Higashidōri

Higashidōri occupies the northeastern coastline of Shimokita Peninsula, facing the Pacific Ocean to the east and Tsugaru Strait to the north, with Cape Shiriya forming a boundary between the two waters. The low Shimokita Hills run north-south through the center of the village. Mount Kuwabata, the highest point in the village at an elevation of 402 meters. To the west of the Shimokita Hills is the Tanabe Plain, which borders Mutsu City. There are large sand dunes and several swamps near the eastern coast, and many rivers flow to the sea. Hamlets are scattered throughout the coastline of the village, which does not have a well-defined center. Parts of the village are within the limits of the Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park. In the year 2002, the Ministry of the Environment classified some tidal flats of the Higashidōri shoreline to be one of the 500 Important Wetlands in Japan and an important wintering place for Brent geese.{{cite web|url=http://www.sizenken.biodic.go.jp/pc/wet_en/63/63.html|title=500 Important Wetlands in Japan|year=2002|work=No. 63 Northern Shimokita-hanto Nearshore Waters|publisher=The Ministry of the Environment, Japan|language=English|accessdate=4 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106112109/http://www.sizenken.biodic.go.jp/pc/wet_en/63/63.html|archive-date=6 January 2013|url-status=dead}}

Aomori Prefecture

• Mutsu
• Rokkasho
• Yokohama

The village has a cold humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) characterized by short, cool summers and long, cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Higashidōri is 8.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1268 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 21.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around -3.0 °C.[http://en.climate-data.org/location/472553/ Higashidōri climate data]

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| collapsed = Y

| single line = Y

| metric first = Y

| location = Odanosawa, Higashidōri (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1976−present)

|Jan record high C = 10.8

|Feb record high C = 14.9

|Mar record high C = 20.4

|Apr record high C = 26.4

|May record high C = 31.1

|Jun record high C = 29.9

|Jul record high C = 33.5

|Aug record high C = 34.9

|Sep record high C = 33.6

|Oct record high C = 26.7

|Nov record high C = 21.5

|Dec record high C = 19.2

|Jan high C = 2.0

|Feb high C = 2.6

|Mar high C = 6.2

|Apr high C = 11.6

|May high C = 15.7

|Jun high C = 18.3

|Jul high C = 22.2

|Aug high C = 24.5

|Sep high C = 22.7

|Oct high C = 17.5

|Nov high C = 11.1

|Dec high C = 4.6

|Jan mean C = -1.0

|Feb mean C = -0.7

|Mar mean C = 2.3

|Apr mean C = 7.2

|May mean C = 11.5

|Jun mean C = 14.7

|Jul mean C = 18.9

|Aug mean C = 21.2

|Sep mean C = 18.7

|Oct mean C = 12.9

|Nov mean C = 6.8

|Dec mean C = 1.2

|Jan low C = -4.6

|Feb low C = -4.8

|Mar low C = -2.0

|Apr low C = 2.5

|May low C = 7.3

|Jun low C = 11.4

|Jul low C = 16.2

|Aug low C = 18.1

|Sep low C = 14.4

|Oct low C = 7.5

|Nov low C = 2.1

|Dec low C = -2.5

|Jan record low C = -15.8

|Feb record low C = -16.0

|Mar record low C = -12.2

|Apr record low C = -8.3

|May record low C = -0.6

|Jun record low C = 3.1

|Jul record low C = 6.0

|Aug record low C = 8.1

|Sep record low C = 3.4

|Oct record low C = -1.1

|Nov record low C = -7.0

|Dec record low C = -11.4

| precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 75.2

|Feb precipitation mm = 61.7

|Mar precipitation mm = 71.8

|Apr precipitation mm = 76.5

|May precipitation mm = 100.1

|Jun precipitation mm = 112.8

|Jul precipitation mm = 147.0

|Aug precipitation mm = 179.4

|Sep precipitation mm = 172.7

|Oct precipitation mm = 127.0

|Nov precipitation mm = 98.6

|Dec precipitation mm = 90.0

|year precipitation mm = 1317.7

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 14.7

|Feb precipitation days = 12.9

|Mar precipitation days = 13.3

|Apr precipitation days = 10.9

|May precipitation days = 10.9

|Jun precipitation days = 10.1

|Jul precipitation days = 11.5

|Aug precipitation days = 11.5

|Sep precipitation days = 11.3

|Oct precipitation days = 12.2

|Nov precipitation days = 14.4

|Dec precipitation days = 14.7

|Jan sun = 95.5

|Feb sun = 117.6

|Mar sun = 169.9

|Apr sun = 195.9

|May sun = 200.5

|Jun sun = 157.3

|Jul sun = 130.0

|Aug sun = 145.2

|Sep sun = 153.4

|Oct sun = 159.4

|Nov sun = 113.0

|Dec sun = 96.3

|year sun = 1733.9

|source 1 = JMA{{cite web

| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_a.php?prec_no=31&block_no=1122&year=&month=&day=&view=h0

|script-title=ja:観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）

| publisher = JMA

| access-date = February 28, 2022}}{{cite web

| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_amd_ym.php?prec_no=31&block_no=1122&year=&month=&day=&view=h0

|script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）

| publisher = JMA

| access-date = February 28, 2022}}}}

Per Japanese census data,[https://www.citypopulation.de/php/japan-aomori.php Higashidōri population statistics] the population of Higashidōri peaked around the year 1960 and has declined over the past 60 years.

{{Historical populations

| align = none

| cols = 1

| graph-pos = bottom

| 1920 | 7,387

| 1930 | 8,377

| 1940 | 9,514

| 1950 | 10,761

| 1960 | 12,449

| 1970 | 10,735

| 1980 | 9,975

| 1990 | 8,794

| 2000 | 7,975

| 2010 | 7,252

| 2020 | 5,955

| footnote =

}}

The area around Higashidōri was inhabited by the Emishi people, with archaeological remains dating to the Jōmon period. During the Edo period, it was controlled by the Nambu clan of Morioka Domain, but was a sparsely populated area with scattered fishing hamlets. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system on 1 April 1889, Higashidōri Village was proclaimed from the merger of twelve small hamlets, although the village administrative center was kept within the town hall of neighboring Tanabu Town (now part of the city of Mutsu). In 1988, to celebrate its 100th anniversary as a village, a village hall was finally built within the borders of Higashidōri.

Higashidōri has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral village council of 14 members. Higashidōri is part of Shimokita District which, together with the city of Mutsu, contributes three members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aomori 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Higashidōri has one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the town government. The village does not have a high school.

The economy of Higashidōri was traditionally almost completely dependent on commercial fishing. However, since the 1980s, there has been massive investment from Tōhoku Electric Power Company and Tokyo Electric Power Company towards the construction of the Higashidōri Nuclear Power Plant and related support facilities. In addition, the Iwaya Wind Farm, with a total generation capacity of 32.5 MW, is the largest in Japan.{{cite web |url=http://www.kajima.co.jp/topics/news_notes/vol21/v21a.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020812182649/http://www.kajima.co.jp/topics/news_notes/vol21/v21a.htm |archive-date=2002-08-12 |title=News & Notes Vol.21: Feature}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20110402171335/http://www.eco-power.co.jp/project.html Eco Power home page]

Higashidōri has no passenger railway service. The nearest train station is Shimokita Station on the JR East Ōminato Line.

• {{jct|country=JPN|Route|338}}

• Cape Shiriya
• Hamashiriya Shell Mound, a National Historic Site{{cite web|url=https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/218399|title=浜尻屋貝塚 はましりやかいづか|work=Cultural Heritage Online|publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs|language=Japanese|accessdate=25 December 2016}}{{in lang|ja}}
• Sarugamori Sand Dunes
• Shiriyazaki Lighthouse

{{reflist}}

{{commons category-inline|Higashidori, Aomori|Higashidōri, Aomori}}

• {{official website|http://www.vill.higashidoori.lg.jp/}} {{in lang|ja}}

{{Aomori}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higashidori, Aomori}}

Category:Villages in Aomori Prefecture

Category:Populated coastal places in Japan

Category:Higashidōri, Aomori