Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, Chūbu Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Nakatsugawa is a city located in Gifu, Japan. The city has an estimated population density of 120 persons per km². The total area of the city is 676.45 square kilometres.

Geography Nakatsugawa is in the Tōnō region of far eastern Gifu Prefecture, bordering on Nagano Prefecture. Mount Ena, the southernmost of the Kiso Mountains on the border between Nakatsugawa, Aichi and Nagano Prefecture is the highest point in the city, with an elevation of 2,191 metres (7,188 ft). The Kiso River and the Agi River flow through the city.

Neighbouring municipalities Gifu Prefecture ◦ Ena ◦ Gero ◦ Shirakawa ◦ Higashishirakawa; Nagano Prefecture ◦ Kiso ◦ Ōtaki ◦ Ōkuwa ◦ Achi ◦ Hiraya.

Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Nakatsugawa peaked around the year 2000 and has declined since.

History The area around Nakatsugawa was part of traditional Mino Province. During the Edo period, much of the area was under the control of Owari Domain, Naegi Domain and Iwamura Domain, or was tenryō under direction control of the Tokugawa shogunate. Nakatsugawa-juku prospered as one of the 69 Stations of the Nakasendō along the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. In the post-Meiji restoration cadastral reforms, Ena District in Gifu prefecture was created, and Nakatsugawa was proclaimed a town per the April 1, 1897 establishment of the modern municipalities system. Nakatsugawa merged with the town of Naegi in 1951 and was elevated to city status on April 1, 1952. Nakatsugawa annexed the village of Nakamoto in 1954, Ochiai in 1956, and Agi in 1957. On February 13, 2005, the towns of Tsukechi, Fukuoka and Sakashita and the villages of Hirukawa, Kashimo and Kawaue (all from the former Ena District), and the village of Yamaguchi (from Kiso District, Nagano Prefecture) were merged into Nakatsugawa.

Government Nakatsugawa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 24 members.

Education: University • Chukyo Gakuin University • Nagoya University - Nakatsugawa campus

Education: Primary and Secondary Nakatsugawa has 19 public elementary schools and 12 public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has four public high schools operated by the Gifu Prefectural Board of Education, and one public high school operated by the city government.

Transport: Rail • - JR Central - Chūō Main Line ◦ Sakashita - Ochiaigawa - Nakatsugawa - Mino-Sakamoto • Akechi Railway (Akechi Line) ◦ Iinuma - Agi.

Transport: Road • Chūō Expressway • National Route 19 • National Route 256 • National Route 257 • National Route 363.

Local attractions • Kurikinton - Nakatsugawa is known for its abundant chestnut harvest and the chestnut delicacy known as kurikinton (栗きんとん). Kurikinton is produced by boiling and mashing the chestnuts, then mixing them with sugar and reforming into a chestnut shape. It is widely available during the autumn months. Many families make their own, while purchased kurikinton is popular as well for home consumption and as gifts. • Takamine Co., a Japanese guitar manufacturer known for its steel-string acoustic guitars is headquartered in Nakatsugawa. • Misaka Pass, a National Historic Site.