Chōkai

(This article is about the district in Yurihonjō, for the mountain see Mount Chōkai.)

Chōkai (旧鳥海町) is a district in SE Yurihonjō, Akita. The district covers a large area but has a low population.

History

On March 31^st, 1955, the Yuri district villages of Jinego, Kawauchi and Hitane all merged into Chōkai village.
On November 1^st, 1980, the village of Chōkai gained town status.
On March 22^nd, 2005, Chōkai Town merged with Honjō City, and the towns of Higashi Yuri, Iwaki, Nishime, Ouchi, Yashima and Yuri to form Yurihonjō.

Events

See a list of all Yurihonjo festivals.

Hinotodake Yamabiraki (丁岳山開き). On the 1^st June the Hinotodake trail opens for hiking. Apparently people meet at Ohira Campground （鳥海大平キャンプ場） and hike Hinotodake and two neighboring peaks. The hike takes 2.5+ hours each way.

Shinryoku Festival (新緑まつり). At the start of June.

Chōkai Kogen Family Adventure (鳥海高原ファミリーアドベンチャー). On the second Sunday in June.

Mt. Chōkai climbing season starts. The climbing trail from Oshimizu （鳥海大清水） opens on the 3^rd Sunday of June.

Chōkai Shishi Festival (鳥海獅子まつり). On the 16^th of August.

Chōkai Marathon Taikai (鳥海高原マラソン大会). At the start of October.

Hottai Waterfall Autumn Colours Festival (法体の滝紅葉まつり). There is a festival at Hottai no Taki in mid-October.

Schools

There is one elementary school and one junior high school in Chōkai Town. Junior high school graduates generally go to high school in Yashima or Honjō.

Chokai Elementary School (鳥海小学校).
Chokai Junior High School (鳥海中学校).

Former schools

Hitane Elementary School (直根小学校). Closed March 2013.
Kawauchi Elementary School (川内小学校). Closed March 2013.
Jinego Elementary School (笹子小学校). Closed March 2013.

Chōkai Elementary School was formed as a merger of Hitane ES, Kawauchi ES, and Jinego ES in 2013. Chōkai Junior High School was formed in 2000 as a merger of the three previous junior high schools — Kawauchi JHS, Hitane JHS, and Jinego JHS. Decades ago, there were other junior high and elementary schools — in Kogawa, Sarakawa, Momoyake, and perhaps elsewhere.

Over the years the population has decreased. This led to school closures and mergers, and also explains some of the sports at Chōkai JHS. Until 1999, there were three junior high schools (Kawauchi, Jinego, and Hitane). For girls sports, Jinego specialized in table tennis, Hitane specialized in tennis, and Kawauchi specialized in both volleyball and table tennis. So when Chōkai JHS was created, these are the sports that were chosen. For boys sports, perhaps basketball only existed at Jinego JHS before the merger. There is teacher housing in Jinego, not far from the police station and elementary school. Years ago, there was teacher housing in Hitane, but it has long since closed.

Students and ALT 2013-present
Year	Chōkai Elementary	Chōkai Junior High	ALT
2017-2018	123	96	Kate Smith
2016-2017	139	109	Fiona Morton (2M) Kate Smith (10M)
2015-2016	175	130	Ryan Cormier
2014-2015	172	124	Patricia Szczypa
2013-2014	189	138	Russell Kabir

Students and ALT 2001-2013
Year	Hitane Elementary	Jinego Elementary	Kawauchi Elementary	Chōkai Junior High	ALT
2012-2013	33	67	116	122	Russell Kabir
2011-2012	33	77	123	143	Douglas Perkins
2010-2011	36	88	134	150
2009-2010	36	89	138	171
2008-2009	46	97	134	161
2007-2008	51	106	139	153
2006-2007					Kevin Kelly
2005-2006					Kevin Kelly
2004-2005					Cisco Dilg
2003-2004					Greg Brisbine
2002-2003					Greg Brisbine
2001-2002					Tracy (Austin?)
Pre 2001					No regular ALT

Shopping

Maruyasu (丸安商店). ☎ 0184-57-3006. 〒015-0501 秋田県由利本荘市鳥海町伏見字久保１０５. General store and dry cleaners in Kawauchi. It has the best hours and speediest dry cleaning of any shop in Chōkai. Dry cleaning is faster in Honjō and Yuzawa, though.