Hita

Hita is a city in the far west of Oita Prefecture, Japan, on the borders with Fukuoka and Kumamoto prefectures. It had an estimated 61,148 residents in late 2023 over about 666 square kilometres. The city lies in a natural basin ringed by mountains reaching 1,000 to 1,200 metres, and its many rivers join the Mikuma and then the Chikugo River, which gives it close historical ties with Fukuoka and a dialect related to the Hichiku dialect. The humid subtropical climate brings hot summers, cold winters, morning ground fog called sokogiri and occasional severe floods. Forestry of Japanese cedar and cypress is important. Hita was part of ancient Bungo Province, became a city in 1940 and absorbed several neighbouring towns and villages in 2005.