Namerikawa

Namerikawa is a city in eastern Toyama Prefecture, Japan, in the Hayatsuki river delta on an alluvial fan between the Hayatsuki River and the Kamiichi River, and it is bordered by the Sea of Japan at Toyama Bay to the northwest. Its coast is the habitat of the glowing firefly squid, which surface yearly in a phenomenon that led the Japanese government to designate the waters of Namerikawa a Special Natural Monument. The area was part of ancient Etchū Province, under the control of the Maeda clan of Kaga Domain in the Edo period, and it prospered as an inn town on the Hokuriku Kaidō. The town merged with six neighbouring villages in November 1953 and the city was founded on 1 March 1954. It has since developed as an industrial city and commercial centre and is increasingly a bedroom community for nearby Uozu. Rail access from Tokyo is possible by the Hokuriku Shinkansen from nearby Toyama since March 2015. The estimated population was 32,728 and the area was 54.63 square kilometres.