Nasu, Tochigi

Nasu (那須町, Nasu-machi) is a town located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 August 2020, the town had an estimated population of 24,851 in 10,400 households[1], and a population density of 67 persons per km². The total area of the town is 372.34 square kilometres (143.76 sq mi).

Nasu 那須町
Town
Nasu Town Office
Flag Seal
Location of Nasu in Tochigi Prefecture
Nasu
Coordinates: 37°01′11.1″N 140°07′15.5″E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Tochigi Prefecture
District	Nasu
Area
• Total	372.34 km^2 (143.76 sq mi)
Population  (August 2020)
• Total	24,851
• Density	67/km^2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree	Pine
- Flower	Gentian
- Bird	Common cuckoo
Phone number	0287-72-6901
Address	3-13 Terakohei, Nasu-machi, Nasu-gun, Tochigi-ken 329-3222
Website	Official website

Panorama of Yumoto area of Nasu

Geography

Nasu is located in the mountainous far northeast of Tochigi Prefecture. The Naka River runs through the southwestern portion of the town and the Kurokawa River through the northeast.

Surrounding municipalities

Tochigi Prefecture

• Ōtawara
• Nasushiobara

Fukushima Prefecture

• Shirakawa
• Tanagura
• Nishigō

Climate

Nasu has a Humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Nasu is 11.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1406 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around -0.2 °C.[2]

Climate data for Nasu（Nasu Kogen, elevation 749m）
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	12.7 (54.9)	15.3 (59.5)	21.1 (70.0)	26.8 (80.2)	29.6 (85.3)	30.3 (86.5)	31.8 (89.2)	32.2 (90.0)	29.5 (85.1)	24.6 (76.3)	20.0 (68.0)	17.4 (63.3)	32.2 (90.0)
Average high °C (°F)	1.7 (35.1)	2.2 (36.0)	6.0 (42.8)	12.8 (55.0)	17.5 (63.5)	20.2 (68.4)	23.7 (74.7)	25.1 (77.2)	21.0 (69.8)	15.7 (60.3)	10.6 (51.1)	5.2 (41.4)	13.5 (56.3)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−1.8 (28.8)	−1.6 (29.1)	1.6 (34.9)	7.8 (46.0)	12.6 (54.7)	16.1 (61.0)	19.8 (67.6)	21.0 (69.8)	17.1 (62.8)	11.4 (52.5)	6.1 (43.0)	1.2 (34.2)	9.3 (48.7)
Average low °C (°F)	−5.4 (22.3)	−5.4 (22.3)	−2.6 (27.3)	2.8 (37.0)	7.6 (45.7)	12.1 (53.8)	16.3 (61.3)	17.4 (63.3)	13.7 (56.7)	7.4 (45.3)	1.9 (35.4)	−2.5 (27.5)	5.3 (41.5)
Record low °C (°F)	−11.7 (10.9)	−12.1 (10.2)	−10.4 (13.3)	−6.0 (21.2)	−2.3 (27.9)	3.6 (38.5)	8.7 (47.7)	8.9 (48.0)	3.2 (37.8)	−1.2 (29.8)	−6.1 (21.0)	−10.2 (13.6)	−12.1 (10.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	52.0 (2.05)	51.8 (2.04)	98.3 (3.87)	136.3 (5.37)	174.7 (6.88)	220.5 (8.68)	288.1 (11.34)	319.3 (12.57)	294.4 (11.59)	177.6 (6.99)	90.6 (3.57)	52.9 (2.08)	1,960.8 (77.20)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	10.9	9.9	12.0	11.6	12.4	16.1	18.4	17.0	15.3	11.1	9.1	8.9	152.7
Mean monthly sunshine hours	117.8	127.6	156.0	173.6	160.7	110.3	102.2	116.8	96.4	116.1	127.7	125.2	1,530.4
Mean daily sunshine hours	3.8	4.6	5.0	5.8	5.2	3.7	3.3	3.8	3.2	3.7	4.3	4.0	4.2
Source 1: 理科年表
Source 2: Japan Meteorological Agency (Averages：1981-2010、Max-Min：1888-present)[3][4]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,[5] the population of Nasu has remained relatively steadily over the past 40 years.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1920	20,064	—
1930	22,216	+10.7%
1940	23,069	+3.8%
1950	31,241	+35.4%
1960	30,359	−2.8%
1970	28,121	−7.4%
1980	26,824	−4.6%
1990	26,670	−0.6%
2000	27,027	+1.3%
2010	26,754	−1.0%

History

Nasu and Iouno villages and Ashino Town were created within Nasu District on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. The three municipalities merged to form Nasu Town on November 3, 1954. In March 2017 an avalanche killed 8 people.

Government

Nasu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 13 members. Nasu, together with the city of Nasushiobara collectively contributes four members to the Tochigi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Tochigi 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

The economy of Nasu is heavily dependent on tourism from its numerous hot spring and ski resorts.

Education

Nasu has six public primary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government. The town has one public high school operated by the Tochigi Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private school including junior and high school.

Transportation

Railway

JR East – Tōhoku Main Line (Utsunomiya Line)

• Takaku - Kurodahara - Toyohara

Highway

• Tōhoku Expressway – Nasu Interchange, Nasu Kogen Service Area and Smart Interchange
• National Route 4
• National Route 294

Local attractions

• Nasu Highland (那須高原, Nasu kōgen)
• Nasu Onsen, the collective name given to the various hot springs in the Nasu area surrounding Mt. Chausu. The eight hot springs in this area with accommodation and bathing facilities are sometimes referred to as Nasu Hachiyu (那須八湯) (Shika no yu (鹿の湯), sandogoya onsen (三斗小屋温泉), ōmaru onsen (大丸温泉), kita onsen (北温泉), benten onsen (弁天温泉), takao onsen (高雄温泉), yahata onsen (八幡温泉), shin nasu onsen (新那須温泉)) [6]
• Ashio Onsen
• Sessho-seki
• Mount Nasu
• Nasu Animal Kingdom
• Mount Jeans Nasu Ski Resort, a ski resort to the far north of Nasu
• Nasu Rindō-ko Lake View (那須りんどう湖レイクビュー, Nasu rindō-ko reiku byū), an amusement facility based around the rindō lake, with activities such as a zip-line, boat ride, go-karts, and more.[7]
• Cannabis Museum

References

1. "Nasu Town official home page" (in Japanese). Japan.
2. Nasu climate data
3. "平年値（年ごとの値）". Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
4. "観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）". Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
5. Nasu population statistics
6. Nasu tourism guide. (in Japanese) Retrieved 24 February 2017.
7. Nasu Rindō-ko Lake View (in Japanese) Retrieved 24 February 2017.

External links

• Official Website (in Japanese)