Hakusan (白山市, Hakusan-shi) is a city located in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 January 2018, the city had an estimated population of 113,375 in 43246 households, and a population density of 290 persons per km2.[2] The total area of the city was 754.93 square kilometres (291.48 sq mi). It is the second-most populous city in Ishikawa Prefecture after Kanazawa.

Hakusan
白山市
Hakusan City Hall
Hakusan City Hall
Flag of Hakusan
Official logo of Hakusan
Location of Hakusan in Ishikawa Prefecture
Location of Hakusan in Ishikawa Prefecture
Hakusan is located in Japan
Hakusan
Hakusan
 
Coordinates: 36°30′59.9″N 136°33′56.1″E / 36.516639°N 136.565583°E / 36.516639; 136.565583
CountryJapan
RegionChūbu (Hokuriku)
PrefectureIshikawa Prefecture
First official recorded91 BC
Matsutō city settledOctober 10, 1970
Changed to current nameFebruary 1, 2005
Government
 • - MayorToshikazu Tamura
Area
 • Total
754.93 km2 (291.48 sq mi)
Population
 (December 31, 2019)
 • Total
113,715[1]
Time zoneUTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Phone number076-276-1111 
Address2-1 Kuramitsu, Hakusan-shi, Ishikawa-ken 924-8688
ClimateCfa
WebsiteOfficial website
Symbols
BirdJapanese bush-warbler
FlowerMorning glory
TreeJapanese beech
Coastal area of Hakusan

Geography

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Hakusan is located in southwestern Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan and is bordered by the Sea of Japan to the west and Fukui Prefecture to the south, and Gifu Prefecture and Toyama Prefectures to the east. The southeastern portion of the city is dominated by high mountains. Parts of the city are within the borders of Hakusan National Park.

Neighbouring municipalities

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Climate

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Hakusan has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hakusan is 14.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2542 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.9 °C.[3]

Climate data for Hakusan (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1978−present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 17.9
(64.2)
19.6
(67.3)
23.9
(75.0)
29.6
(85.3)
32.2
(90.0)
33.3
(91.9)
37.3
(99.1)
37.4
(99.3)
35.5
(95.9)
31.7
(89.1)
25.5
(77.9)
23.9
(75.0)
37.4
(99.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 5.0
(41.0)
5.9
(42.6)
10.4
(50.7)
17.0
(62.6)
22.2
(72.0)
25.0
(77.0)
28.8
(83.8)
30.5
(86.9)
26.2
(79.2)
20.6
(69.1)
14.7
(58.5)
8.2
(46.8)
17.9
(64.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.5
(34.7)
1.8
(35.2)
5.1
(41.2)
11.3
(52.3)
16.6
(61.9)
20.2
(68.4)
24.1
(75.4)
25.2
(77.4)
21.1
(70.0)
15.3
(59.5)
9.7
(49.5)
4.3
(39.7)
13.0
(55.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −1.3
(29.7)
−1.6
(29.1)
0.8
(33.4)
5.9
(42.6)
11.4
(52.5)
16.2
(61.2)
20.5
(68.9)
21.2
(70.2)
17.2
(63.0)
11.2
(52.2)
5.6
(42.1)
1.2
(34.2)
9.0
(48.3)
Record low °C (°F) −10.0
(14.0)
−8.4
(16.9)
−6.3
(20.7)
−2.9
(26.8)
1.5
(34.7)
7.5
(45.5)
13.6
(56.5)
13.7
(56.7)
7.8
(46.0)
1.7
(35.1)
−1.4
(29.5)
−8.7
(16.3)
−10.0
(14.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 340.5
(13.41)
210.2
(8.28)
195.6
(7.70)
167.7
(6.60)
162.2
(6.39)
208.7
(8.22)
290.8
(11.45)
224.4
(8.83)
235.6
(9.28)
215.8
(8.50)
277.9
(10.94)
372.1
(14.65)
2,901.4
(114.23)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 217
(85)
155
(61)
56
(22)
2
(0.8)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
1
(0.4)
89
(35)
518
(204)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 23.5 19.2 16.8 13.2 12.1 12.5 14.7 11.2 13.6 13.5 17.2 22.5 190
Average snowy days (≥ 3 cm) 17.8 14.9 6.8 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 8.0 47.9
Mean monthly sunshine hours 51.2 74.6 120.9 175.0 196.9 139.0 139.8 186.1 138.6 137.5 99.5 56.3 1,515.4
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[4][5][6]

Demographics

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Per Japanese census data,[7] the population of Hakusan has recently plateaued after decades of strong growth.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1970 65,725—    
1980 81,286+23.7%
1990 98,499+21.2%
2000 106,977+8.6%
2010 110,459+3.3%
2020 110,408−0.0%

History

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The area around Hakusan was part of ancient Kaga Province. The area became part Kaga Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. Following the Meiji restoration, the area was organised into Ishikawa District, Ishikawa. The town of Mattō was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It became a city on October 10, 1970. On February 1, 2005, Mattō merged with the towns of Mikawa and Tsurugi, and the villages of Kawachi, Oguchi, Shiramine, Torigoe and Yoshinodani (all from Ishikawa District) to form the city of Hakusan.

Government

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Hakusan has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 21 members.

Economy

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Eizo and its subsidiary, Irem, have their headquarters in Hakusan.[8][9]

Education

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Hakusan has 19 public elementary schools and ten middle schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Ishikawa Prefectural Board of Education and one by the city government. There is also one private high school. Kinjo College, a private junior college is also located in Hakusan.

Transportation

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Railway

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Effective 16 March 2024, JR West no longer operates in Hakusan as its operations on the Hokuriku Main Line have since been transferred to the IR Ishikawa Railway.[10]

IR Ishikawa Railway

  Hokuriku Railroad - Ishikawa Line

Highway

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  National Route 8
  National Route 157
  National Route 305
  National Route 360

Sister cities

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Local attractions

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References

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  1. ^ "人口および世帯数" (PDF). Hakusan City (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Official statistics page". Archived from the original on 2019-08-05. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  3. ^ Hakusan climate data
  4. ^ 観測史上1~10位の値(年間を通じての値). JMA. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  5. ^ 気象庁 / 平年値(年・月ごとの値). JMA. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  6. ^ https://twitter.com/sayakasofiamori/status/1759534345298252150 [bare URL]
  7. ^ Hakusan population statistics
  8. ^ "Corporate Information Archived 2009-11-07 at the Wayback Machine." Eizo. Retrieved on October 20, 2009.
  9. ^ "About Irem." Irem. Retrieved on October 20, 2009.
  10. ^ "JR北陸本線の県内区間は16日から第3セクターに" [JR Hokuriku Main Line sections within Ishikawa Prefecture will move to third-sector operations from the 16th of March.]. NHK NEWS WEB (in Japanese). 16 March 2024. Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  11. ^ 鳥越城跡 附二曲城跡. Cultural Heritage Online (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
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  Media related to Hakusan, Ishikawa at Wikimedia Commons