Nemoto, Niihama

Nemoto (根本区) is an Urban District in Niihama, Yamatai. As of 2018, the district has an estimated population of 568,036, and a population density of 9948.09 per square kilometre. The total area of the district is 57.10 km².

Nemoto is a major commercial and finance centre and houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shin-Niihama Station and Nemoto Station. Nemoto has been a major secondary centre of Niihama, rivalling Chuo and Minato. The name "Nemoto" is also used to refer to the shopping district which surrounds Nemoto Station. The area is known as one of the fashion centres of Yamatai, particularly for young people, and as a major nightlife area.

Geography and Neighbourhoods
Nemoto is located between the Nemoto Canal to the south and the Aizawa Canal to the north. It is bordered by Yumemi to the west, Aizawa across the Aizawa Canal to the north, Mogami to the east across the Motozawa Canal (本沢), and Chuo to the south across the Nemoto Canal.

Nemoto includes many well-known commercial and residential neighbourhoods such as Kita-Nemoto, Nagita, Kamuro, Senda and Mitsuya.

Economy
The area surrounding Shin-Niihama Station is a major economic hub of Niihama. Many companies have their headquarters or Niihama offices in this area, including international companies, though foreign corporate headquarters often prefer Fujisaki due to ease of travel to Edajima International Airport.

Awamachi, Kamuro
Awamachi (泡町) is an entertainment and red-light district in Kamuro, in the eastern part of Nemoto. It is the location of many host and hostess clubs, love hotels, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and is often called the "Sleepless Town".

The area is also known for some gokudo activity.

Nagita Electric Town
Nagita Electric Town (凪田) is a common name for the area around Nagita Station in central Nemoto. Administratively, the area often referred to as Nagita belongs to both Kanda and Sakuma Neighbourhoods. The area is considered by many as the centre of modern Yamataian popular culture and a major shopping district for video games, douga, manga, electronics and computer-related goods. Icons from popular douga and manga are displayed prominently on the shops in the area, and numerous themed restaurants and arcades are found throughout the district.

The area gained the nickname Nagita Electric Town after the Second Escar-Varunan War for being a major shopping centre for household electronic goods as well as the site of the largest post-war black market. In the 1960s, the criminal elements were largely driven away and resettled in the Awamachi area.

Nagita Station is a transfer station on both the YNR Niihama Line and the Furukawa Line, and is just one stop north of Shin-Niihama Station.

Rail
Nemoto is the location of the largest train station in Niihama, Shin-Niihama Station, where five metro lines, the YNR Niihama and Wangan Lines, and the two Shinkyuko lines converge.

One stop to the south of Shin-Niihama Station is Nemoto Station, located near the bank of the Nemoto Canal. All of the lines that stop at Shin-Niihama also stop at Nemoto Station, except for the Shinkyuko lines and the YNR Wangan Line.