Yamamoto, Miyagi

Yamamoto 山元町
Town
Yamamoto Town Office
Flag Seal
Location of Yamamoto in Miyagi Prefecture
Country	Japan
Region	Tōhoku
Prefecture	Miyagi
District	Watari
Area
• Total	64.8 km2 (25.0 sq mi)
Population  (June 2014)
• Total	12,857
• Density	199/km2 (520/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree	Pinus thunbergii
- Flower	Azalea
- Bird	Barn swallow
Phone number	0223-37-1111
Address	Aasehara Sakutayama 31, Yamamoto-chō, Watari-gun, Miyagi-ken 989-2292
Website	Official website

Yamamoto (山元町, Yamamoto-chō) is a town located in Watari District, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. As of June 2014, the town had an estimated population of 12,857 and a population density of 199 persons per km². The total area was 64.48  km².

Geography

Yamamoto is located in south-east Miyagi Prefecture, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, and Fukushima Prefecture to the south.

Neighboring municipalities

• Miyagi Prefecture
  • Kakuda, Miyagi
  • Watari, Miyagi
  • Marumori, Miyagi
• Fukushima Prefecture
  • Shinchi, Fukushima

History

The area of present-day Yamamoto was part of ancient Mutsu Province.The village of Yamamoto was established on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the municipalities system. It was raised to town status on February 1, 1951 by merging with the neighboring village of Sakamoto.

Yamamoto was devastated by the 8.9 – 9.0 M_W megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March 2011 and resultant tsunami. Eyewitness accounts describe Yamamoto as "one of the worst-hit areas" with no houses left undamaged.

Economy

The economy of Yamamoto is largely based on agriculture and commercial fishing.

Transportation

Railway

• JR East - Jōban Line
  • Sakamoto - Yamashita

Highway

• National Route 6

Noted people from Yamamoto

• Makoto Kosaka – professional baseball player

External links

Media related to Yamamoto, Miyagi at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website Template:Ja icon