Ōmachi, Nagano Prefecture, Chūbu Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Ōmachi (大町市) is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.

History The area of present-day Ōmachi was part of ancient Shinano Province. The area was part of the holdings of Matsumoto Domain during the Edo period. The modern town of Ōmachi was established with the creation of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It merged with the neighboring villages of Taira, Tokiwa and Yashiro on July 1, 1954 to form the city of Ōmachi. On January 1, 2006, the villages of Miasa and Yasaka (both from Kitaazumi District) were merged into Ōmachi.

Geography Ōmachi is located west of Nagano, the capital of Nagano Prefecture, in the Daihoku District (大北地域) of the prefecture. The 3,000 meter Northern Japanese Alps (or Hida Mountains) are to the west ranges to the west of the city and mountains of around 1,000 meters form the eastern border. The Takase River runs through the city, which is located in the northern Matsumoto basin.

The Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line active fault system is also running through the city. • Mountains: Mount Yarigatake, Mount Noguchigorō (野口五郎岳, Noguchigorō-dake), Mount Eboshi (烏帽子岳, Eboshi-dake), Mount Sugoroku (双六岳, Sugoroku-dake), Mount Otenshō (大天井岳, Otenshō-dake), Mount Tsubakuro (燕岳, Tsubakuro-dake), Mount Gaki (餓鬼岳, Gaki-dake), Mount Harinoki (針ノ木岳, Harinoki-dake), Mount Renge (蓮華岳, Renge-dake), Mount Jii (爺ヶ岳, Jii-ga-take), Mount Kashimayari (鹿島槍ヶ岳, Kashimayari-ga-take), Mount Goryū (五竜岳, Goryū-dake). • Rivers: Takase River. • Lakes and marshes: Nishina three lakes (仁科三湖, Nishina-san-ko) (Lake Kizaki (木崎湖, Kizaki-ko), Lake Nakatsuna (中綱湖, Nakatsuna-ko), Lake Aoki (青木湖, Aoki-ko)).

Surrounding municipalities • Nagano Prefecture: ◦ Matsumoto ◦ Nagano ◦ Azumino ◦ Matsukawa ◦ Ikeda ◦ Hakuba ◦ Ikusaka ◦ Ogawa. • Toyama Prefecture: ◦ Toyama ◦ Tateyama ◦ Kurobe. • Gifu Prefecture: ◦ Takayama.

Economy Ōmachi is a regional commercial centre and a producer of aluminium, cotton thread and rice. Seasonal tourism to the mountains is also an important source of local income.

Transport: Rail • East Japan Railway Company - Ōito Line ◦ Azumi-Kutsukake - Shinano-Tokiwa - Minami-Ōmachi - Shinano-Ōmachi - Kita-Ōmachi - Shinano-Kizaki - Inao - Uminokuchi - Yanaba - Yanaba-Ski-jō-mae • Kansai Electric Power Company ◦ Kanden Tunnel Trolleybus.

Transport: Road • National Route 19 • National Route 147 • National Route 148 • National Route 406.

Local attractions • Nishina Shinmei Shrine, a National Treasure • Ōmachi Aloine Museum • Ōmachi Dam • Shin-Takasegawa Pumped Storage Station.