Elementary *Handa JHS *Ichiu JHS (closed 2010) *Komi Elementary (Ichiu) *Ota Elementary (Sadamitsu) *Sadamitsu Elementary *Sadamitsu JHS *Sadamitsu Technical High School *Yachiyo Elementary (Handa)

Transportation

The

JR Shikoku The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four Prefectures of Japan, prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Jap ...

Tokushima Line The is a railway line in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). The Tokushima Line connects Sako Station in Tokushima and Tsukuda Station in Miyoshi from west to east in central Tokushima ...

serves Tsurugi with two stations: Awa-Handa Station and Sadamitsu. Two

national highways of Japan Japan has a nationwide system of distinct from the expressways. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and other government agencies administer the national highways. Beginning in 1952, Japan classified these as Class 1 ...

pass through the town: Routes 192 and

438 Year 438 (Roman numerals, CDXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius II, Theodosius and Anicius Acilius Glabrio Faustus, Glabrio (or, less frequ ...

Sightseeing

Sadamitsu

*Sadamitsu's main street is lined with

Edo-era 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 ...

merchants' houses featuring ''udatsu'', an architectural feature that both prevented the spread of fires between buildings and served as a decorative symbol of the merchant's wealth and status. *Narutaki is a waterfall at the southern edge of Sadamitsu. Its upper falls is approximately 40 meters tall, and is followed by two smaller cascades of 25 and 20 meters.

Handa

*Handa is famous for its

sōmen , ''somyeon'' (), or ''sùmiàn'' () is a very thin noodle made of wheat flour, less than 1.3 mm in diameter. The noodles are used extensively in East Asian cuisines. Japanese ''sōmen'' is made by stretching the dough with vegetable oil, ...

noodles. "Handa Sōmen" has been a special product of the area for over 250 years, and several sōmen makers still operate today. *Ishido-yama (1636 m) and Yahazu-yama (1848 m), although located in Ichiu, are easily accessed via a trailhead at Oso Ishido Jinja, in Handa. Yahazu-yama provides panoramic views of the

Iya Valley The Iya Valley (祖谷 ''Iya'') region in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan is a scenic area known for its mountain valleys, thatched roof farmhouses and historic Vine Bridges. Although access has improved in recent years, the Iya Valley and the inne ...

and prominent mountains such as Mount Tsurugi, Jirogyu, and Miune.

Ichiu

*Ichiu is known as "The Land of Giant Trees," and is home to a number of large, old trees. "Akabane Taishi no Enoki" is the oldest hackberry tree in Japan at an estimated 800 years old; it has a circumference of 8.7 meters. Ichiu is also home to Shikoku's oldest horse chestnut and Japanese red pine. *Dogama is a series of pools, rapids and waterfalls formed as the Sadamitsu river flows through a

slot canyon A slot canyon is a long, narrow channel or drainageway with sheer rock walls that are typically eroded into either sandstone or other sedimentary rock. A slot canyon has depth-to-width ratios that typically exceed 10:1 over most of its length and ...

. It is notable for the deep blue-green color of its water.

Other areas

* Mount Tsurugi *Oku-Iya double vine bridges (kazura-bashi)

References

External links

*
Tsurugi official website
{{Tokushima Towns in Tokushima Prefecture