is a town

Towns of Japan

A town is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture , city , and village...

 located in Ashigarakami District

Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa

is an administrative district of Japan located in western Kanagawa Prefecture. Most of the mountainous district is sparsely populated, and is part of the Tanzawa-Ōyama Quasi-National Park.-History:...

, Kanagawa Prefecture

Kanagawa Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. As of 2010, the town had an estimated population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 11,716 and a density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 312 persons per km². The total land area of the town is 37.75 km².

Geography

Matsuda is located in hilly western Kanagawa Prefecture, within the Tanzawa Mountains.Since the town lies on an active fault, the local government has been preparing for a possible magnitude-8 earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

 in the upcoming century.

Surrounding municipalities

• Hadano
  Hadano, Kanagawa
  is a city in west-central Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2010, Hadano has an estimated population of 170,293 and a population density of 1,640 persons per km²; it had a total area of 103.61 km².-Geography:...
  
  
• Minamiashigara
  Minamiashigara, Kanagawa
  is a city located in the far southwestern corner of Kanagawa, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 44,190 and population density of 574 persons per km²...
  
  
• Kaisei
  Kaisei, Kanagawa
  is a town located in Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the town had an estimated population of 16,263 and a density of 2,470 persons per km². The total area was 6.56 km²...
  
  , Yamakita
  Yamakita, Kanagawa
  is a town located in Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the town had an estimated population of 11,863 and a density of 52.8 persons per km². The total area was 224.70 km².-Geography:...
  
  , Ōi
  Oi, Kanagawa
  is a town located in Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the town had an estimated population of 17,928 and a density of 1,250 persons per km²...
  
  

History

During the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 area around present-day Matsuda was part of Odawara Domain

Odawara Domain

was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in western Sagami Province. It was centered on Odawara Castle in what is now the city of Odawara.-History:...

 in Sagami Province

Sagami Province

was an old province in the area that is today the central and western Kanagawa prefecture. It was sometimes called . Sagami bordered on Izu, Musashi, Suruga provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Sagami Bay...

. After the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, it became part of Ashigarakami District

Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa

is an administrative district of Japan located in western Kanagawa Prefecture. Most of the mountainous district is sparsely populated, and is part of the Tanzawa-Ōyama Quasi-National Park.-History:...

 in Kanagawa Prefecture. On April 1, 1889 Ashikagakami District was administratively divided into several villages, including the villages of Yadoriki and Matsuda. The growth of Matsuda was favored by the opening of Matsuda Station

Matsuda Station

is a station on the Gotemba Line of Central Japan Railway Company located in southern portion of the town of Matsuda in Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan...

 the same year, and it attained town status on April 1, 1909. Shin-Matsuda Station

Shin-Matsuda Station

is a railway station on the Odakyu Electric Railway’s Odakyu Odawara Line in the town of Matsuda, Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The station is 71.8 rail kilometers from the line’s terminal at Shinjuku Station...

 opened in 1927. On April 1, 1955 Yadoriki merged into Matsuda. A new town charter was promulgated in 1989, leading to the "Matsuda Plan 21" in the year 2001.

"Matsuda Town Charter"

• Endowed with the best water sources and healthy vegetation, our town promotes a key focus on keeping our rivers and lands clean.
• Good people and a rich culture create a redolent town.
• Healthy minds and healthy bodies cause the town to overflow with vitality.
• Friendly neighborly relations and peace of mind complement each other to produce harmony.
• Cooperation amongst individuals widen the depth of the town.

"Matsuda Plan 21" Focus Areas

• Urban Eco-Friendly
• Safe and Comfortable Living
• Urban Area Filled with Vitality and Charm
• Urban Area Filled with Rich Culture
• Connect Citizens to Regional and City Planning

Railway

• JR Tōkai
  Central Japan Railway Company
  The is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as . Its headquarters are located in the JR Central Towers in Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.The company's operational hub is Nagoya Station...
  
   - Gotemba Line
  • Matsuda Station
    Matsuda Station
    is a station on the Gotemba Line of Central Japan Railway Company located in southern portion of the town of Matsuda in Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan...
    
    
• Odakyū Odawara Line
  • Shin-Matsuda Station
    Shin-Matsuda Station
    is a railway station on the Odakyu Electric Railway’s Odakyu Odawara Line in the town of Matsuda, Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The station is 71.8 rail kilometers from the line’s terminal at Shinjuku Station...
    
    

Highway

• Tōmei Expressway
  Tomei Expressway
  The is a national expressway on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. It is a part of Asian Highway Network -Naming:The word Tōmei is an acronym consisting of two kanji characters...
  
   (Ōi-Matsuda Interchange)
• Japan National Route 246
• Japan National Route 255

Local attractions

Some local attractions include Sakawa River fishing, Tanzawa Mountain Range hiking, paragliding & camping, and blueberry, tangerine,and sweet potato harvesting. Other attractions include the local matsuri , the Matsudayama Herb Garden, Children's Museum, Nature Hall, & Ridable Miniature Railway

Ridable miniature railway

A ridable miniature railway is a ground-level, large scale model railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are models of full-sized railway locomotives .-Overview:Typically they have a rail track gauge between and , though both larger and...

, the Yadoriki Petting Zoo & Dog Park, Yadoriki Fishing Area, 2 golf courses, and the Matsuda Health & Welfare Center onsen

Onsen

An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...

.

Events

• Matsuda Sakura Festival (late February)
• Wakaba Festival (May 5)
• Herb Festival (June and October)
• Yadoriki Hotaru (Firefly) Festival (June)
• Matsuda Tourism Festival (August)
• Emmei Temple Festival (December 28)

External links

• Town of Matsuda in Japanese
• Matsuda Police Station in Japanese
• Matsuda Tourism Association in Japanese