Hikawa is located in west-center Kumamoto Prefecture; the northwestern part faces the Yatsushiro Sea. The Hikawa River flows from southeast to northwest along the border with Yatsushiro. The entire area of the town is part of the Yatsushiro Plain.
Hikawa has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hikawa is 16.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2213 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.5 °C.[2]
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Hikawa is as shown below
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1940
11,050
—
1950
15,654
+41.7%
1960
16,323
+4.3%
1970
14,614
−10.5%
1980
14,624
+0.1%
1990
14,646
+0.2%
2000
13,725
−6.3%
2010
12,715
−7.4%
2020
11,094
−12.7%
History
The area of Hikawa was part of ancient Higo Province, During the Edo Period it was part of the holdings of Kumamoto Domain. After the Meiji restoration, the town of Miyahara and villages of Yoshino, Nozu, and Wakashima were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The villages merged on April 1, 1954 to form the village of Ryuhoku, which was raised to town status on April 1, 1974. The town of Hikawa was formed on October 1, 2005 from the merger of the towns of Miyahara and Ryūhoku.
Government
Hikawa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 10 members. Hikawa, collectively with the city of Yatsushiro, contributes four members to the Kumamoto Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Kumamoto 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
Economy
The main industry is agriculture, and the town is known for producing pears and rush grass, which is used to make tatami mats.
Education
Hikawa has three public elementary schools and two public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.
