Article

03366 ／にしわがまち

Iwate Prefecture 和賀郡

Nishiwaga Town

A bath signal warns of coming trains.

Hottoyuda, a hot spring station

Photo by 東京特許許可局 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Dugout canoe

A canoe hollowed from one cedar logis said to have hauled stones on the Waga River.

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Sawauchi marukibune is hollowed from a single cedar log. Tradition says it carried stones during bank work on the Waga River, and a canoe of the same type is also said to have served as a ferry. It was designated an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property in 1964 and is kept at a museum in Sawauchi.

Hollowed from one cedar log
Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property, 1964
Owned by Nishiwaga Town

02 ／ Museum

The tourism association says a painter builtthis museum with his own funds and gave it to the town.

Kawamura Isamu, a painter from the town, built the museum in 1985 with his own funds, and the Dessin Hall was completed in 1992; both were donated to the town, says the Nishiwaga Tourism Association. Today they are listed in the town's facility guide as the Nishiwaga Town Kawamura Museum and the Kawamura Dessin Hall. The photo shows the museum's exterior.

Museum, 1985
Dessin Hall, 1992
Both donated to the town

03 ／ Floating islands

Islands formed from torn-off shore plantsfloat on Lake Yukawa, 570 m up.

The town says Lake Yukawa, in the mountains at 570 m above sea level, holds floating islands formed when shore plants break away from the bank through changes in water level and the pressure of freezing. The tourism association puts them at about ten, 1 to 5 m across. They are a prefectural natural monument, designated in 1966 per the prefecture's list.

570 m above sea level
Islands 1 to 5 m across
Prefectural natural monument, 1966

Nishiwaga Town from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot July–October 2016)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

About 590 km², 80% of it forest.

about 5,000 people
Rural district town

Nishiwaga is the westernmost town in Iwate Prefecture, between Kitakami City and Yokote City. The town gives its area as about 590 km², 80% of it forest. It lies along the Ou Mountains with a Sea of Japan-side climate of heavy winter snow; the deepest snow is about 1.5 to 2 m, and elevation is about 250 to 420 m.

People living here: 5,134people
Area: 590.74km²
Households: 1,989households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 5 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —5 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 9 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Nishiwaga Town in Japan39.435°N 140.750°E

Territory of Nishiwaga Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.

North to south

48.7km

Iwate Prefecture: Kitakami City, Shizukuishi Town, Oshu City, Hanamaki City
Akita Prefecture: Yokote City, Daisen City, Misato Town, Semboku City, Higashinaruse Village

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Nishiwaga Town isthis kind of town.

01The town calls Hottoyuda Station a hot spring station found nowhere else in Japan; a signal in the main bath turns blue, yellow and red to show a train is near
02The Sawauchi marukibune, a canoe hollowed from one cedar log, is kept at a museum in Sawauchi; the painter Kawamura Isamu built a museum with his own funds in 1985 and gave it to the town
03Lake Yukawa holds floating islands of torn-off shore plants, a prefectural natural monument; the town says 80% of its area is forest

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Nishiwaga Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes