Hashimoto

Hashimoto is a city at the northeastern tip of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, on the middle reaches of the Kinokawa River and on the border with Osaka and Nara prefectures. It had an estimated 61,063 residents in 2021 and covers about 130 square kilometres between the Kongo and Kisen mountains in the north and the Kii Mountains in the south, directly above the Japan Median Tectonic Line. Historically it was a post town for timber transport and for pilgrims heading to Mount Koya, and sericulture was once important. Today the economy relies on horticulture, especially Japanese persimmons and pears, poultry and fish farming, and the city is a commuter town for the Osaka area. It was founded as a city in 1955 and enlarged in 2006.