Ōdai

Ōdai (大台町) is a town located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 8,847 in 4,125 households and a population density of 24 persons per km2. The total area of the town was 362.86 sqkm.

Geography
Ōdai is located in southeastern Kii Peninsula in central Mie Prefecture. An inland municipality, Ōdai extends almost the width of Mie Prefecture from east to west, but is narrow north to south.

Neighboring municipalities
Mie Prefecture Nara Prefecture
 * Matsusaka
 * Taki
 * Taiki
 * Watarai
 * Kihoku
 * Kawakami
 * Kamikitayama

Climate
Ōdai has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ōdai is 14.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2,683 mm with September the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.7 °C.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōdai has decreased steadily over the past 60 years and is now less than it was a century ago.

History
The area of present-day Ōdai was part of the ancient Ise Province, but was mostly part of Kii Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. The village of Misedani in Taki District, Mie Prefecture, was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It was raised to town status in 1953. The town of Ōdai was established on September 30, 1956 by the merger Misedani with the village of Kawazoe. On January 1, 2006, the last remaining village in Mie Prefecture, Miyagawa Village, merged with Ōdai.

Government
Ōdai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 11 members. Ōdai contributes two members to the Mie Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Mie 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
Ōdai serves as a commercial center for the surrounding region.

Education
Ōdai has four public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government. The town has one public high school operated by the Mie Prefectural Board of Education.

Railway
JR Tōkai – Kisei Main Line
 * Tochihara - Kawazoe - Misedani - Takihara

Highway

 * [[file:JP Expressway E42.svg|24px|link=|alt=E42]] Kisei Expressway

Local attractions

 * Mount Ōdaigahara