The Shinano Railway Co. , Ltd. ( しなの鉄道株式会社 , Shinano Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha ) is a Japanese third-sector railway operating company established in 1996 to operate passenger railway services on the section of the JR East Shinetsu Main Line within Nagano Prefecture when it was separated from the JR East network in October 1997, coinciding with the opening of the Nagano Shinkansen ( Hokuriku Shinkansen ) from Takasaki to Nagano . The company was founded on May 1, 1996, and has its headquarters in Ueda, Nagano .
9-492: Shares in the company are owned by Nagano Prefecture , the cities of Nagano , Ueda , Komoro , Chikuma , Saku and Tōmi , the towns of Karuizawa , Miyota , Sakaki , Shinano , and Iizuna and private-sector businesses. On October 1, 1997, the company took over control of local passenger operations on the 65.1 km section of the JR East Shinetsu Main Line between Karuizawa and Shinonoi . This section
18-413: Is a lake , situated near Ōmachi, Nagano , Japan, and located at the foot of the northern Japanese Alps mountain range. Mesotrophic and subalpine in nature, numerous lakeside attractions surround the lake, with the locale being a popular lakeside resort. Kizaki is also one of the "Nishina Three Lakes", which include Lake Aoki and Lake Nakatsuna . Lake Kizaki has a maximum length of 2.7 km and
27-456: Is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū . Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 (as of 1 July 2023 ) and has a geographic area of 13,561.56 square kilometres (5,236.15 sq mi ). Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the northeast, Saitama Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to
36-912: Is a beach resort popular for its water attractions and games. The climate is predominantly alpine with warm summers, cold snowy winters and less intense humidity than the lower lying coastal areas. As of 1 April 2014 , 21% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks ; namely the Chichibu Tama Kai , Chūbu-Sangaku , Jōshin'etsu-kōgen , and Minami Alps National Parks; Myōgi-Arafune-Saku Kōgen , Tenryū-Okumikawa , and Yatsugatake-Chūshin Kōgen Quasi-National Parks; and Chūō Alps , Enrei Ōjō , Hijiriyama Kōgen , Mibugawa Suikei , Ontake , and Tenryū Koshibu Suikei Prefectural Natural Parks. Nineteen cities are located in Nagano Prefecture: These are
45-653: Is called the Shinano Railway Line . From March 14, 2015, the company took over control of local passenger operations on the 37.3 km section of the JR East Shinetsu Main Line between Nagano and Myōkō-Kōgen . This section is called the Kita-Shinano Line . The company was founded on May 1, 1996, and started railway business on the Shinano Railway Line on October 1, 1997. Nagano Prefecture Nagano Prefecture ( 長野県 , Nagano-ken )
54-586: The east, Niigata Prefecture to the north, Toyama Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture to the west, and Aichi Prefecture to the south. Nagano contains the point furthest from the sea in the whole of Japan—this point lies within the city of Saku . The province's mountains have made it relatively isolated, and many visitors come to Nagano for its mountain resorts and hot springs. Nine of the twelve highest mountains in Japan can be found in Nagano and one of its lakes, Lake Kizaki ,
63-587: The neighbouring prefectures. The area's mountain ranges , natural scenery, and history has gained Nagano Prefecture international recognition as a winter sports tourist destination, and hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics . It is served by the Hokuriku Shinkansen line, with direct services to Tokyo , Toyama , and Kanazawa . Nagano is an inland prefecture and it borders more prefectures than any other in Japan, bordering Gunma Prefecture , Saitama Prefecture , Yamanashi Prefecture , and Shizuoka Prefecture to
72-551: The southeast, Shizuoka Prefecture and Aichi Prefecture to the south, and Gifu Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture to the west. Nagano is the capital and largest city of Nagano Prefecture, with other major cities including Matsumoto , Ueda , and Iida . Nagano Prefecture has impressive highland areas of the Japanese Alps , including most of the Hida Mountains , Kiso Mountains , and Akaishi Mountains which extend into
81-913: The towns and villages in each district : The life expectancy in Nagano prefecture is the longest nationwide with the average life expectancy of 87.18 years for women and 80.88 years for men. Nagano Prefecture has a large and diversified economy, with a strong focus on electronics, information technology, precision machinery, agriculture and food products, and tourism, with a total GDP of about ¥8.5 trillion (2017). Several large Japanese groups have production facilities in Nagano Prefecture, such as Citizen Watch (Citizen Group), MinebeaMitsumi , Seiko Epson and Vaio . There are two local J.League clubs: AC Nagano Parceiro and Matsumoto Yamaga FC . 36°15′N 138°6′E / 36.250°N 138.100°E / 36.250; 138.100 Lake Kizaki Lake Kizaki ( 木崎湖 , Kizaki-ko )
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