Ōkura, Yamagata
Geography. Ōkura is located in a mountainous north-central eastern Yamagata Prefecture, and includes Mount Gassan within its borders. The Mogami River runs through the village. The area is known for extremely heavy snows in winter. Its highest accumulation of snow recorded is 414 cm, second place in Japan after Sukayu Onsen in Aomori. Snow typically starts in November, and starts piling up on the ground by early December. The snow will usually stop by early May, but will not completely melt until mid-June. Similar to Sukayu Onsen, snowfalls of 50 to 100 cm in a single  day are not uncommon at all. Climate. Ōkura has a Humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification "Cfa") with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heaviest from August to October. The average annual temperature in Ōkura is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . Demographics. Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōkura peaked in the 1950s, and is now considerably  less than what it was a century ago. History. The area of present-day Ōkura was part of ancient Dewa Province. During the Sengoku period, the area was under the control of the Mogami clan. During the Edo period, the village was a river port on the Mogami River and a post station on the pilgrimage route to Mount Gassan. After the start of the Meiji period, the area became part of Mogami District, Yamagata Prefecture. The village of Ōkura was established on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. Economy. The main industry is agriculture  (tomato and buckwheat), "sake" production, and seasonal tourism to its hot spring resorts. "Kokeshi" dolls are a noted local handicraft. Education. Ōkura has one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school. Transportation. Railways. Ōkura does not have any passenger railway service.