Misasa, Tottori

Misasa 三朝町
Town
Clockwise from top left: Misasa Spa, Sanbutsu Temple in Mount Mitoku, Mitoku River, Place of Team Hall (Jinsho no Yakata in Japanese), Misasa Art Museum
Tōhaku
Government
• Mayor	Hiroyuki Matsuura
Area
• Total	233.52 km2 (90.16 sq mi)
Population  (December 31, 2022)
• Total	6,056
• Density	26/km2 (67/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	999-2 Ōaza Ōze, Misasa-chō, Tottori-ken 682-0195
Website	Official website
Symbols
Flower	Rhododendron
Tree	Aesculus

Misasa (三朝町, Misasa-chō) is a

The total area of the town is 233.52 square kilometres (90.16 sq mi). 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.

Geography

Misasa is located in central Tottori Prefecture. It is designated as a heavy snowfall area, and much of the area within the town is mountainous. The Tenjin River flows through the town.

Neighboring municipalities

Tottori Prefecture

• Tottori
• Kurayoshi
• Yurihama

Okayama Prefecture

• Kagamino
• Maniwa

Climate

Misasa is classified as a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Misasa is 13.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2097 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.4 °C.^[2]

Demography

Per Japanese census data,^[3] the population of Misasa has been as follows. The population has been declining since the 1960s

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1920	10,423	—
1930	10,164	−2.5%
1940	9,715	−4.4%
1950	11,172	+15.0%
1960	10,951	−2.0%
1970	9,157	−16.4%
1980	8,771	−4.2%
1990	8,700	−0.8%
2000	7,921	−9.0%
2010	7,024	−11.3%

History

As with all of Hōki Province, the area was part of the holdings of a branch of the

, Tottori Prefecture on April 1, 1896 including the village of Misasa. Misasa was raised to town status on November 1,1953.

Government

Misasa has a

.

Economy

Misasa is for the most part a

festival – Marie Curie discovered radium.

Education

Misasa has one public elementary school and one public junior high schools operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school. The Institute for Planetary Materials Okayama University is located in the town.

Transportation

Railway

Misasa does not have any passenger railway service. The closest station is

.

Highways

• National Route 179
• National Route 482

Sister city relations

• Lamalou-les-Bains, France, since 1990
• Jōyō, Kyoto, Japan, since 2012

Local attractions

• 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

A temple located on a cliff on the north face of

National Treasures of Japan

.

In popular culture

• The film Koitanibashi was shot in Misasa.^[4]

Noted people from Misasa

• Eriko Yamaguchi, women's professional shogi player

References

External links

• Official town website (in English)
• Official town website (in Japanese)