Kihoku, Mie


Kihoku is a town located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. As of September 2012, the town had an estimated population of 17,885 and a population density of 69.6 persons per km2. The total area was 257.01 km2.

Geography

Kihoku is located in southeastern the Kii Peninsula in southern Mie Prefecture, facing the Pacific Ocean. Kihoku is surrounded by river, sea, and mountain, and has a beautiful setting.

Neighboring municipalities

The town of Kihoku was established on October 11, 2005 by the merger of the towns Kii-Nagashima and Miyama.

Economy

Kihoku serves as a commercial center for the surrounding region. Commercial fishing and forestry are the major employers. A well-known product of the former town of Miyama is saury sushi because of the large local catch of saury. At Kihoku, there is the static inverter plant of Kii Channel HVDC system.

Transportation

Railway

A portion of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is located within Kihoku.

Notable people