Shirataka Town lies north of Nagai City on the Mogami-gawa. Bordered on the west by the Asahi Range and the east by the Shirataka Hills, the central area of the town is used for rice and fruit production. Shirataka is most well-known for the Miyama district, where pottery and Japanese paper have been produced for centuries, along with the old tradition of Shirataka Tsumugi cloth. On the Mogami-gawa north of downtown Shirataka is the Yanaba (fishtrap), used to catch fresh ayu (Japanese river trout).