Semboku, Akita

Semboku is located in the mountains of central Akita Prefecture, bordering on Iwate Prefecture and the Ōu Mountains on the east. Lake Tazawa, the deepest lake in Japan, is located in the center of the city borders. Parts of the city are within the borders of the Towada-Hachimantai National Park.

Per Japanese census data,[2] the population of Semboku peaked in the early 1960s, and has since declined to the same level as a century ago.

Semboku has a Humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa) with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heaviest from August to October. The average annual temperature in Semboku is 9.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1539 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around -3.2 °C.[3]

The area of present-day Semboku was part of ancient Dewa Province. During the Edo period, the area came under the control of the Satake clan, who had been relocated to Kubota Domain from their former holdings in Hitachi Province. After the start of the Meiji period, the area became part of Semboku District, Akita Prefecture in 1878. The town of Kakunodate was established on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system.

The city of Semboku was established on March 22, 2005, from the merger of the towns of Kakunodate and Tazawako, and the village of Nishiki (all from Semboku District).

Semboku has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members. The city contributes one member to the Akita Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Akita District 3 of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

The economy of Semboku is based on agriculture, forestry and seasonal tourism.

Semboku has seven public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Akita Prefectural Board of Education.

• 
  Buke-yashiki (samurai residences) street, Kakunodate
• 
  Lake Tazawa

• Tamagawa Hot Spring has the highest flow rate of any hot spring in Japan at 150 liters/second, which feeds a 3 meter wide stream with a temperature of 98 degrees C. The water from Tamagawa Hot Spring is also very acidic.
• Towada-Hachimantai National Park
• Lake Tazawa – the deepest lake in Japan
• Ōfuka Onsen
• Kakunodate samurai residences

• Ayako Fuji, musician
• Norihisa Satake, politician
• Shigehiro Taguchi, basketball player
• Yasuhiko Takahashi, wheel gymnastics acrobat

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Semboku, Akita.

• Official Website (in Japanese)
• Semboku Sightseeing Info Website