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Sotogahama

外ヶ浜町
Sotogahama 外ヶ浜町
Town
	Cape Tappi, northernmost point of Tsugaru Peninsula
	Flag Seal
	Location of Sotagahama in Aomori Prefecture
	Sotogahama
	Coordinates: 41°02′35.7″N 140°37′56.4″E / 41.043250°N 140.632333°E
Country	Japan
Region	Tōhoku
Prefecture	Aomori
District	Higashitsugaru
Area
• Total	230.30 km2 (88.92 sq mi)
Population (January 1, 2023)
• Total	4,990
• Density	22/km2 (56/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Phone number	0174-31-1111
Address	Kanita, Takadoya 44-2, Sotogahama-machi, Higashitsugaru-gun, Aomori-ken 030-1393
Website	Official website
Symbols
Bird	Common gull
Flower	Hydrangea
Tree	Japanese black pine

Sotogahama (外ヶ浜町, Sotogahama-machi) is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan and a part of the Aomori metropolitan area.^[1] As of 1 January 2023^[update], the town had an estimated population of 4,990 in 2239 households,^[2] and a population density of 22 persons per km². The total area of the town is 230.30 square kilometres (88.92 sq mi).

Geography

Sotogahama is in Higashitsugaru District of Aomori Prefecture, and consists of two discontinuous geographic areas in northern Tsugaru Peninsula. The larger area is in the south, and consists of the former town of Kanita with a coastline on Mutsu Bay, and the former village of Tairadate in the centre of northern Tsugaru Peninsula. The smaller area is in the north, and consists of the former village of Minmaya with a coastline on the Tsugaru Strait. Much of the town is within the limits of the Tsugaru Quasi-National Park. Most of the settlements and arable land are located along the coastline, with about 89% of the total area of town as mountainous national forest.

Neighbouring municipalities

Aomori Prefecture

Climate

The town has a cold humid continental climate (Köppen Cfb) characterized by warm, short summers and long, cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Sotogahama is 10.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1267 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.8 °C.^[3]

Climate data for Kanita（1991–2020 normals, extremes 1977–present）
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	10.9 (51.6)	14.1 (57.4)	21.1 (70.0)	28.5 (83.3)	29.9 (85.8)	30.4 (86.7)	33.5 (92.3)	34.6 (94.3)	33.6 (92.5)	27.9 (82.2)	23.1 (73.6)	17.4 (63.3)	34.6 (94.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	1.6 (34.9)	2.3 (36.1)	6.0 (42.8)	11.9 (53.4)	16.7 (62.1)	19.9 (67.8)	23.6 (74.5)	25.7 (78.3)	23.2 (73.8)	17.5 (63.5)	10.7 (51.3)	4.2 (39.6)	13.6 (56.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−1.4 (29.5)	−1.0 (30.2)	2.0 (35.6)	7.2 (45.0)	12.1 (53.8)	16.0 (60.8)	20.3 (68.5)	22.2 (72.0)	18.7 (65.7)	12.2 (54.0)	6.2 (43.2)	0.7 (33.3)	9.6 (49.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−4.8 (23.4)	−4.7 (23.5)	−2.3 (27.9)	2.2 (36.0)	7.7 (45.9)	12.6 (54.7)	17.5 (63.5)	19.0 (66.2)	14.3 (57.7)	7.0 (44.6)	1.7 (35.1)	−2.6 (27.3)	5.6 (42.1)
Record low °C (°F)	−16.2 (2.8)	−15.2 (4.6)	−13.6 (7.5)	−8.4 (16.9)	−1.3 (29.7)	4.3 (39.7)	8.8 (47.8)	9.6 (49.3)	3.4 (38.1)	−1.6 (29.1)	−6.8 (19.8)	−12.2 (10.0)	−16.2 (2.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	104.0 (4.09)	83.5 (3.29)	78.9 (3.11)	84.4 (3.32)	105.0 (4.13)	102.1 (4.02)	139.6 (5.50)	177.7 (7.00)	161.2 (6.35)	129.3 (5.09)	139.3 (5.48)	125.5 (4.94)	1,430.4 (56.31)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	21.1	17.6	15.2	12.1	10.7	8.8	10.6	10.6	11.7	13.8	17.7	21.0	170.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours	54.3	78.8	139.0	191.9	199.4	170.7	136.4	164.0	166.0	153.3	89.7	54.1	1,597.5
Source 1: Japan Meteorological Agency
Source 2: Japan Meteorological Agency^[4]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,^[5] the population of Sotogahama has decreased by more than half over the past 60 years and is now considerably less than it was a century ago.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1920	11,883	—
1930	13,913	+17.1%
1940	15,027	+8.0%
1950	18,964	+26.2%
1960	18,259	−3.7%
1970	16,258	−11.0%

Year	Pop.	±%
1980	14,955	−8.0%
1990	10,663	−28.7%
2000	9,170	−14.0%
2010	7,089	−22.7%
2020	5,401	−23.8%

History

The Tsugaru Peninsula has been inhabited since Japanese Paleolithic times, and some of the world's oldest pottery has been discovered at the Odai Yamamoto I site.^[6]^[7]^[8] The area around Sotogahama was controlled by the Tsugaru clan of Hirosaki Domain during the Edo period. During the post-Meiji restoration establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889 Minmaya, Kanita and Tairadate villages were separated from Imabetsu. On March 28, 2005, these three municipalities merged to form the new town of Sotogahama. Minmaya is a geographically discontinuous enclave from the town's center in Kanita.

Government

Sotogahama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town legislature of 11 members. Higashitsugaru District contributes one member to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Aomori 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

The economy of Sotogahama is heavily dependent on commercial fishing. Some of the locally caught seafood include sea urchin roe, sea pineapple, sea cucumber, scallops, abalone and squid.

Education

Sotogahama has two public elementary schools and two public junior high schools operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) - Tsugaru Line

Kanita, Naka-Oguni, Ōdai, Minmaya

Hokkaidō Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) - Kaikyō Line

Tappi-Kaitei

Highway

Local attractions

Cape Tappi, the northwestern tip of Honshu
Tappizaki Lighthouse, one of the “50 Lighthouses of Japan” by the Japan Lighthouse Association.^[9]
Odai Yamamoto I site, National Historic Site^[10]