Sotogahama

Sotogahama (外ヶ浜町, Sotogahama-machi) is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan and a part of the Aomori metropolitan area.[1] As of 1 January 2020, the town had an estimated population of 5,429, and a population density of 25.4 persons per km2. The total area of the town is 230.29 square kilometres (88.92 sq mi).

Sotogahama

外ヶ浜町
Town
Cape Tappi, northernmost point of Tsugaru Peninsula
Flag
Seal
Location of Sotagahama in Aomori Prefecture
Sotogahama
 
Coordinates: 41°02′35.7″N 140°37′56.4″E
CountryJapan
RegionTōhoku
PrefectureAomori
DistrictHigashitsugaru
Area
 • Total230.30 km2 (88.92 sq mi)
Population
 (January 2020)
 • Total5,429
 • Density24/km2 (61/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
City symbols 
- TreePine
- FlowerHydrangea
- BirdCommon gull
Phone number0174-31-1111
AddressKanita, Takadoya 44-2, Sotogahama-machi, Higashitsugaru-gun, Aomori-ken 030-1393
WebsiteOfficial website
Sotogahama town hall
central Kanita

Geography

Sotogahama is in Higashitsugaru District of Aomori Prefecture, and consists of two discontinuous geographic areas in northern Tsugaru Peninsula. The larger area is in the south, and consists of the former town of Kanita with a coastline on Mutsu Bay, and the former village of Tairadate in the centre of northern Tsugaru Peninsula. The smaller area is in the north, and consists of the former village of Minmaya with a coastline on the Tsugaru Strait. Much of the town is within the limits of the Tsugaru Quasi-National Park. Most of the settlements and arable land are located along the coastline, with about 89% of the total area of town as mountainous national forest.

Neighbouring municipalities

Aomori Prefecture

Climate

The town has a cold humid continental climate (Köppen Cfb) characterized by warm short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Sotogahama is 10.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1267 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.8 °C.[2]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Sotogahama has decreased by more than half over the past 60 years and is now considerably less than it was a century ago.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1920 11,883—    
1930 13,913+17.1%
1940 15,027+8.0%
1950 18,964+26.2%
1960 18,259−3.7%
1970 16,258−11.0%
1980 14,955−8.0%
1990 10,663−28.7%
2000 9,170−14.0%
2010 7,089−22.7%

History

The Tsugaru Peninsula has been inhabited since Japanese Paleolithic times, and some of the world's oldest pottery has been discovered at the Odai Yamamoto I site.[4][5][6] The area around Sotogahama was controlled by the Tsugaru clan of Hirosaki Domain during the Edo period. During the post-Meiji restoration establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889 Minmaya, Kanita and Tairadate villages were separated from Imabetsu. On March 28, 2005, these three municipalities merged to form the new town of Sotogahama. Minmaya is a geographically discontinuous enclave from the town's center in Kanita.

Government

Sotogahama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town legislature of 11 members. Higashitsugaru District contributes one member to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Aomori 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

The economy of Sotogahama is heavily dependent on commercial fishing. Some of the locally caught seafood include sea urchin roe, sea pineapple, sea cucumber, scallops, abalone and squid.

Education

Sotogahama has three public elementary schools and three public junior high schools operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) - Tsugaru Line

Hokkaidō Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) - Kaikyō Line

Highway

Local attractions
  • Cape Tappi, the northwestern tip of Honshu
  • Tappizaki Lighthouse, one of the “50 Lighthouses of Japan” by the Japan Lighthouse Association.[7]
  • Odai Yamamoto I site, National Historic Site[8]

Noted people from Sotogahama
  • Jackal Maruyama, boxer
  • Takuya Tazawa, nonfiction writer

References
  1. "2010 Metropolitan Employment Map". University of Tokyo. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  2. Sotogahama climate data
  3. Sotogahama population statistics
  4. Habu Junko (2004). Ancient Jomon of Japan (Case Studies in Early Societies). Cambridge University Press. pp. 34–42. ISBN 978-0-521-77213-6.
  5. 大平山元Ｉ遺跡 －日本最古の土器出土－ [Ōdaiyamamoto Ichi Site - Excavation of Japan's Earliest Earthenware] (in Japanese). Aomori Prefecture. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  6. Kaner, S. (2003). "Jomon pottery, Japan". Current World Archaeology. Current Publishing. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  7. Japan Lighthouse Association home page (in Japanese)
  8. "大平山元遺跡". Cultural Heritage Online (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
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