Before Hata became a town, it was three villages: Kami-Hata (上波多), Shimo-Hata (下波多), and Samizo (三溝).

Hata's main industry is farming and produces various vegetables and fruits, including watermelons, corn, apples, peaches, and so on.

Hata is considered the gateway to Kamikōchi and the Northern Japan Alps because of Shin-Shimashima Station, which is used by tourists to access the park.

Many artifacts from stone masks to remains of houses from that period have been found in archaeological digs in Hata and have been displayed in the Tokyo National Museum.

Local tradition recalls a large flood which caused enormous damage to Hata in the early Edo period.

In the beginning of the Meiji Period, some students from Nyakutakuji helped start the Industrial Revolution in Japan.

They also helped Hata become a modern town by constructing an irrigation channel and inventing a spinning machine.

Bears continue to enter Hata, due to dwindling food supplies in their habitats.

The temple prospered until the late Edo Period, and the famous author, Jippensha Ikku, stopped there.

A small sub-temple, Tamura Temple, was built in the Muromachi period and enshrined the famous conquest of the Ezo by shōgun Sakanoue no Tamuramaro.

During the Edo Period, the Japanese government destroyed many temples all over Japan in order to promote the national religion of Shinto.

The government destroyed Saikoji Temple, but the Deva Kings were hidden and so escaped destruction.

Over sixty culture clubs covering art, history, cooking, language, etc.

In 2009, the Japanese world-famous pianist Kumamoto Mari, held a piano concert here.

Recreation Hata has a number of parks, a sports gym, tennis courts, and an indoor pool.

Past the signboard, turn left and go across a long narrow bridge which spans the Azusagawa River.

The onsen itself is located on the sandbank of the Azusagawa River and is surrounded by beautiful nature.

The hot spring water itself is slightly clouded and thick which is said to be good for relieving nerve and muscle pain, stiff shoulders, paralysis, and fatigue.

We can relax by taking a bath while viewing the mountains and listening to the murmur of the Azusagawa River.

Cost: ¥510 (adults), ¥250 (children) For more information about hot spring culture see Onsen.

In 2006, Hata Elementary School students helped to design the town's summer festival's fireworks display.

Hata mainly serves as a bedroom community to Matsumoto City; however, it does have a few precision factories including Miyaji Iron Works, which contributed iron frames to structures such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and the Great Seto Bridge.

Hata's agriculture consists of many temperate climate fruits including apples, pears, and peaches.

The local climate and regional soil make Hata an ideal place to grow watermelons.

By 1950, Shimohara watermelons already had a great reputation in Matsumoto and were famous in the surrounding areas.

In the mid-1960s, trucks became widespread and farmers could bring their watermelons directly to vegetable and fruit markets.

In 1981, Hata Town received 300 million yen in subsidies from the government to build a watermelon distribution center.

Gaun Tacchi (臥雲辰致) (1842–1900) was born in the Edo period, he invented the "Gara Bouki" in 1876.

Dogtooth violets are wild flowers which grow in the northern Japanese mountains.

From the roots, people used to make a kind of white starch called "Katakuriko."