Asakuchi

Asakuchi is a city in the southwest of Okayama Prefecture, Japan, bordered to the south by the Seto Inland Sea. The terrain is mostly hilly, with Mount Yosho and Mount Chikurinji in the north, Mount Abe in the northwest and Mount Ryuo in the center, and the southern part of the city lies close to the Mizushima and Fukuyama industrial areas. The city was created on March 21, 2006, when the towns of Kamogata and Yorishima merged with the town of Konko. Shell middens from the Jomon period show that the area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The economy mixes agriculture with light manufacturing, and the city is increasingly a commuter town for Fukuyama and Kurashiki. The headquarters of the Konkokyo religion is in Asakuchi, and the city has sister-city ties with Tea Tree Gully in Australia and Gao'an in China.