Kōfu, Tottori

Kōfu is a town in the northeast of Hino District, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 March 2021 it had an estimated population of 2,737 in 1,023 households over a total area of 124.52 square kilometres. Its name was chosen by a referendum of residents and combines two kanji meaning water and center. The town lies in the Chūgoku Mountains: the northeast is a plateau of pyroclastic soil at the southern foot of Mount Daisen, the Hino River crosses the west, and the southern part, bordering Okayama Prefecture, is high country dominated by Mount Giboshi, Mount Mihira and Mount Kenashi. The climate is humid subtropical (Köppen Cfa) with warm summers and cold, heavily snowy winters. Once part of ancient Hōki Province and the holdings of the Ikeda clan of Tottori Domain, Kōfu was formed in 1953 by merging the town of Obi with the villages of Kanagawa and Yonezawa. Its economy rests on agriculture, bottled water and seasonal tourism to its ski resorts, the JR West Hakubi Line serves it, and every 17 August it holds the Juushichiya festival with a sumo tournament, taiko drumming, fireworks and a hillside fire spelling the festival's name. The population has fallen continuously since the 1950s.