The area has a temperate maritime climate, characterized by hot, humid summers and mild winters, with the warm Kuroshio Current off shore providing a moderating effect.

Shizuoka Prefecture Per Japanese census data,[2] the population of Makinohara has been relatively steady over the past 50 years.

With the establishment of the modern municipalities system in the early Meiji period on April 1, 1889, Sagara was incorporated as a town within Haibara District.

Makinohara has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 16 members.

The local economy of Makinohara is dominated by the production of green tea, and to a lesser extent by commercial fishing, and manufacturing of automobile components for Suzuki Motors (Sagara Plant).