Sakawa, Kōchi

Sakawa 佐川町
Town
View of Sakawa Town and Mount Kokuzo
Flag Chapter
Location of Sakawa in Kōchi Prefecture
Sakawa Location in Japan
Coordinates: 33°30′N 133°17′E / 33.500°N 133.283°E / 33.500; 133.283Coordinates: 33°30′N 133°17′E / 33.500°N 133.283°E / 33.500; 133.283
Country	Japan
Region	Shikoku
Prefecture	Kōchi Prefecture
District	Takaoka
Government
• Mayor	Kazumichi Horimi
Area
• Total	101.21 km2 (39.08 sq mi)
Population  (January 1, 2017)
• Total	13,223
• Density	130/km2 (340/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
Website	www.town.sakawa.lg.jp
Symbols
Bird	Kingfisher

Sakawa (佐川町, Sakawa-chō) is a town located in Takaoka District, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. It is 28 km west of Kōchi City.

As of January 1, 2017, Sakawa has an estimated population of 13‚223^[1] and a population density of 130 persons per km². The total area is 101.21 km².

Geography[]

Sakawa is a valley town and surrounded by mountains on all sides. The landscape is hilly and the roads and footpaths are winding and narrow.

The tallest mountain in Sakawa is Mt. Kokuzo, standing at 675m tall. Many rivers also run through the town, which are tributaries of the .

Climate[]

Sakawa experiences extreme seasons. Spring and Fall are mild and cool. Summer is very warm and temperatures routinely reach 35 °C with 100% humidity. The coldest months are January and February with temperatures around 10 °C during the day. There are usually one or two light snowfalls in January. The rainy season is from June to August and typhoons are common during this time.

Sakawa is also known for its noticeable temperature differences between day and night. Temperatures can dip as much as ten degrees once the sun goes down.

Economy[]

Agriculture[]

Many of the town's residents are farmers. Rice, Japanese pears, tea leaves, soybeans, strawberries, and many other crops are grown on family plots in town.

Products[]

Sakawa is famous for the production of Tsukasabotan, a type of sake. There is a brewery in town that offers free tours and samples.

The town is also home to artisans who produce hand-made earthenware and woven bamboo products.

Sites of historical interest[]

Sakawa is the home of the Old Seizan Library, the only Western-style wooden structure still standing in Kōchi Prefecture. Although no longer in use as a library (a new building houses all the historical texts), the house remains open as a small museum and historical site.

In 1987, 10,000-year-old evidence of human settlement was discovered in a region of town known as the Sakawa Basin.^[2] Since then, Sakawa has been named “Mecca of geology in Japan” because "some of the world’s rarest and most precious fossils have been unearthed" in Sakawa.^[3] The site is open for tours.

Transportation[]

Railway[]

• JR Shikoku - Dosan Line
  • Tosa-Kamo - Nishi-Sakawa - Sakawa - Erinono - Togano

Highways[]

• Japan National Route 33
• Japan National Route 494

Notable people[]

• Tomitaro Makino, Father of Japanese Botany
• Ono Daisuke, voice actor
• Satoshi Yamaguchi, Japanese football player
• Masako Bandō, Japanese novelist
• Koji Yoshimura, Japanese former football player and older brother of Keiji Yoshimura
• Keiji Yoshimura, Japanese former football player and younger brother of Koji Yoshimura
• Hiroshi Takahashi, Japanese architect

Education[]

Assistant Language Teachers[]

The town participates in the JET Programme and currently employs two JET Assistant Language English Teacher at the junior high schools and elementary schools in the central area (Sakawa) and the peripheral areas (Ogawa, Kuroiwa and Togano).

An Assistant Language English Teacher hired privately is employed at Sakawa Senior High School.

See also[]

• Asteroid 19161 Sakawa, named after the town

References[]

External links[]

• Media related to Sakawa, Kōchi at Wikimedia Commons
• Sakawa official website (in Japanese)