Bandai 磐梯町 |
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Town | |||
Mount Bandai
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Location of Bandai in Fukushima Prefecture |
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Coordinates: 37°33′43″N 139°59′18″E / 37.56194°N 139.98833°ECoordinates: 37°33′43″N 139°59′18″E / 37.56194°N 139.98833°E | |||
Country | Japan | ||
Region | Tōhoku | ||
Prefecture | Fukushima Prefecture | ||
District | Yama District | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 59.56 km2 (23.00 sq mi) | ||
Population (September 2014) | |||
• Total | 3,599 | ||
• Density | 60.3/km2 (156/sq mi) | ||
Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) | ||
Phone number | 0242-74-1221 | ||
Address | 1855 Bandai Naka-no-hashi Bandai-machi, Yama-gun, Fukushima-ken 969-3392 | ||
Website | Official HP |
Bandai (磐梯町 Bandai-machi?) is a town located in Yama District, Fukushima Prefecture, in northern Honshū, Japan. As of September 2014, the town had an estimated population of 3,599 and a population density of 60.3 persons per km². The total area was 59.69 km².
Bandai is located at the far northern Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture, bordered by Yamagata Prefecture to the north. The climate is like many other parts of northern Japan, with cold winters and snowfall averaging 2 meters.
The area of present-day Bandai was part of ancient Mutsu Province. It was the center of a mountain cult based on Mount Bandai and numerous Buddhist temples were founded from the Heian period. These temples grew to have a strong military and economic power towards the Kamakura period, and were only suppressed in the Sengoku period. The area formed part of the holdings of Aizu Domain during the Edo period. After the Meiji Restoration, it was organized as part of Yama District.
Modern Bandai village was created on March 31, 1889 with the establishment of the municipalities system, and was raised to town status in 1960.
From the early modern period, hydroelectric power generation and chemical production by Nippon Soda Co., Ltd. had been mainstays of the local economy. However, the local economy has now shifted to precision machinery production and seasonal tourism, especially golf courses and ski resorts.