Located in the central-eastern part of Hyogo Prefecture, Tamba Sasayama City is blessed with a rich natural environment, with most of the city covered by mountains and forests. Long ago, it flourished as a key transportation hub to Kyoto, and Kyoto culture has had a major influence on the city's culture. The city's main industries are agriculture and tourism, and it produces many nationally branded specialty products, such as Tamba chestnuts, wild boar meat, and Tamba Dainagon. The sea of clouds, known as the Tamba mist, is also a tourist attraction. Tamba Sasayama was originally established as a city through the merger of four towns in 1999, a forerunner of the great mergers of the Heisei era. The city is home to an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, and the Kawaramachi Tsumairi Merchant Houses cluster preserves Edo-period merchant architecture and its streetscape.