Oyabe, Toyama
Geography. Oyabe is in the Tonami flatlands of far western Toyama Prefecture, and is bordered by Ishikawa Prefecture to the west. Much of the area is a dispersed settlement typical of this region of Japan. Oyabe has a humid continental climate (Köppen "Cfa") characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Oyabe is 14.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2454 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.7 °C . Demographics. Per Japanese census data, the population of Oyabe has declined slightly over the past 40 years. History. The area of present-day Oyabe was part of ancient Etchū Province and developed as a post station on the Hokuriku kaidō highway during the Edo period. The town of Isurugi was created with the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It was raised to city status upon merging with the town of Tochu on August 1, 1962, and was renamed Oyabe. Government. Oyabe has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral  city legislature of 1６ members. Education. Oyabe has five public elementary schools and four public junior high schools operated by the town government, and three public high schools operated by the Toyama Prefectural Board of Education.