is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in
Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1942.
As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated
population of 53,675, with 24,153
households
and a
population density of 940 persons per km². The total area is 57.15 km².
History
Arao was once a large
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
town, but it has since lost a great deal of its population, due to the closing of the mine 11 years ago. Some schools that once housed 1,500 children have now been looking at declining enrollments down 1,000 students or more. Arao's political concentration is on
tourism, to try to lure people back to this once heavily populated land. Recent hopes to pull in tourists are in its two big
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
s, Mitsui Greenland and
Ultraman Land.
Economy
One notable aspect of this city includes
Shōdai ware
is a type of Japanese pottery traditionally from Arao, Kumamoto.
External links
* http://www.mingei-okumura.com/fs/mingei/c/syoudai
Culture in Kumamoto Prefecture
Japanese pottery
{{japan-art-stub ...
, an art form almost completely exclusive to Arao, involving slow kilning and under glazing.
Also, the Arao
nashi pear is a fruit product grown widely in this town. The pear is round, brown and about the size of a bowling ball.
References
External links
*
*
Cities in Kumamoto Prefecture
{{Kumamoto-geo-stub