Tokomizu Town lies in a freshwater canal region that spreads out around Mount Mizufuji. Since long ago, people here have used the abundant spring water for daily life, farming and transport, and have developed a canal culture of their own.
Basic Information
| Name | Tokomizu Town (常水町, Tokomizu-chō) |
|---|---|
| Former name | Tokomizu County (常水郡, Tokomizu-gun) |
| Location | Drifting slowly over the Japanese archipelago with the seasons (Where the Town Is Today) |
| Area | About 1,385 km² (the land, Oyasu, about 113 km²; Tenkyōgen, about 1,272 km²) |
| Population | About 150,000 (according to the floor register). Residents of the Lone Houses on Tenkyōgen are recorded in the water register |
| Households | About 47,000 |
| Canals | 808 (8 great canals, 4 ring canals and 796 small canals), about 220 km in total |
| Main mountains | Mount Mizufuji (808 m), Higashi-no-Take (450 m), Hokurei (350 m) |
| Elevation datum | The surface of the Ring Lake is taken as 0 m |
| Town fish | Goldfish (wakin) |
| Calendar | Chōwa |
| Town song | Tokomizu Town Song |
| Warden of Ukisu | Chōichirō Hida, the 12th Warden |
How the Water Flows
The land of the town (Oyasu) is a circle about 12 km across, with Mount Mizufuji rising in the middle. About 40 m³ of water wells up every second from the summit of Mount Mizufuji, flows down its slopes and collects in the Ring Lake at its foot. That is enough to fill a 25-metre swimming pool in about ten seconds.
From the Great Sluices, this water divides into eight great canals and travels through the canals of the whole town. At the outer edge of the land, the great canals fall from the cliff as great waterfalls into Tenkyōgen, a body of shallow water 15 km wide that surrounds the land.
Districts
The town is divided into eight districts: Kamimachi, Nakamachi, Tasuji, Herimachi, Dangai, Tenkyōgen, Miuchi and Nenomachi.
Town Emblem
The emblem is a design based on a Great Sluice and flowing water.
Calendar
Tokomizu uses the Chōwa calendar, which began at the end of the 15th year of Taishō (1926).