Hida, Gifu 2.57

Hida is the northernmost city in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It received its name from the historical province of Hida Province, which was centered on the same area.The official kanji for the city is actually 飛驒, which uses the old rendering of the 騨 character. However, the 驒 characters is not included on the official list of usable characters (as decided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications), so the 騨 character is often used outside of the city.As of July 2011, the city has an estimated population of 26,403 and a population density of 33 persons per km². The total area is 792.31 km².HistoryThe modern city of Hida was established on February 1, 2004, from the merger of the towns of Furukawa and Kamioka, and the villages of Kawai and Miyagawa (all from Yoshiki District).GeographyThe city is located on the northern part of the Hida Plateau. The city is geographically divided into two areas, the eastern and western half. The Takahara River flows through the eastern half the city and the Miya River flows through the western half (both rivers are part of the Jinzū River river system). A mountainous region separates the two sides and the population generally clusters around the two river valleys.