Ikata, Ehime
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Ikata 伊方町 |
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| Town | ||
The Minatoura neighborhood
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 Location of Ikata in Ehime Prefecture |
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 Ikata
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| Coordinates: 33°29′N 132°21′E / 33.483°N 132.350°ECoordinates: 33°29′N 132°21′E / 33.483°N 132.350°E | ||
| Country | Japan | |
| Region | Shikoku | |
| Prefecture | Ehime Prefecture | |
| District | Nishiuwa | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Kazuhiko Yamashita | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 94.37 km2 (36.44 sq mi) | |
| Population (March 31, 2014) | ||
| • Total | 10,637 | |
| Symbols | ||
| • Tree | Quercus phillyraeoides (姥目樫 Ubamegashi?) | |
| • Flower | (石蕗 Tsuwabuki?) | |
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) | |
| City hall address | 1993-1 Minatoura, Ikata-chō, Nishiuwa-gun, Ehime-ken 796-0301 |
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| Website | www |
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Ikata (伊方町 Ikata-chō?) is a small town located in Nishiuwa District, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. Following a recent merger with the neighboring towns of Misaki and Seto, the town now spans the mountainous Sadamisaki Peninsula, the narrowest peninsula in Japan and the westernmost point on the island of Shikoku.
This unique geography has greatly influenced Ikata's growth. On the one hand, it has presented significant challenges to urban development that were not overcome until recently in the town's long history. On the other, the peninsula is what gives the town its beautiful mountain and ocean scenery which, bolstered by significant investments in infrastructure and tourist facilities, has formed the basis for a burgeoning tourism industry.
In addition to the beauty of its rugged, natural landscape, Ikata has long been known for fishing and mikan orange farming. In recent years Ikata has also become a hotspot of modern energy production—the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant until 2012 produced much of Shikoku's electricity, and the town's windy mountains are dotted by dozens of windmills.
The Sadamisaki Peninsula area has been inhabited since at least the Jōmon period (10,000–300 BC), as evidenced by the discovery of stone tools and earthenware pots in the Misaki and Kushi neighborhoods.
In 1963 a local man discovered a stone ax dating to the mid-Yayoi period (300 BC–250 AD) in his farm plot in the Kawachi neighborhood. Upon further investigation by the Japan Archaeological Society in 1986, the area was recognized as containing the remains of a highland settlement ( kōchisei shūraku?). This is a type of settlement usually located several tens of meters above the surrounding area on mountainsides, and is peculiar to the Yayoi period.
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Wikipedia