Wada [village] - Wada

Japanese: 和田[村] - わだ

A village in Chiisagata County in central Nagano Prefecture. Population 2,611 (1995). Located upstream of the Yoda River, a tributary of the Chikuma River, it borders Matsumoto City to the west, separated by Utsukushigahara and Chausuyama (2,006m). 90% of the village area is forest and wilderness, and cultivated land is limited to areas along the Yoda River. Wada, the central settlement, developed as a post station on the Nakasendo road. To the southwest of the village is Wada Pass, said to be the most difficult point on the Nakasendo road, and the surrounding area has been a source of obsidian since the Stone Age. After the opening of the Shin-Wada Tunnel (1978), travel to and from the Suwa region became easier, and the number of tourists using the Venus Line connecting Utsukushigahara and Chino City has increased.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

長野県中央部，小県（ちいさがた）郡の村。人口2611(1995)。千曲川の支流依田川上流に位置し，西は美ヶ原，茶臼山(2006m)を隔てて松本市に接する。村域の90％が山林･原野で，耕地は依田川沿いなどに限られる。中心集落の和田は中山道の宿駅として発達した。村の南西には中山道随一の難所といわれた和田峠があり，付近は石器時代から黒曜石の産地であった。新和田トンネル開通(1978)後は諏訪地方との往来が容易になり，また美ヶ原と茅野市を結ぶビーナスラインを利用した観光客が増えた。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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