Kimotsuki, Kagoshima

Kimotsuki (肝付町, Kimotsuki-chō) is a town in Kimotsuki District. It is located in the eastern part of the Ōsumi Peninsula in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.

Kimotsuki

　肝付町
Town
Flag
Location of Kimotsuki in Kagoshima Prefecture
Kimotsuki
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 31°16′45″N 130°59′33″E
CountryJapan
RegionKyushu
PrefectureKagoshima Prefecture
DistrictKimotsuki
Government
 • MayorNagano Kazuyuki
Area
 • Total308.12 km2 (118.97 sq mi)
Population
 (October 2019)
 • Total15,169
 • Density49/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address98 Nitomi Kimotsuki-chō, Kimotsuki-gun, Kagoshima-ken
893-1207
Websitekimotsuki-town.jp
Symbols
FlowerChrysanthemum
TreeCamphor

The town was formed on July 1, 2005 from the merger of the towns of Kōyama and Uchinoura, both from Kimotsuki District. As of October 2019, the town has an estimated population of 15,169. The total area is 308.12 km2.

The Uchinoura Space Center is located in this town.

Points of Interest

Culture

Events and festivals
  • Doya Doya Sa (January 7th)
  • Staff and sickle dances (March)
  • Nagoshidon (mid-August)
  • Honmachi Hachigatsu Odori (Fourth Saturday of August, every even year)
  • Eggane Festival (September or October)
  • Yabusame Festival (Third Sunday of October)
  • Uchinoura Galaxy Marathon, commemorating the formation of the Republic of Uchinoura and the Galaxy Federation (November)

Mascots

Kimotsuki has two town mascots (see yuru-chara) created by the Kimotsuki Tourism Association. Both wear purple outfits based on the traditional costume of the Yabusame Festival archer and have satellite heads. They generally make appearances at town sanctioned events.

  • Itemaru-kun: An alien born in 2010 when asteroid-explorer Hayabusa returned to earth.[1]
  • Hayabusame-kun: A sea turtle, named by combining the words "hayabusa" and "yabusame."[2]

Sister City Relations

The Galaxy Federation

Before the merger, the town of Uchinoura was a part of the Galaxy Federation, a chain of friendship cities that each house a JAXA space center. It joined the federation as a founding member on November 8, 1987 and received the name the Republic of Uchinoura. The friendship city relations were still retained when Uchinoura merged with Koyama to become Kimotsuki town, and it is now called the Republic of Uchinoura Kimotsuki within the federation. The most recent member of the federation, the city of Kakuda in Miyagi Prefecture, joined on April 2, 2016.

  • Ofunato, Iwate (The Republic of Sanriku Ofunato)
  • Noshiro, Akita (The Republic of Noshiro)
  • Saku, Nagano (The Republic of Saku)
  • Sagamihara, Kanagawa (The Republic of Sagamihara)
  • Taiki, Hokkaido (The Republic of Taiki)
  • Kakuda, Miyagi (The Republic of Kakuda)

Space Brother Cities

Kimotsuki and the town of Minamitane, home to Tanegashima's JAXA space center, signed the “Space Brother Cities Declaration” on July 3, 2013. The naming comes from the manga and anime series Space Brothers, and the official document even features an illustration of the two main characters, the Nanba brothers.

References
  1. https://www.yurugp.jp/jp/vote/detail.php?id=00000921
  2. https://chara.yapy.jp/chara/hayabusamekun/


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