HAMAMATSU -- A district in this central Japan city recorded Japan's highest temperature of the year on July 23, reaching a scorching 41.1 degrees Celsius at 2:17 p.m.

Although Tenryu Ward's Sakumacho district in the city of Hamamatsu is part of a government-designated city, it lies in a hilly and mountainous area about 50 kilometers north of the city center.

The area is known for "Sakuma Dam," one of Japan's largest, and its landscape is marked by power substation facilities. Tenryu River runs through the valley, and there are many camping sites there.

Near Chubu-Tenryu Station on the JR Iida Line, which runs north to south through the area, there once was a shopping street, but only a few stores remain in operation now.

"At this point, the only thing we can do is promote the heat itself and attract tourists," said Mitsuo Murase, 75, secretary-general of the Sakuma regional tourism association.

Murase, who was born and raised in the district, said, "It has always been a hot place, but it has been especially hot these past few days." A thermometer installed in the shade of his garden now often reaches 40 C.

Acquaintances have recently encouraged him by saying, "If it is going to be this hot, it might as well be the hottest area in the country." Murase said the association plans to use the current intense heat to promote tourism for dam tours and campsite use.

On the evening of July 23, a family arrived at Sakuma Station on the Iida Line after driving about 90 minutes to experience the heat upon learning that the district had recorded the nation's highest temperature of the day. Nobuhiko Takeuchi, 45, who visited from Hamamatsu's Hamana Ward, said with a surprise, "It feels like being in a sauna. The air itself is hot."

(Japanese original by Tetsushi Teruyama, Hamamatsu Local Bureau)