Shioya, Tochigi

Geography

Shioya is located in central Tochigi Prefecture.

Surrounding municipalities

Tochigi Prefecture

• Nasushiobara
• Nikkō
• Sakura
• Utsunomiya
• Yaita

Climate

Shioya has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Shioya is 12.6 C. The average annual rainfall is 1670.9 mm with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.3 C, and lowest in January, at around 1.1 C. |Jan record high C = 16.8 |Feb record high C = 21.1 |Mar record high C = 24.5 |Apr record high C = 29.5 |May record high C = 33.5 |Jun record high C = 35.0 |Jul record high C = 35.9 |Aug record high C = 36.6 |Sep record high C = 34.8 |Oct record high C = 31.1 |Nov record high C = 23.8 |Dec record high C = 22.8 |Jan record low C = -12.6 |Feb record low C = -13.1 |Mar record low C = -12.0 |Apr record low C = -5.0 |May record low C = 0.8 |Jun record low C = 6.8 |Jul record low C = 10.0 |Aug record low C = 11.9 |Sep record low C = 5.9 |Oct record low C = -1.1 |Nov record low C = -6.4 |Dec record low C = -9.8 |script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値） | access-date = May 19, 2022}}{{cite web |script-title=ja:観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値） | access-date = May 19, 2022}}}}

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Shioya has declined over the past 70 years.

| 1920 | 14,104 | 1930 | 14,277 | 1940 | 14,798 | 1950 | 20,011 | 1960 | 17,665 | 1970 | 15,155 | 1980 | 14,930 | 1990 | 14,898 | 2000 | 14,171 | 2010 | 12,561 | 2020 | 10,354

History

The villages of Tamanyu, Funyu, and Omiya were created within Shioya District of Tochigi Prefecture on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system after the Meiji Restoration. The three villages merged on March 31, 1957 to create the village of Shioya. Shioya was elevated to town status on February 11, 1965.

Government

Shioya has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 12 members. Shioya, together with the city of Sakura and town of Takanezawa collectively contributes two members to the Tochigi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Tochigi 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

The economy of Shioya is heavily dependent on agriculture, but is increasingly a bedroom community for the nearby cities of Utsunomiya and Nikkō.

Education

Shioya has three public primary schools, one public middle school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Tochigi Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

• Shioya does not have any passenger train service.

Highway

Local attractions

• Shioya Onsen
• Shojinzawa Yusui – one of the 100 famous springs of Japan

References

References

1. "Shioya Town official statistics".
2. [https://www.citypopulation.de/php/japan-tochigi.php Shioya population statistics]