Motegi, Tochigi

Motegi is located on the far eastern border of Tochigi Prefecture.

Tochigi Prefecture

• Nasukarasuyama
• Mashiko
• Ichikai

Ibaraki Prefecture

• Hitachiōmiya
• Kasama
• Sakuragawa
• Shirosato

Motegi has a Humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Motegi is 13.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1410 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.0 °C.[2]

Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Motegi peaked in the 1950s and has declined steadily over the past 70 years. It is now less than it was a century ago.

The town of Moteki, and the villages of Sakagawa, Nakagawa and Sudo were created within Haga District on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. The three villages were annexed by Moteki on August 1, 1954.

Motegi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 14 members. Motegi, together with the other municipalities in Haga District collectively contributes two members to the Tochigi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Tochigi 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Moteki has four public primary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government. The town has one public high school operated by the Tochigi Prefectural Board of Education.

Motegi is the site of "Twin Ring Motegi", a complex built by Honda which hosts all types of car and go-cart racing, the Honda Collection Hall transport museum, a resort-style hotel, and the "Hello Woods" camping and nature area.

The Nissan Proving Grounds for testing off-road vehicles are also located in Motegi.

Media related to Motegi, Tochigi at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Website (in Japanese)