Map - Maniwa, Okayama (Maniwa-shi)

Maniwa (真庭市) is a city located in north-central Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Its northernmost border meets that of Tottori Prefecture.

The modern city of Maniwa was established on March 31, 2005, from the merger of the town of Hokubō (from Jōbō District); the towns of Katsuyama, Ochiai, Yubara and Kuse, and the villages of Mikamo, Kawakami, Yatsuka and Chūka (all from Maniwa District), the latter three which make up the area of Hiruzen as a whole.

As of April 1, 2018, Maniwa has an area of 828.43 km², 11.6% of Okayama Prefecture, giving it the largest area of any municipality in the prefecture. It measures roughly 55 km from North to South, and 35 km from East to West. Its population was 44,265, with 17,828 households. The city is known for Mount Hiruzen (1202 m) and the Hiruzen Highlands. Mount Hiruzen (also known as the Hiruzen Sanza, for its 3 sloping peaks) is also the source of the Asahi River (142 km), which flows through much of Okayama Prefecture.

Maniwa is also currently known for its Biomass initiatives, and has been given the title of a "Biomass Town", alongside 317 other areas within Japan. It has a biomass electric power plant, which runs using woody biomass in the forms of by-products of the city's lumber industries and household waste. The plant products over 10,000 kW, and can power more than 22,000 of Maniwa's homes, of which it sells some of the energy back to the National Grid. The City Office in Kuse is also fueled by a biomass boiler, and also uses solar panels in an attempt to reduce its carbon footprint.

Maniwa is located in approximately the center of the Chūgoku Mountains. The mountainous part of the city to the north is dominated by Mount Hiruzen. The Asahi River, a Class 1 river under the Rivers Act of 1964, emerges from Mount Hiruzen in Maniwa, and its upper reaches are located within the town. The river has approximately 146 tributaries. Major tributaries of the Asahi in Maniwa include the Bitchū, Nakazui, Kōchi, Meki, and the Shinjō rivers. The Hiruzen Highlands sit at an elevation of 500-600m above sea-level, and is part of the Daisen-Oki National Park, as of 1 February 1936.

80% of Maniwa's land is covered in forest, 60% of which was planted after World War Two. With thriving lumber industries, Maniwa is investing heavily in biomass and sustainable development of its resources.

With Maniwa being far from any major fault lines, the chance of an earthquake above 7.0 magnitude is less than 1%, small compared to other areas of Japan.

* Lakes

* Lake Yubara

* Dams