was a town

Towns of Japan

A town is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture , city , and village...

 located in Shimokita District

Shimokita District, Aomori

is a district located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It occupies most of the northern handle of Shimokita Peninsula with the exception of Mutsu City and contains the most northern point on the island of Honshū...

 in northern Aomori Prefecture

Aomori Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Ōhata Village was founded in 1889. It was elevated to town status on May 1, 1934. On March 14, 2005 it was merged

Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan

Municipal mergers and dissolutions carried out in Japan can take place within one municipality or between multiple municipalities and are required to be based upon consensus.- Merger policy:...

 into the neighboring city of Mutsu

Mutsu, Aomori

is a city located in northeastern Aomori in the Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 61,205 and a density of 70.09 persons per km²...

, along with the neighboring town of Kawauchi

Kawauchi, Aomori

was a town located in Shimokita District in northern Aomori Prefecture, Japan.Kawauchi Village was founded in 1889 from the merger the hamlets of Kawauchi, Hinokigawa, Shukunohe, and Kakizaki. It was elevated to town status on October 31, 1917...

 and village of Wakinosawa

Wakinosawa, Aomori

was a village located in Shimokita District in northern Aomori Prefecture, Japan.Wakinosawa Village was founded in 1889 from the merger the hamlets of Wakinosawa with neighboring Ozawa...

, and thus no longer exists as an independent municipality..

Located in northern Shimokita Peninsula

Shimokita Peninsula

The Shimokita Peninsula is the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū, stretching out towards Hokkaidō. Administratively the area is a part of Aomori Prefecture....

 facing Tsugaru Strait

Tsugaru Strait

is a channel between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture...

, the town of Ōhata had an economy based primarily on commercial fishing

Commercial fishing

Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions...

, primarily squid

Squid

Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...

, octopus

Octopus

The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...

, salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 and sea urchin

Sea urchin

Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...

.

At the time of its merger, the town had an estimated population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 8,663 and a density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 147.8 persons per km². The total area was 58.59 km².

Ōhata was served by Route 279 (Japan)

Route 279 (Japan)

National Route 279 is a national highway of Japan connecting Hakodate, Hokkaidō and Noheji, Aomori in Japan, with a total length of 107 km ....

 highway, but no railway service. Formerly (from 1939 to 2001), the Ōhata Line connected Ōhata Station with Shimokita Station

Shimokita Station

is a railway station on the JR East Ōminato Line located in the city of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is 55.5 rail kilometers from the terminus of the Ōminato Line at Noheji Station...

via eight stations. The train has now been replaced by a bus service.