Nakatsugawa, Gifu

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Location of Nakatsugawa in Gifu Prefecture

Downtown area of Nakatsugawa

Nakatsugawa (中津川市, Nakatsugawa-shi^?) is a city located in the Tōnō region of Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1952.

1 History
2 Mergers
3 Local Specialties
4 External links

[edit] History

During Japan's Edo period, Nakatsugawa was a post town, known as Nakatsugawa-juku, one of the 69 Stations of the Nakasendō along the Nakasendō. The travel route ran from the Nihombashi in Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Sanjō Ōhashi in the imperial capital of Kyoto. It was one of the five major routes used in the Edo period, and one of two that connected Edo and Kyoto.

[edit] Mergers

On February 13, 2005 the following towns and villages from the former Ena District (which was dissolved by this merger) and the village of Yamaguchi from Kiso District, Nagano Prefecture, merged into the city:

Following the merger with the six towns and villages, the city has an estimated population of 86,498 and a density of 128 persons per km². The total area is 676.38 km².

[edit] Local Specialties

The Japanese place a high priority on food, particularly during traveling and touring, and most regions in Japan are well known for their particular local deliciacies. For the Japanese, sampling these on one's travels is considered one of the highlights of travel within Japan.

Nakatsugawa is known for its abundant chestnut harvest and the chestnut delicacies known as kurikinton (栗きんとん). Kurikinton are produced by first boiling and then mashing the chestnuts, then mixing them with sugar and reforming them into a chestnut shape. They are widely available during the Autumn months. Many families make their own in their own kitchens, while purchased kurikinton are extremely popular as well for home consumption and as gifts.