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

Fukui Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 737,229 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,190 Square kilometre, km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture border ...

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 city 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 14,577 and the

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 82 persons per km². The total area of the town was .

Geography

Wakasa is located in southwestern Fukui Prefecture, bordered by

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 ...

to the south and the heavily indented ria coast of

Wakasa Bay is a bay located in the Chūbu region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Kyoto Prefecture, and Fukui Prefecture. Geography Wakasa Bay is the area south of the straight line from Cape Kyoga on the west of Tango Peninsula to Cape Echizen on the e ...

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

to the north. Parts of the town are within the borders of the Wakasa Wan Quasi-National Park.

Neighbouring municipalities

*Fukui Prefecture ** Mihama ** Obama *

** Takashima

Climate

Wakasa has a Humid climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Wakasa is 14.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2115 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Wakasa has declined over the past 40 years.

History

Wakasa is part of ancient

Wakasa Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the southwestern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Wakasa''" in . Wakasa bordered on Echizen, Ōmi, Tanba, Tango, and Yamash ...

. 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 ...

, the area was part of the holdings of Obama Domain. Following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, it was organised into part of Mikatakaminaka District in Fukui Prefecture. The town of Wakasa was formed on March 31, 2005 by the merger of the former towns of Mikata, from Mikata District, and Kaminaka, from Onyū District.

Economy

The economy of Wakasa is dependent 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 ...

, agriculture and seasonal tourism.

Education

Wakasa has ten public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government. The town has one public high school operated by the Fukui Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

Obama Line The is a railway line on the Sea of Japan coast of central Japan. It is operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The long single track railway connects Tsuruga Station on the Hokuriku Main Line in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture and Higa ...

** , , , , , ,

Highway

Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway * * *

Notable people

Tsutomu Sakuma was a career naval officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and a pioneer submarine commander, known primarily as the commanding officer during the sinking of Submarine ''No.6''. Biography Born in Mikata District, Fukui, Mikata District Fukui prefe ...

(1879-1910), was a career naval officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy and a pioneer submarine commanderTrevor N. Dupuy, Dupuy, Trevor N. ''Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography'', New York, 1992

Local attractions

*Kumakawa-juku, one of the nationally protected

Groups of Traditional Buildings is a Japanese category of historic preservation introduced by a 1975 amendment of the law which mandates the protection of groups of traditional buildings which, together with their environment, form a beautiful scene. They can be post towns, cast ...

* Mikata Five Lakes *

Torihama shell mound The is a shell midden and remains of an Early Jōmon period settlement located in the Torihama neighbourhood of the town of Wakasa, Fukui, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It is a waterlogged midden site that was occupied mainly from the Incipi ...

* Wakasa Mikata Jomon Museum * Shimofunazuka Kofun, Kamifunazuka Kofun, Nakatsuka Kofun, Nishizuka Kofun, Jōnozuka Kofun, National Historic Sites

References

External links

* * Towns in Fukui Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan {{Fukui-geo-stub