HELLO FROM THE CITY OF
HITA
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Photo of northern part
of Kyushu,
Oita Perfecture by Landsat.
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** LOCATION AND SPECIAL
FEATURES **
Hita is situated in the
northwest part of Oita Prefecture, roughly in
the center of Northern Kyushu. The town was
formed where Kagetsu River, Oyama River, Kusu
River, and Mikuma River (which forms the upper
reaches of Chikugo River and flows through the
center of Hita from east to west) meet. Not
surprisingly, the city is known as "waterside
Hita." Mountains rising to some 1,000 metres
surround it. "Hita Basin" is well known
throughout Japan as a scenic spot of great
natural beauty. In 1950, it became the first
semi-national park in Japan, under the name
"Yaba, Hita and Hiko-san."
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** CLIMATE **
Because of the
geographical conditions of surrounding
mountains and valleys and the copious flow of
water from several rivers, the climate shows
qualities peculiar to inland areas; there is
often a flat calm in the mornings and evenings
and a sharp change in the temperature between
daytime and nighttime. Hita has a mild climate,
with an annual mean temperature of 15.4 Degrees
(Celsius) and an annual rainfall of
1,537mm.
** BRIEF OUTLINE
**
Stretching 22.3km east to
west and 24.8km north to south, Hita covers a
total area of 270.78km2. It is the second
largest city in Oita Prefecture. It is said
that where Hita now stands was once the bottom
of a lake, and the surrounding hills of
Hinokuma, Tsukikuma, Hoshikuma, Oharayama,
Jigenzan, and Fukiageyama were left by the
waters as they drained away. The cedar and
Japanese cypress wood from surrounding
woodlands have made Hita a nationwide leader in
forestry. The town is now developing into an
inland, mixed economy based on timber related
industries.
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