Genkai, Saga

Template:Infobox City Japan Genkai (玄海町, Genkai-chō) is a town located in Higashimatsuura District, Saga, Japan. It has an area of 36.00 km² and as of February 1, 2009 has a population of 6,496. It is currently the only municipality in Higashimatsuura District. There was a town with the same name in Fukuoka Prefecture, but it now no longer exists.

Geography

File:浜野浦棚田-001.jpg

Rice terraces in Hamanoura, Genkai.

A fishing village at Kariya Port in Genkai.

A wind turbine in Genkai.

The town is located on the northwestern edge of the prefecture on the Higashimatsuura Peninsula and faces the Genkai Sea on its west side. It is located about 50 km (31 mi) northwest of the city of Saga and about 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Fukuoka. Genkai is home to one of sixteen nuclear power plants in Japan, with the only other nuclear power plant in the Kyūshū area being located in Kagoshima Prefecture. It is the only town in the Higashimatsuura District of Saga that has not merged with Karatsu.

Adjoining municipalities

• Karatsu

History

• September 30, 1956 - The villages of Chika and Ariura merge to form the town of Genkai.
• December 31, 1957 - The neighborhoods of Sosorogawachi, Yunoo, Fujihira, Tashiro from the village of Kirigo are incorporated into Genkai. Kirigo's remaining neighborhoods are incorporated into Karatsu.

The great Heisei merger

All other towns and villages from Higashimatsuura District were incorporated into Karatsu between 2005 and 2006. Genkai originally planned to merge into Karatsu with the rest of the district, but was concerned about the slow administrative response of the surrounding areas. Eventually they withdrew their decision to merge and decided to continue as an autonomous municipality. Genkai is now enjoying a relatively high amount of revenue from the Genkai Nuclear Power Plant, built in 1975, but there is a question as to its administration in the future.

Education

Prefectural high schools

• Karatsu Seishō Blue Wings High School (佐賀県立唐津青翔高等学校)

Municipal junior high schools

• Ariura Junior High School (有浦中学校)
• Chiga Junior High School (値賀中学校)

Municipal elementary schools

• Ariura Elementary School (有浦小学校)
• Chiga Elementary School (値賀小学校)
• Kariya Elementary School (仮屋小学校)
• Mukata Elementary School (牟形小学校)

Transportation

Rail

There are no train stations in Genkai.

Road

• National highways
  • Route 204
• Main prefectural roads
  • Hizen-Yobuko Route 47

Scenic and historic places

• Kaijō Onsen Parea (海上温泉パレア)
• Genkai Energy Park (玄海エネルギーパーク)

External links

Media related to Genkai, Saga at Wikimedia Commons

• Genkai official website Template:Ja icon
• Genkai 118th Shinyo Special Attack Squadron Monument