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 Maniwa District,

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama 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 ...

. As of 2003, 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 3,310 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 23.41 persons per km². The total area was 141.37 km². On March 31, 2005, Yubara, along with the town of Hokubō (from Jōbō District), and towns of Katsuyama, Kuse and Ochiai, and the villages of

Chūka Japanese Chinese cuisine, also known as ''chūka'', represents a unique fusion of Japanese and Chinese culinary traditions that have evolved over the late 19th century and more recent times. This style, served predominantly by Chinese rest ...

, Kawakami, Mikamo and Yatsuka (all from Maniwa District) were merged to create the city of

Maniwa file:Maniwa city office.jpg, 270px, Maniwa City Hall file:Kuse district Maniwa city Aerial photograph.1976.jpg, 270px, Aerial view of Kuse area of Maniwa is a Cities of Japan, city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated ...

. The historic town is nestled in a ravine and follows the meandering path of the Asahi River. The village is surrounded, on all sides by trees clinging to the hillsides. (There are small logging operations in the region that the bus passes on the way into town.) The town sits at the base of Yubara Dam. There are a number onsen hotels. There is also an outdoor, mixed bathing bath, or rotenburo, by the river. This facility is free. The waters are said to have healing effects on those suffering from diabetes, chronic women's diseases, chronic skin disease, cuts and burns.

Geography

River A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s: Asahi River (The big-3 river through Okayama Prefecture)

Adjoining municipalities

** Katsuyama ** Kuse ** Mikamo ** Kawakami ** Yatsuka **

** Shinjō ** Kagamino (Former Tomi village)

Education

*Yubara Elementary School *Futakawa Elementary School *Yubara Junior High School

Transportation

Expressways Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road * ''Expressway'' (film), a 2016 Fi ...

: ** Yonago Expressway ***Yubara Interchange *

National highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...

: ** Route 313 * Prefectural roads: **Okayama Prefectural Route 55 (Yubara- Mikamo) **Okayama Prefectural Route 56 (Yubara- Okutsu) **Okayama Prefectural Route 322 (Nakafukuda-Yubara) **Okayama Prefectural Route 323 (Tanemi-Akedo) **Okayama Prefectural Route 326 (Kashinishi-Yubara) **Okayama Prefectural Route 447 (Awadani-Mikamo)

Notable places and events

*Yubara

Onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

* Yubara Dam (Lake Yubara) File:Open-air hot springs, Yubara, Okayama.jpg, Open-air hot springs File:Yubara onsen.jpg, Onsen

External links

Official website of Maniwa
in Japanese
Yubara Onsen

References

Dissolved municipalities of Okayama Prefecture Tourist attractions in Okayama Prefecture Hot springs of Okayama Prefecture Spa towns in Japan Maniwa {{Okayama-geo-stub