Mutsu むつ市 | |
|---|---|
 Mutsu City from Kamafuse-yama | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location of Mutsu in Aomori Prefecture | |
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  Mutsu | |
| Coordinates:41°17′34″N141°11′1″E / 41.29278°N 141.18361°E /41.29278; 141.18361 | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Tōhoku |
| Prefecture | Aomori |
| Ōminato-tanabu | September 1, 1959 |
| Mutsu | August 1, 1960 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Tomoya Yamamoto(since March 2023) |
| Area | |
• Total | 864.20 km2 (333.67 sq mi) |
| Population (November 30, 2025) | |
• Total | 50,589 |
| • Density | 58.539/km2 (151.61/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time) |
| Phone number | 0175-22-1111 |
| Address | 1-1-1, Kanaya, Mutsu-shi, Aomori-ken 035-8686 |
| Climate | Cfb/Dfb |
| Website | Official website |
| Symbols | |
| Bird | Whooper swan |
| Flower | Rosa rugosa |
| Tree | Asunaro |
Mutsu (むつ市,Mutsu-shi) is acity located inAomori Prefecture,Japan. As of 30 November 2025[update], the city had an estimatedpopulation of 50,589 in 27,960 households, and apopulation density of 59 persons per km2.[1] The total area of the city is 864.12 square kilometers (333.64 sq mi), making it the largest municipality in Aomori Prefecture in terms of area.
Mutsu occupies most ofShimokita Peninsula and is bordered byMutsu Bay to the south andTsugaru Strait to the north, and is the northernmost city on the island ofHonshū. The volcanicOsorezan Mountain Range extends across the western and central portion of the city, and includes a number ofcaldera lakes. Mount Hiuchidake, 781 meters above sea level, is on the north side, and Mount Osore is on the south side. At the center of Mount Osore is a caldera with a diameter of about 3 kilometers, inside which is a caldera lake called Lake Usori. Mount Kamabu (elevation 879 m) is located southeast of the caldera's outer rim, and is the highest point of Mount Osore. The Tanabe River, which originates from the Shimokita Hills, flows through Tanabu, the center of Mutsu City, and the Tanabe Plain spreads out in the basin. The population is concentrated in the Tanabe, Ōhira, and Ōminato neighborhoods. Ōminato is located at the foot of Mount Kamabu, facing Ōminato Bay, where the waves are calm. There is a sand spit called Ashizaki in Ōminato Bay, and the inside of the sand spit is called Ashizaki Bay, which is a natural harbor. The Shimokita hills stretch in the southeastern part of the city.
Parts of the city is within the limits of theShimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park, including Mount Osore,Yagen Valley, andTaijima.[2]
Aomori Prefecture
Mutsu has a rareoceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb) orwarm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) by 0 °C isoterm, the south of the city being the northern boundary of thehot-summer type (Dfa) inAomori, disregarding rural areas in the west.[3][4] The city is characterized by warm summers and cool to cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Mutsu is 9.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1339 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 20.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around -4.6 °C.[5]
| Climate data for Mutsu, Aomori (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1935−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 10.9 (51.6) | 13.8 (56.8) | 19.2 (66.6) | 26.8 (80.2) | 31.0 (87.8) | 30.3 (86.5) | 34.7 (94.5) | 35.3 (95.5) | 33.5 (92.3) | 26.2 (79.2) | 21.3 (70.3) | 17.2 (63.0) | 35.3 (95.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 1.8 (35.2) | 2.4 (36.3) | 6.3 (43.3) | 12.7 (54.9) | 17.8 (64.0) | 20.8 (69.4) | 24.1 (75.4) | 25.8 (78.4) | 23.2 (73.8) | 17.6 (63.7) | 10.9 (51.6) | 4.4 (39.9) | 14.0 (57.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.2 (29.8) | −0.9 (30.4) | 2.3 (36.1) | 7.6 (45.7) | 12.5 (54.5) | 16.1 (61.0) | 20.1 (68.2) | 21.8 (71.2) | 18.7 (65.7) | 12.7 (54.9) | 6.8 (44.2) | 1.2 (34.2) | 9.8 (49.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.9 (23.2) | −4.9 (23.2) | −2.0 (28.4) | 2.8 (37.0) | 7.8 (46.0) | 12.2 (54.0) | 16.9 (62.4) | 18.4 (65.1) | 14.2 (57.6) | 7.2 (45.0) | 2.1 (35.8) | −2.5 (27.5) | 5.6 (42.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −22.1 (−7.8) | −22.4 (−8.3) | −18.8 (−1.8) | −9.6 (14.7) | −2.8 (27.0) | 1.8 (35.2) | 6.1 (43.0) | 9.0 (48.2) | 1.9 (35.4) | −2.9 (26.8) | −9.6 (14.7) | −17.9 (−0.2) | −22.4 (−8.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 102.2 (4.02) | 86.8 (3.42) | 85.3 (3.36) | 78.7 (3.10) | 98.3 (3.87) | 95.1 (3.74) | 129.5 (5.10) | 171.8 (6.76) | 163.8 (6.45) | 120.8 (4.76) | 114.9 (4.52) | 110.5 (4.35) | 1,357.7 (53.45) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 121 (48) | 104 (41) | 61 (24) | 4 (1.6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 10 (3.9) | 66 (26) | 366 (144.5) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 17.6 | 14.8 | 13.4 | 10.7 | 10.3 | 8.2 | 9.2 | 9.9 | 10.2 | 11.6 | 14.6 | 16.4 | 146.9 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 1 cm) | 20.7 | 17.3 | 10.6 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 | 11.8 | 63.9 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 74 | 73 | 71 | 70 | 76 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 82 | 77 | 74 | 74 | 77 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 67.7 | 88.2 | 141.3 | 184.7 | 196.9 | 163.6 | 131.5 | 139.0 | 145.0 | 150.7 | 98.3 | 70.6 | 1,577.5 |
| Source:Japan Meteorological Agency[6][7] | |||||||||||||
Per Japanese census data,[8] the population of Mutsu has declined over the past 40 years.
Historical population | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mutsu was founded on September 1, 1959 through the merger of the former towns ofŌminato (大湊) andTanabu (田名部). Tanabu had been the location of adaikansho under theMorioka Domain in theEdo period, and was a resettlement and colonization zone for dispossessed ex-samurai of the defeatedAizu Domain after theBoshin War. The village of Ōminato was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on 1 April 1889, and was raised to town status on November 10, 1928. Ōminato was a port town, and home to theŌminato Guard District, a major base for theImperial Japanese Navy until the end ofWorld War II. The town and its military base were bombed repeatedly from the middle of July to middle of August 1945, including one majorattack on Ōminato on August 9. The base facilities were used by theUnited States Navy during theoccupation of Japan, and (on a reduced scale) by theJapan Maritime Self Defence Force to date.
Ōminato merged with the adjacent town of Tanabe to form the city Ōminato-Tanabu (coupling of the names of two antecedent towns) on September 1, 1959; its name was changed to Mutsu in 1960. At the time, it was the onlycity with ahiragana name (むつ), which was adopted to avoid confusion with the originalkanji wordMutsu (陸奥) which indicates theold province that covered most of the modernTōhoku region.
On March 14, 2005, the towns ofKawauchi andŌhata, and the village ofWakinosawa (all fromShimokita District) were merged into Mutsu.
Mutsu has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral city legislature of 26 members. Mutsu, together with Shimokita District, contributes three members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part ofAomori 1st district of thelower house of theDiet of Japan.[9]
The economy of Mutsu is heavily dependent on agriculture, forestry and fishing, especiallyscallop aquaculture in Mutsu Bay. The city is also the location for various facilities of theJapan Atomic Energy Agency, and was the home port for thenuclear powered research vesselMutsu, until its decommissioning in 1997.
Mutsu has 12 public elementary schools and nine middle schools operated by the city government, and four public high schools operated by the Aomori Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.[10] TheAomori Akenohoshi Junior College has a campus in Mutsu.[11]
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East Japan Railway Company (JR East) –Ōminato Line
The city does not have an airport. The nearest airports are:
Port Angeles, Washington, United States and Mutsu becamesister cities in 1995. They have operated anexchange student program intermittently since 1997.[12]
Media related toMutsu, Aomori at Wikimedia Commons
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