Hakusan, Ishikawa
Geography. Hakusan is located in southwestern Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan and is bordered by the Sea of Japan to the west and Fukui Prefecture to the south, and Gifu Prefecture and Toyama Prefectures to the east. The southeastern portion of the city is dominated by high mountains. Parts of the city are within the borders of Hakusan National Park. Climate. Hakusan has a humid continental climate (Köppen "Cfa") characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hakusan is 14.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2542  mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.9 °C. Demographics. Per Japanese census data, the population of Hakusan has almost doubled over the past 40 years. History. The area around Hakusan was part of ancient Kaga Province. The area became part Kaga Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. Following the Meiji restoration, the area was organised into Ishikawa District, Ishikawa. The town of Mattō was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It  became a city on October 10, 1970. On February 1, 2005, Mattō merged with the towns of Mikawa and Tsurugi, and the villages of Kawachi, Oguchi, Shiramine, Torigoe and Yoshinodani (all from Ishikawa District) to form the city of Hakusan. Government. Hakusan has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 21 members. Economy. Eizo and its subsidiary, Irem, have their headquarters in Hakusan. Education. Hakusan has 19 public elementary schools and ten middle schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Ishikawa Prefectural Board  of Education and one by the city government. There is also one private high school. Kinjo College, a private junior college is also located in Hakusan. Transportation. Railway. West Japan Railway Company - Hokuriku Main Line Hokuriku Railroad - Ishikawa Line