was 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 Minamiuwa District,

Ehime Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,334,841 and a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...

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 ...

. As of 2005, 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 2787 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 127.79 persons per km². The total area was 21.81 km². On October 1, 2004, Nishiumi, along with the towns of Ipponmatsu, Jōhen and Mishō, and the village of Uchiumi (all from Minamiuwa District), was merged to create the town of Ainan. Though now part of Ainan, Nishiumi itself consisted of many individual villages (localities/hamlets) including Fukuura, Funakoshi, Nishiura, and Sotodomari, among others. The industry in Nishiumi consists primarily of fishing and agriculture, producing things such as

bonito Bonitos are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned, predatory fish in the family Scombridae, which it shares with the mackerel, tuna, and Spanish mackerel tribes, and also the butterfly kingfish. Also called the tribe Sardini, it consists of ...

and

mikan ''Citrus unshiu'' is a semi-seedless and easy-peeling citrus species, also known as the satsuma mandarin or Japanese mandarin. During the Edo period of Japan, kishu mikans were more popular because there was a popular superstition that eating '' ...

oranges.

Geography and climate

Nishiumi's name literally translates to West sea, which is fitting because the area is a peninsula that juts off the south-western edge of Ehime and into the Pacific Ocean. The geography of Nishiumi is dominated by mountains and inlets, most of which are covered by forest and jungle. Nishiumi lies in Japan's humid subtropical region and has a particularly mild winter, rarely seeing any snow. However, it is known for having very strong winter winds which blow off the ocean.

Tourism

Notable destinations in Nishiumi district include Kashima island which is part of Ashizuri-Uwakai national park, Cape Komo, a scenic overlook, and the town of Sotodomari, which is known for its terraced stone walls.3

Gallery

Image:Funakoshi_Nishiumi_Ainan_Ehime.JPG, Funakoshi, one of the towns in Nishiumi. Image:Mountains_Nishiumi_Ainan_Ehime.JPG, Mountains and sea in Nishiumi. Image:Sotodomari_Nishiumi_Ainan_Ehime.JPG, The walls of Sotodomari.

External links

Official website of Ainan
in Japanese

References

1

Ainan Town Website. Minamimatchi office, Ehime Prefecture. 2007. Retrieved on 2008-07-07 2. Martin, Samuel E. "Concise Japanese Dictionary." Tuttle Language Library. 1994. Singapore. 3

National Parks of Japan. Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved on 2008-07-03. Dissolved municipalities of Ehime Prefecture Ainan, Ehime {{Ehime-geo-stub