# Arao, Kumamoto

Arao (荒尾市, Arao-shi) is a city in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 July 2024, the city had an estimated population of 49,334 in 24092 households, and a population density of 860 persons per km$^2$. The total area of the city is 57.37 km$^2$ (22.15 sq mi).

## Geography

Arao is located in northwest Kumamoto Prefecture, about 40 kilometers northwest of Kumamoto City. It is bordered by Fukuoka Prefecture to the north and the Ariake Sea to the west.

### Neighboring municipalities

Fukuoka Prefecture
* Ōmuta
Kumamoto Prefecture
* Nagasu
* Nankan
* Tamana

### Climate

Arao has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Arao is 16.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1932 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around 6.3 °C.

### Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Arao is as shown below

## History

The area of Arao was part of ancient Higo Province, During the Edo Period it was part of the holdings of Kumamoto Domain. After the Meiji restoration, the village of Arao was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It was raised to town status on April 1, 1919. On April 1, 1942 Arao merged with the villages of Ariake, Hirai, Yahata, and Fumoto to form the city of Arao.

## Government

Arao has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 18 members. Arao contributes one member to the Kumamoto Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Kumamoto 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

## Economy

Arao was once a large coal mining town, but it has since lost a great deal of its population, due to the closing of the mine in 1997. Until the Pacific War, the city was home to the Tokyo Second Army Arsenal Arao Factory (a vast gunpowder and explosives factory covering an area of approximately 33 million square meters and stretching 2.5 miles. Arao's political concentration is on tourism, to try to lure people back to this once heavily populated land. As for agricultural products, the Arao nashi pear is a fruit product grown widely in this town. The pear is round, brown and about the size of a bowling ball. Mandarin oranges are also widely cultivated. Due to the aging of producers, in recent years, efforts have been made to produce olives and olive oil.
One notable local product of this city is Shōdai ware, an art form almost completely exclusive to Arao, involving slow kilning and under glazing.

## Education

Arao has ten public elementary schools and three public junior high schools operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private high school. The prefecture also operates two schools for the handicapped.

## Transportation
### Railways

JR Kyushu - Kagoshima Main Line
    JA Arao - Minami-Arao

### Highways

* Kyushu Expressway
* National Route 208
* National Route 389
* National Route 501

## Notable people from Arao

* Ishihara Shiko'o, (1874–1936), historian associated with the Shinpūren rebellion