  is a city located in hiroshima prefecture, japan. the city was founded on november 3, 1958. as of 2009, the city has an estimated population of 29,093 and a population density of 246 persons per kmÂ². the total area is 118.30 kmÂ². Åkunoshima, the island where a poison gas plant of the imperial japanese army was located, belongs to takehara. occupying a strategic location on the seto inland sea, it became renowned as a port city in the muromachi period and then flourished as a centre of the salt industry in the latter days of the edo period. more recently, it has styled itself as 'the little kyoto of aki' and the special historical district of old warehouses was selected as one of japan's '100 most scenic towns'. ==tourism== ===museums=== * takehara museumtakehara museum * kaguyahime museumbamboo princess museum * imai museumimai museum * history of takehara museumhistory of takehara * ozasaya sake museumszasaya sake museum ===mountains and islands=== * mount asahi (otake)mt.asahi * mount kurotakimt.kurotaki * Åkunoshima islandokuno-jima ===little kyoto of aki province=== * takehara historical heritageimportant preservation districts for groups of historic buildings in japan * [[ji
Cities_in_Hiroshima_Prefecture Populated_coastal_places_in_Japan Port_settlements_in_Japan