Nasushiobara

Nasushiobara (Nasushiobara-shi in Japanese) is a city in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. In August 2020 it had an estimated population of 115,794 in 48,437 households, a density of about 67 people per square kilometre, and a large total area of 592.74 square kilometres. The climate is humid subtropical with warm to hot summers and cool winters with heavy snowfall. Before the Meiji period much of the land was uninhabited wasteland for lack of water for farming; Otawara Domain built small irrigation canals in the Edo period, and the Nasu Canal and other projects of the Meiji period opened the region to agriculture. The modern city was established on 1 January 2005 from the former city of Kuroiso and the towns of Nishinasuno and Shiobara.