Misasa, Tottori

Misasa 三朝町
—  Town  —
Location of Misasa in Tottori Prefecture
Misasa
Coordinates: 35°25′N 133°52′E / 35.417°N 133.867°E / 35.417; 133.867Coordinates: 35°25′N 133°52′E / 35.417°N 133.867°E / 35.417; 133.867
Country	Japan
Region	Chūgoku
Prefecture	Tottori Prefecture
District	Tōhaku District
Area
- Total	233.46 km2 (90.1 sq mi)
Population (October 1, 2007)
- Total	7,322
- Density	31.4/km2 (81.3/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	Aesculus
- Flower	Rhododendron
Phone number	0858-43-1111
Address	999-2 Ōaza Ōze, Misasa-chō, Tottori-ken 682-0195
Website	Town of Misasa

A street in the center of Misasa shortly before the Marie Curie festival

Sanbutsu-ji

Misasa (三朝町, Misasa-chō^?) is a town located in Tōhaku District, Tottori, Japan. It is also home to the official treasure of Sanbutsuji and the Okayama Hospital.

The name "Misasa" (literally "three mornings") originates from the belief that one who stays to enjoy three mornings in the town's famous hot springs will find all of his ailments cured.

As of October 1, 2007, the town has an estimated population of 7,322 and a density of 31.4 persons per km². The total area is 233.46 km². It is the second largest town in the prefecture (7th largest out of towns and cities).

Misasa is for the most part a spa resort, boasting springs of radium-rich water, exhausting radon, a radioactive gas. It is believed that bathing one in such waters can actually be good for one's health, though there is not a scientific consensus on whether doing so is actually detrimental or helpful to one's health (see Radiation hormesis). For this reason, the town of Misasa organizes a yearly Marie Curie festival – Marie Curie discovered radium.

The film Koitanibashi was shot in Misasa.^[1]

Education

• Primary Schools
  • Nishi Elementary School
  • Higashi Elementary School
  • Minami Elementary School
• Junior High Schools
  • Misasa Junior High School
• Universities
  • Institute for Study of the Earth's Interior, Okayama University

Neighboring municipalities

• Tottori Prefecture
  • Tottori
  • Kurayoshi
  • Yurihama
• Okayama Prefecture
  • Kagamino
  • Maniwa

Places of note

• Misasa Onsen

A radium-rich hot spring.

• Oshika Valley

It is named a special location, or "meishou" (名所) by the government, and is about 4 km long.

• Sanbutsu-ji (temple)

Located on the side of a cliff, it is one of the National Treasures of Japan.

References

1. ^ HPriest (2011-11-12). "SPEED’s Uehara Takako attends stage greeting for “Koitanibashi”". TokyoHive. http://www.tokyohive.com/2011/11/speeds-uehara-takako-attends-stage-greeting-for-koitanibashi/. Retrieved 2011-11-13. 

External links

Media related to Misasa, Tottori at Wikimedia Commons

• (English) Official town website
• (Japanese) Official town website
• (French) Misasacho's blog from Official town website – French and English posts