Tonami, Toyama
Geography. Tonami is located in the Tonami plains of western Toyama Prefecture. Much of the area is a dispersed settlement typical of this region of Japan. Climate. Tonami has a humid continental climate (Köppen "Cfa") characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Himi is 13.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2414 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.4 °C. Demographics. Per Japanese census data, the population of  Tonami has increased over the past 40 years. History. The area of present-day Tonami was part of ancient Etchū Province, and was part of the holdings of Kaga Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. The town of Tonami was founded on April 1, 1952 by the merger of the town of Demachi with the villages of Gokaya, Aburaden, Shoge, Nakamura and Hayashi. The villages of Aoshima and Ogami joined two months later on June 1, 1952. The villages of Ota, Minamihannya, Higachi-Nojiri, Yanaze and Nishi-Tonami were annexed on January 15, 1954, followed by Sendan, Sendanyama, Hannya , and Higashi-Hannya on March 1. The expanded town of Tonami was raised to city status on April 1, 1954. On November 1, 2004, the town of Shōgawa (from Higashitonami District) was merged into Tonami. Government. Tonami has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members. Education. Tonami has eight public elementary schools and four public junior high schools operated by the town government, and two public high schools operated by the Toyama Prefectural Board of Education. Local attractions. Tulips. There is a tulip park in Tonami, as well  as a nationally recognized tulip festival that is held every year. There is a windmill transferred by the Netherlands, inscribed "DE VRIENDSCHAP" (friendship). The Tonami tulip festival has over 600 different kinds of tulips, and more than 2.5 million tulips in recent years.