270px, Kirishima Open-Air Museum 270px, Maru-ike springs 270px, Kurinodake 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 Aira District,

Kagoshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

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 8,361 in 4600 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 58 persons per km². The total area of the town is . "Yūsui" literally means "spring water", referring to springs in the town.

Geography

Yūsui is located in the inland region of north-central Kagoshima Prefecture, approximately 70 kilometers northeast of Kagoshima City, and is a basin surrounded by the

Kyushu Mountains Kyushu Mountains () is a mountain range that runs from northeast to southwest in central Kyushu. The highest peak of the mountain range is Mount Sobo is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. The mountain lies on the border of Taketa, � ...

and the Kirishima Mountain Range. Parts of the town are within the borders of the

Kirishima-Yaku National Park is a national park in Kyūshū, Japan. It is composed of Kirishima-Kagoshima Bay, an area of Kagoshima Prefecture and Miyazaki Prefecture known for its active volcanoes, volcanic lakes, and onsen. The total area is . History On March 16, 1934, ...

Neighboring municipalities

Kagoshima Prefecture * Isa * Kirishima *

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a ...

Miyazaki Prefecture * Ebino

Climate

Yūsui has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Yūsui is 14.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2260 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.2 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Yūsui is as shown below:Kagoshima Prefecture population by municipality
/ref>

History

The area of Yūsui was part of ancient

Ōsumi Province was a province of Japan in the area of southeastern Kyūshū, corresponding to the eastern half of modern Kagoshima Prefecture, and including the Ōsumi Islands . Ōsumi bordered on Hyūga to the northeast, and Satsuma Province to the nor ...

. 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

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a Han system, domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of ...

. The villages of Kurino and Yoshimatsu were established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Kurino was raised to town status on April 1, 1932, followed by Yoshimatsu on February 11, 1953. The town of Yūsui was founded on March 22, 2005 from the merger of the towns of Kurino and Yoshimatsu, both from Aira District.

Government

Yūsui has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

town council of 12 members. Yūsui, collectively with the city of Kirishima, contributes four members to the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the

Kagoshima 3rd district , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Etymology While the kanji used to sp ...

of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

The economy of Yūsui is based largely on agriculture.

Education

Yūsui has five public elementary high schools and two public junior high schools operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railways

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

Hisatsu Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Yatsushiro on the Kagoshima Main Line to Hayato station, Kirishima, Kagoshima , Kirishima on the Nippo Main Line. Fro ...

: -

Kitto Line The is a railway line on the island of Kyushu, Japan. It connects Yoshimatsu Station in Yūsui, Kagoshima Prefecture with Miyakonojō Station in Miyakonojō, Miyazaki Prefecture. It is also known as together with the – segment of the H ...

: Yoshimatsu -

Highways

Kyushu Expressway: Yoshimatsu PA - Kurino IC *

Local attractions

* Kirishima Open Air Museum

References

External links

*
Yūsui official website
Towns in Kagoshima Prefecture {{Kagoshima-geo-stub