Tottori Prefecture

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**Tottori Prefecture (鳥取県 or とっとり; *Tottori-ken*)**
Image:Japan Tottori large.png
Capital	Tottori (city)
Region	Chūgoku
Island	Honshū
Governor	Yoshihiro Katayama
Area	3,507.19 km² (41^st)
- % water	0.7%
Population (December 1, 2002)
- Population	618,727 (47^th)
- Density	176 /km²
Districts	5
Municipalities	19
ISO 3166-2	JP-31
Website	www.pref.tottori.jp/ english/
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Pear blossom (Pyrus)
- Tree	Daisenkyaraboku (Taxus cuspidata)
- Bird	Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)
Symbol of Tottori Prefecture

Tottori Prefecture (鳥取県, Tottori-ken^?) is located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island, Japan. The capital is the city of Tottori.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Economy
4 Demographics
5 Culture
6 Tourism
7 Prefectural symbols
8 Miscellaneous topics
9 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Geography

Image:Tottori sand dune p4 2430.jpg Image:TottoriMapCurrent.png Tottori has Tottori Sand Dune (鳥取砂丘; tottori-sakyū), Japan's only desert.

[edit] Cities

Four cities are located in Tottori Prefecture:

[edit] Towns and villages

Towns and villages in each district:

Hino District

Hino

Kofu

Nichinan

Iwami District

Iwami

Saihaku District

Tohaku District

Yazu District

Chizu

Wakasa

Yazu

[edit] Mergers

(as of Jan 18, 2006)

On September 1, 2004 the towns of Tohaku and Akasaki from Tohaku District merged to form the new town of Kotoura.

On October 1, 2004 the towns of Saihaku and Aimi from Saihaku District merged to form the new town of Nambu.

On October 1, 2004 the towns of Hawai and Togo and the village of Tomari (all from Tohaku District) merged to form the new town of Yurihama.

On November 1, 2004 the municipalities of Fukube and Kokufu (from Iwami District), Aoya, Ketaka and Shikano (from Ketaka District) and Kawahara, Mochigase and Saji (from Yazu District) merged into the city of Tottori. Ketaka District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

On January 1, 2005 the towns of Mizokuchi from Hino District and Kishimoto from Saihaku District merged to form the new town of Houki in Saihaku District.

On March 22, 2005 the town of Sekigane from Tohaku District merged into the city of Kurayoshi.

On March 28, 2005 the towns of Nakayama, Daisen, and Nawa from Saihaku District merged to form the new town of Daisen.

On March 31, 2005 the towns of Koge, Funaoka and Hatto from Yazu District merged to form the new town of Yazu.

On March 31, 2005, the city of Yonago merged with the town of Yodoe from Saihaku District to form the new city of Yonago.

On October 1, 2005 the towns of Daiei and Hōjō from Tohaku District merged to form the new town of Hokuei.

[edit] Economy

Tottori Prefecture is heavily agricultural and its products are shipped to major cities. Some of the famous products are Nashi pear, nagaimo, scallion, Shironegi, and watermelon.