was a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

located in Maniwa District,

Okayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture borders Tottori Prefecture to the ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. As of 2003, the town had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

of 3,310 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematicall ...

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 or ''Chūka'' is a style of Japanese cuisine served by Chinese restaurants popularized in Japan in the late 19th century and more recent times. This style of food is different from modern Chinatown Chinese food in Japan ...

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

Maniwa 270px, Maniwa City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Kuse area of Maniwa is a city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 42,477 in 17568 households and a population density of 51 persons per km². The total are ...

. 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 flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body 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 limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limi ...

: **

Yonago Expressway The is a national expressway in the Chūgoku region of Japan. It is owned and operated by West Nippon Expressway Company. Overview The expressway is officially referred to as the Chūgoku-Ōdan Expressway Okayama Yonago Route. The route co ...

***Yubara Interchange *

National highways National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards used by all f ...

: ** 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 the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

Yubara Dam Yubara Dam ( ja, 湯原ダム) is a dam in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, completed in 1954. At the base of the dam wall is a small village with a number of onsen In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditi ...

(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 Japan Spa towns in Japan Maniwa {{Okayama-geo-stub