|
is a town located in Nakagami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.〔 Although the Japanese kanji for the city's name are normally read , the ''ki'' phoneme in Japanese becomes ''chi'' in Okinawan, so ''Kitatani'' became ''Chitatani'' then ''Chatani'' and finally ''Chatan''. Also unfamiliar in standard Japanese is that the ''tan'' syllable of ''Chatan'' is emphasized in the local dialect, although many outside of Okinawa place emphasis on ''cha'' instead. As of March 2013 the town had an estimated population of 28,299 and the density of 2,077.75 per km².〔 The total area of Chatan is . 53.5% of the land area of the town is covered by United States military bases.〔〔 ==Geography== Chatan is located in the central part of Okinawa Island. The town sits on the western coast of the island on the East China Sea. The east of Chatan is hilly and made up of Okinawan limestone. The hills of the eastern part of the town give way to low-lying land towards the coast.〔〔 Two rivers run through Chatan west into the East China Sea: the Shiruhi River to the north, and the Futenma River at the south.〔 Chatan, prior to World War II, was a noted area of rice production in Okinawa. The area was known as Chatan taa-bukkwa, a term in the Okinawa language for a "large area of rice paddies". Much of the land formerly used for rice cultivation is now utilized by military bases.〔〔 Chatan is divided into six districts: Kitamae (北前), Mihama (美浜), and Sunabe (砂辺) (which enjoy great popularity among locals and tourists alike - for their many recreational and shopping destinations) as well as the primarily local business and residential wards of Kamiseido (上製頭), Ihei (伊平), and Kuwae (桑江). Chatan primarily runs along Route 58 and a largely man-made coastline which includes the area of what used be the U.S. Marine Corp base of Camp Hamby (now Camp Foster). The northern half of Kitamae is nicknamed "Hamby Town" in recognition of this, and the Hamby Post Office is one of the first Japanese Postal offices to have an English name. Parts of Camp Foster and Camp Lester are in Chatan. The American Kadena Air Base is located on and forms the northern boundary of Chatan which is further demarcated by Route 23 - also known locally as Kokutai Road. The U.S. air base also encompasses much land which was once part of Chatan's area including most of the ward once named Shimoseido. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chatan, Okinawa」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|