Kujū, Ōita

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kujū (久住町, Kuju-machi^?) was a town located in Naoiri District, Ōita, Japan. On April 1, 2005, Kujū and the other towns of the Naoiri District merged to form the city of Taketa.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 4,686 and the density of 32.84 persons per km². The total area was 142.69 km².

Kujū is a beautiful town, with tourism, beef, strawberries, rice and mushrooms all being produced by local small scale farmers. Mount Kujū is a popular local destination for hiking and in the spring, there are abundant pink flowering shrubs (miayama kirishima) which make the mountain look specacular. The surrounding areas have many onsen or natural hot springs, and it is fun to go for a soak after a day of hiking. Kujū also has a Flower park, which sells lavendar ice cream and some great restaurants, including Kawano Tofu Restaurant and Izumiya cafe, which has great pasta and black seasame ice cream (which is delicious).

Many of the families in Kujū still live a traditional Japanese lifestyle, with extended families living together, houses with real shoji - rice paper sliding doors and tatami mats, and people eating rice, fice and miso soup for breakfast. Kujū is also home to TAO, one of Japan's foremost taiko groups, and Kudami Taiko, an all women taiko group.