Tōkamachi, Niigata
| Tōkamachi 十日町市 | |
|---|---|
| City | |
 Location of Tōkamachi in Niigata Prefecture | |
  Tōkamachi Location in Japan | |
| Coordinates: 37°07′28″N 138°45′32″E / 37.12444°N 138.75889°ECoordinates: 37°07′28″N 138°45′32″E / 37.12444°N 138.75889°E | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Chūbu (Kōshin'etsu) (Hokuriku) |
| Prefecture | Niigata Prefecture |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Yoshifumi Sekiguchi (since May 2009) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 589.92 km2 (227.77 sq mi) |
| Population (April 30, 2011) | |
| • Total | 59,649 |
| • Density | 101.11/km2 (261.9/sq mi) |
| Symbols | |
| • Tree | Fagus crenata |
| • Flower | Lilium |
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) |
| City Hall Address |
3-3 Chitose, Tokamachi-shi, Niigata-ken 948-8501 |
Tōkamachi (十日町市 Tōkamachi-shi) is a city in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.
As of April 30, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 59,649 and a population density of 101.11 persons per km². The total area is 589.92 km², including the post-creation undefined boundary areas.
Tokamachi is home to the Tokamachi Snow Festival, which takes place every February. It is the snow festival with the oldest history in Japan. Tokamachi also hosts the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial which attracts over 700,000 visitors to the region each summer.
 Kinare, an Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial site, late March |
The city's mayor is Yoshifumi Sekiguchi, who was elected in May 2009.[1]
Tokamachi derives its name from the fact that on the tenth day of the month, the town's local market was held. Similarly, nearby Muikamachi had its own local market held on the sixth day of the month.[2]
Geography
Adjoining communities
Climate
Winter is cold and wet. An average of three meters of snow hit the city during this season. Tokamachi, like much of Japan is located in a temperate marine climate zone which provides plenty of wet weather. Although the temperature does not often drop below 0 °C (32 °F), snow is in abundance. For this reason, Tokamachi has benefited from shosetsu paippus. Because Tokamachi lies in a valley, wind patterns bring in clouds from both the sea of Japan as well as the Pacific ocean. The mountains surrounding the city (though not terribly high in altitude) act as any other mountains that affect rain and snow patterns providing a barrier for cloud patters. This causes a great deal of the built up precipitation to drop on the city. The Tōkamachi area receives the most snow of any area on the main island of Honshu.
| Climate data for Tokamachi, Niigata (1981-2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 3.0 (37.4) |
3.7 (38.7) |
7.4 (45.3) |
15.3 (59.5) |
21.8 (71.2) |
25.2 (77.4) |
28.4 (83.1) |
30.4 (86.7) |
25.6 (78.1) |
19.5 (67.1) |
13.1 (55.6) |
6.5 (43.7) |
16.66 (61.98) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −0.2 (31.6) |
0.0 (32) |
2.7 (36.9) |
9.0 (48.2) |
15.5 (59.9) |
19.9 (67.8) |
23.5 (74.3) |
24.9 (76.8) |
20.5 (68.9) |
14.1 (57.4) |
8.0 (46.4) |
2.6 (36.7) |
11.71 (53.08) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −3.0 (26.6) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
3.6 (38.5) |
10.0 (50) |
15.6 (60.1) |
19.8 (67.6) |
20.9 (69.6) |
16.6 (61.9) |
9.8 (49.6) |
3.9 (39) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
7.68 (45.83) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 415.2 (16.346) |
268.4 (10.567) |
179.4 (7.063) |
102.1 (4.02) |
106.3 (4.185) |
141.2 (5.559) |
209.9 (8.264) |
156.1 (6.146) |
171.5 (6.752) |
164.9 (6.492) |
231.9 (9.13) |
349.1 (13.744) |
2,496 (98.268) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 417 (164.2) |
308 (121.3) |
175 (68.9) |
39 (15.4) |
1 (0.4) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
12 (4.7) |
212 (83.5) |
1,164 (458.4) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 55.9 | 79.4 | 111.6 | 166.5 | 192.4 | 150.7 | 153.4 | 192.5 | 125.7 | 125.8 | 98.7 | 71.3 | 1,523.9 |
| Source: Japan Meteorological Agency | |||||||||||||
Municipal timeline
- March 31, 1954 - Tōkamachi was founded when the old town of Tōkamachi absorbed the villages of Nakajo, Kawaji and Rokka.
- December 1, 1954 - Tōkamachi absorbed the village of Yoshida (from Nakauonuma District).
- February 1, 1955 - Tōkamachi absorbed the village of Shimojo (from Nakauonuma District).
- April 1, 1962 - Tōkamachi absorbed the village of Mizusawa (from Nakauonuma District).
- October 23, 2004 - Tōkamachi was struck by the Chūetsu earthquake, suffering some damage.
- April 1, 2005 - Tōkamachi absorbed the towns of Matsudai and Matsunoyama (both from Higashikubiki District); the town of Kawanishi, and the village of Nakasato (both from Nakauonuma District) to create the new and expanded city of Tōkamachi.
Notable people
- Genichi Taguchi, engineer and statistician
- Shuichi Shigeno, manga artist and creator of Initial D
- Maiko Yuki, adult video actress
Sister cities
Outside Japan
Como, Italy, signed in 1975
Inside Japan
- Sapporo, Hokkaido
- Yokohama, Kanagawa
- Shibushi, Kagoshima
- Wako, Saitama
- (All signed on August 27, 2004)
References
- ↑ 市長プロフィール [Mayor's profile] (in Japanese). City of Tokamachi. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
- ↑ 市長への便り（平成25年7月） [Mayor answers questions related to name of city] (in Japanese). City of Tokamachi. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tokamachi, Niigata. |
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Tokamachi. |
- Official website (Japanese)
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