Amakusa, Kumamoto (town)
was a town located in Amakusa District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 4,405 and a density of 51.54 persons per km2. The total area was 85.46 km2. On March 27, 2006, Amakusa absorbed the cities of Hondo and Ushibuka, the towns of Ariake, Goshoura, Itsuwa, Kawaura, Kuratake, Shinwa and Sumoto (all from Amakusa District) to create the city of Amakusa. "Amakusa City" refers to this union of six towns and two cities, while "Amakusa Town" or "Amakusa-machi" refers to the one town of those six. Amakusa-machi consists of five hamlets, four spread along the west coast of Shimo-shima and one located in the mountains between the coast and Hondo, the administrative capital of Amakusa City. They are, in order of geographic location starting from the south, Ōe (大江), Takahama (高浜), Shimoda-minami (下田南), Shimoda-kita (下田北), and Fukuregi (福連木). Amakusa-machi is famous for its scenic coastline along the Amakusa-nada sea, including a natural, white sandy beach in Takahama called Shiratsuru-hama 白鶴浜 and beautiful, strange rock formations in the bay Myoken-ura 妙見浦. Shimoda-kita is also home to a famous hot spring which, according to legend, was discovered by a white heron. Many tourists come to