was a town

Towns of Japan

A town is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture , city , and village...

 located in Minamiuwa District

Minamiuwa District, Ehime

The is a district located in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. As of 2004, the estimated population is 28,100 and the total area is 239.54 km².The district includes one town.*Ainan-History:...

, Ehime

Ehime Prefecture

is a prefecture in northwestern Shikoku, Japan. The capital is Matsuyama.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, Ehime prefecture was known as Iyo Province...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

On October 1, 2004 Ipponmatsu was merged with the towns of Ipponmatsu

Ipponmatsu, Ehime

was a town located in Minamiuwa District, Ehime, Japan.On October 1, 2004 Ipponmatsu was merged with the towns of Jōhen, Mishō and Nishiumi, and the village of Uchiumi, all from Minamiuwa District, to form the new town of Ainan....

, Jōhen

Johen, Ehime

was a town located in Minamiuwa District, Ehime, Japan.On October 1, 2004 Jōhen was merged with the towns of Ipponmatsu, Mishō and Nishiumi, and the village of Uchiumi, all from Minamiuwa District, to form the new town of Ainan....

 and Mishō

Misho, Ehime

was a town located in Minamiuwa District, Ehime, Japan.On October 1, 2004 Mishō was merged with the towns of Ipponmatsu, Jōhen and Nishiumi, and the village of Uchiumi, all from Minamiuwa District, to form the new town of Ainan....

, and the village of Uchiumi

Uchiumi, Ehime

was a village located in Minamiuwa District, Ehime, Japan. Pearl culturing flourishes here, as Uchiumi produces the highest pearl output in Japan....

, all from Minamiuwa District

Minamiuwa District, Ehime

The is a district located in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. As of 2004, the estimated population is 28,100 and the total area is 239.54 km².The district includes one town.*Ainan-History:...

, to form the new town of Ainan

Ainan, Ehime

is a large town made up of smaller village suburbs in southern Ehime Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku in Japan.On October 1, 2004 all the former towns of Minamiuwa merged together to form a larger town, Ainan....

.

Though now part of Ainan, Nishiumi itself consisted of many individual villages including Fukuura, Funakoshi, Nishiura, and Sotodomari, among others.

As of 2005, the town had an estimated population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 2787 and a density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 127.79 persons per km². The total area was 21.81 km².

The industry in Nishiumi consists primarily of fishing and agriculture, producing things such as bonito

Bonito

Bonito is a name given to various species of medium-sized, predatory fish in the Scombridae family. First, bonito most commonly refers to species in the genus Sarda, including the Atlantic bonito and the Pacific bonito ; second, in Japanese cuisine, bonito refers to the skipjack tuna , which, in...

 and mikan

Mikan

The satsuma is a seedless and easy-peeling citrus mutant of Japanese origin introduced to the West.In Japan, it is known as mikan or formally unshu mikan . In China, it is known as Wenzhou migan . The Japanese name is a result of the local reading of the same characters used in the Chinese...

oranges.

Geography and climate

Nishiumi's name literally translates to West sea, which is fitting because the area is a peninsula that juts off the south-western edge of Ehime and into the Pacific Ocean. The geography of Nishiumi is dominated by mountains and inlets, most of which are covered by forest and jungle. Nishiumi lies in Japan's humid subtropical region and has a particularly mild winter, rarely seeing any snow. However, it is known for having very strong winter winds which blow off the ocean.

Tourism

Notable destinations in Nishiumi district include Kashima island which is part of Ashizuri-Uwakai national park, Cape Komo, a scenic overlook, and the town of Sotodomari, which is known for its terraced stone walls.