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

Chita District is a district located in southwestern Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Chita Peninsula. As of October 1, 2019, the district had an estimated population of 160,542 with a density of 968 persons per km2. Its total area was 165.84 km2. Municipal ...

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

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 22,701 in 8852 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 491 persons per km². The total area of the town was

Geography

Mihama is located in the center of

Chita Peninsula The Chita Peninsula (知多半島 ''Chita Hantō'') is a peninsula to the south of Aichi Prefecture, central Honshū, Japan. It runs approximately north-south. To the west is Ise Bay, while to the east it encloses Mikawa Bay. It faces the Atsu ...

in southern Aichi Prefecture, bordered by

Mikawa Bay Mikawa Bay (Landsat photo) Mikawa Bay (三河湾 ''Mikawa-wan'') is a bay to the south of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, surrounded by Chita Peninsula The Chita Peninsula (知多半島 ''Chita Hantō'') is a peninsula to the south of Aichi Prefect ...

to the east and

Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie prefecture, Mie and Aichi prefecture, Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the small ...

to the west. Part of the town’s area is within the borders of the Mikawa Wan Quasi-National Park.

Neighboring municipalities

*Aichi Prefecture **

Minamichita is a town in Chita District, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 17,393 in 7338 households, and a population density of 453 persons per km2. The total area of the town was . Geography Minamichita is located in the e ...

** Taketoyo **

Tokoname is a Cities of Japan, city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 57,872 in 24,872 households, and a population density of 1,035 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Tokoname is located on ...

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Mihama peaked at around the year 2005 and has been in slow decline since.

Climate

The town has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Mihama is 15.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1737 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.8 °C.

History

The villages of Kōwa and Noma were established within

Chita District, Aichi is a district located in southwestern Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Chita Peninsula. As of October 1, 2019, the district had an estimated population of 160,542 with a density of 968 persons per km2. Its total area was 165.84 km2. Municipal ...

with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on October 1, 1889. Kōwa was raised to town status on May 6, 1903. Noma was raised to town status on July 1, 1942. The town of Mihama was established on April 1, 1955 through the merger of the towns of Kōwa and Noma. On March 31, 1957, the area of the town expanded when the neighboring town of Kosugaya was dissolved, and divided between Mihama and Tokoname. During March 2006, discussions were held to

merge Merge, merging, or merger may refer to: Concepts * Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road * Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program * Merger (politics), the comb ...

Mihama with the town of Minamichita to the south to form the new city of “Minamicentrair” named after the popular nickname for

Chūbu Centrair International Airport is an international airport on an artificial island (which also houses the ) in Ise Bay, Tokoname City in Aichi Prefecture, south of Nagoya in central Japan. The airport covers about 470 hectares (1,161 acres) of land and has one runway. ...

, but the merger proposal was strongly opposed by the majority of the inhabitants of Minamichita, and the merger did not take place.

Economy

The

primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in d ...

dominates the economy of Mihama, notably

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

and agriculture.

Education

* Nihon Fukushi University – Mihama Campus *Mihama has five public elementary schools and two public junior high schools operated by the town government, and one high school operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education.

High school

*Nihon Fukushi University Affiliated High School

Junior high schools

*Kōwa Junior High School *Noma Junior High School

Elementary schools

*Okuda Elementary School *Kōwa Elementary School *Kaminoma Elementary School *Futo Elementary School *Noma Elementary School **Minami-Kōwa Elementary school (School closed and merged with Kōwa Elementary School on March 31, 2022)

Transportation

Railway

Meitetsu , publicly trading as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the '' Panorama Car'' and the '' Panorama Car Super'', both of w ...

– Kōwa Line *- Meitetsu logomark 2

– Chita New Line * - - -

Buses

Chita Noriai , also called Chita Bus, is a bus company in the Meitetsu Group, based in Handa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Bus Lines Airport bus *From Chūbu Centrair International Airport For Kariya and Chiryū For Okazaki For Anjō For Tokoname ...

*Kōwa - Morozaki port *Uenoma -

- Rinkū Tokoname - Tokoname Hospital

Highway

* Minamichita Road *

Local attractions

*Minami-Chita Beachland - beach resort * Nomazaki Lighthouse * Sugimoto Art Museum *Tylek & Tylecek Mihama Museum

Notable people

Otokichi , also known as and later known as John Matthew Ottoson (1818 – January 1867), was a Japanese castaway originally from the area of Onoura near modern-day Mihama, Aichi, Mihama, on the west coast of the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture. ...

, Edo period Japanese castaway *Souichi, Japanese comedian

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Towns in Aichi Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan