Minamiizu

Minamiizu

南伊豆町
Minamiizu 南伊豆町
Town
	Location of Minamiizu in Shizuoka
Land	Japan
Region	Tōkai (Chūbu)
Prefecture	Shizuoka
District	Kamo District
Area
• Total	110.58 km2 (42.70 sq mi)
Population (February 2009)
• Total	9,637
• Density	87.1/km2 (226/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Phone number	0558-62-1111
Address	328-2 Shimokamo, Minamiizu-chō, Kamo-gun, Shizuoka-ken 415-0303
Website	Town of Minamiizu HP

Minamiizu (南伊豆町, Minamiizu-chō) is a town located at the southern tip of Izu Peninsula in Kamo District, Shizuoka, Japan. As of February 2009, the town has an estimated population of 9,637 and a density of 87.1 persons per km². The total area is 110.58 km².

Geography

Minamiizu occupies the southern tip of Izu Peninsula, a hilly region with an indented ria coastline facing the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean. The area has numerous hot springs. Warmed by the warm Kuroshio Current, the area enjoys a warm maritime climate with hot, humid summers and mild, cool winters. Parts of the town are within the borders of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, and the historic Irōzaki Lighthouse is located at the tip of Cape Irōzaki, to the south of town.

Neighboring municipalities

History

During the Edo period, all of Izu Province was tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate, and the area now comprising Minamiizu Town consisted of 25 villages. During the cadastral reform of the early Meiji period in 1889, the area was reorganized into six villages (Minamizaka, Minaminaka, Minamikami, Mizaka, Mihama and Chikuma) within Kamo District. The town of Minamiizu was formed in July 1955 through the merger of these six villages.