Nakanojō, Gunma

Nakanojō 中之条町
—  Town  —
Flag
Location of Nakanojō in Gunma
Nakanojō
Coordinates: 36°35′N 138°50′E / 36.583°N 138.833°E / 36.583; 138.833Coordinates: 36°35′N 138°50′E / 36.583°N 138.833°E / 36.583; 138.833
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Gunma
District	Agatsuma
Area
– Total	439.28 km2 (169.6 sq mi)
Population (2011)
– Total	17,931
– Density	40.8/km2 (105.7/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	Zelkova
- Flower	Mountain Lily
- Bird	Bush Warbler
Website	Town of Nakanojō

Nakanojō (中之条町, Nakanojō-machi^?) is a town located in Agatsuma District, Gunma, Japan.

As of July 1, 2011, the town has an estimated population of 17,931 and a population density of 40.8 persons per km². There are a total of 6,059 households in town. The total area is 439.28 km² and an elevation of 400 m above sea level. The town's area is 83% mountains and forests (197 km²). The town mayor is Michitaka Iriuchijima (入内島道隆, Iriuchijima Michitaka^?) (2004).

On March 28, 2010, the village of Kuni, from Agatsuma District, merged into Nakanojō.

Surrounding municipalities

• Gunma Prefecture
  • Kusatsu
  • Naganohara
  • Higashiagatsuma
  • Shibukawa
• Nagano Prefecture
  • Sakae
  • Yamanouchi
  • Takayama
• Niigata Prefecture
  • Yuzawa

Education

Nakanojō has four kindergartens, five elementary schools (Nakanojō, Sawada, Isama, Nakuta, and Kuni), three junior high schools (Nakanojō, West Nakanojō, and Kuni), one high school, and one agricultural high school.

Tourism

The main draw of tourists to Nakanojō are the natural hot spring resorts. There are two major hot spring resort areas within the town.

The larger and more famous on is Shima Hot Springs. Shima is tucked into the mountains on the north end of town. The name means 40,000, and represents the 40,000 ailments the water is supposed to cure. The other resort is called Sawatari Hot Springs. It can be reached by taking route 55 from highway 353.

Transportation

Train stations

There are two train stations in Nakanojō.

Agatsuma Line (East Japan Railway Company)

• Nakanojō Station
• Ichishiro Station

Highways

• National Highway 145
• National Highway 292

One section of National Highway 353 ends in Shima, Nakanojō.

There is an other section of National Highway 405 ends in Lake Nozori, Nakanojō.

Festivals

Nakanojō has three main festivals during the year. In winter, there is the Tori-oi Matsuri. This involves pounding on large drum all around town to scare birds (for good crops) or demons (for good luck) away for the new year. In summer, there is the Nakanojō Matsuri in August and the Ise-machi Matsuri in September. The Ise-machi Matsuri features the Yagibushi Folk Dance.

Notable residents

• Keizo Obuchi
• Yuko Obuchi

Communities

• Akasaka (赤坂)
• Aoyama (青山)
• Arigawa (蟻川)
• Daidou (大道)
• Gotanda (五反田)
• Ichishiro (市城)
• Ise-machi (伊勢町)
• Iwamoto (岩本)
• Nakuta (名久田)
• Orida (折田)
• Ōtsuka (大塚)
• Upper Sawatari (上沢渡)
• Lower Sawatari (下沢渡)
• Shima (四万)
• Taira (平)
• Tochikubo (栃窪)
• West Nakanojo (西中之条)
• Yamada (山田)

The following communities once belonged to the former Kuni area.

• Akaiwa (赤岩）
• Hikage (日影)
• Iriyama (入山)
• Kosame (小雨）
• Ōshi (太子)

External links

Media related to Nakanojō, Gunma at Wikimedia Commons

• Nakanojō official website (Japanese)
• About Nakanojō (In English, but lots of outdated info)
• American Friendship Dolls at Nakanojō Daisan Elementary School