was a village

Villages of Japan

A is a local administrative unit in Japan.It is a local public body along with , , and . Geographically, a village's extent is contained within a prefecture....

 located in Shimajiri District

Shimajiri District, Okinawa

is a district located in Okinawa, Japan. Roughly translated, Shimajiri means "Butt of the island" which refers to its southerly position on the island of Okinawa. Compare this to Kunigami District, Okinawa....

, Okinawa

Okinawa Prefecture

is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...

, 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 January 1, 2006 Tamagusuku was merged with the town of Sashiki

Sashiki, Okinawa

was a town located in Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan.On January 1, 2006 Sashiki was merged with the villages of Chinen, Ōzato and Tamagusuku, all from Shimajiri District, to form the new city of Nanjō....

, and the villages of Chinen

Chinen, Okinawa

was a village located in Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan.On January 1, 2006, Chinen was merged with the town of Sashiki, and the villages of Ōzato and Tamagusuku, all from Shimajiri District, to form the new city of Nanjō....

 and Ōzato

Ozato, Okinawa

was a village located in Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan.On January 1, 2006 Ōzato was merged with the town of Sashiki, and the villages of Chinen and Tamagusuku, all from Shimajiri District, to form the new city of Nanjō....

, all from Shimajiri District

Shimajiri District, Okinawa

is a district located in Okinawa, Japan. Roughly translated, Shimajiri means "Butt of the island" which refers to its southerly position on the island of Okinawa. Compare this to Kunigami District, Okinawa....

, to form the new city of Nanjō

Nanjo, Okinawa

is a city in the southern part of Okinawa Island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.It was formed on January 1, 2006, from the merger of the town of Sashiki, and the villages of Chinen, Ōzato and Tamagusuku, all from Shimajiri District....

.

As of 2003, the village 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 10,486 and a total area of 16.87 km², with 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 621.58 persons per km².

In Tamagusuku, to the south-west of Naha, the Gyokusendo cave

Cave

A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

 with a total length of five kilometers is known for its beautiful stalagmite

Stalagmite

A stalagmite is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. This stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the underground cavern. The corresponding formation on...

s and stalactite

Stalactite

A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...

s. 850 metres of these caves are open to tourists.