Ashiya, Fukuoka

Ashiya is a town in Onga District, Fukuoka Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It lies at the mouth of the Onga River in north-central Fukuoka Prefecture, faces the Gulf of Hibiki on its northern side, and forms part of the Kitakyushu metropolitan area. The urban area spreads over both banks of the river mouth, and because so much of the town is river water, only about 7.37 square kilometres of its 11.60 square kilometre total is habitable, so a large share of its housing is in medium and high rise buildings. The population was estimated at 12,930 at the end of February 2024. The area belonged to ancient Chikuzen Province, was known in the late Yayoi period as a port called Oka no Tsu, was the site of the Battle of Ashiyaura in 1185, became a village in 1889 and was raised to a town in 1891. Today it is a commercial centre around a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base, with some farming and fishing, and a commuter town for neighbouring Kitakyushu.