Miyaki, Saga

Miyaki (みやき町) is a town in Miyaki District, Saga Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 25,745 in 10599 households, and a population density of 500 people per km2. The total area of the town is 51.92 km2. It is the first town in Saga to have its name spelled in hiragana rather than kanji. It is named after the district it is located in.

Geography
Miyaki is located in the eastern part of Saga Prefecture, about 20 km east of Saga City and about 30 km south of Fukuoka. The northern part of Miyaki contains the Chikushi Mountains, and the southern part contains the Chikugo River. It borders Fukuoka Prefecture on the north and south.

Adjoining municipalities
Saga Prefecture Fukuoka Prefecture
 * Kamimine
 * Tosu
 * Kanzaki
 * Yoshinogari
 * Kurume
 * Nakagawa

Climate
Miyaki has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Miyaki is 15.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1946 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.1 °C.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Miyaki is as shown below.

History
The area of Miyaki was part of ancient Hizen Province. During the Edo Period, it was mostly part of the holdings of Saga Domain. Following the Meiji restoration, the villages of Nakabaru, Kitashigeyasu, Minamishigeyasu, and Mikawa were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On April 1, 1955 the villages Minamishigeyasu and Nakabaru merged to form Mine Village, which was raised to town status on May 5, 1962. Kitashigeyasu Village was raised to town status on April 1, 1965, followed by Nakabaru on April 1, 1971. On March 1, 2005 the towns of Mine, Kitashigeyasu and Nakabaru merged to form the town of Miyaki.

Government
Miyaki has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 16 members. Miyaki, collectively with the other municipalities of Miyaki District, contributes two members to the Saga Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Saga 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
The economy of Miyaki is overwhelmingly based on agriculture, mostly rice production.

Education
Miyaki has four public elementary schools and three public junior high schools by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates a special education school for the handicapped.

Railways
JR Kyushu - Nagasaki Main Line
 * Nakabaru

Local attractions

 * Ayabe Shrine
 * Chiriku Hachiman Shrine, ichinomiya of former Hizen Province
 * Shirasaka Park