Article

02321 ／あじがさわまち

Aomori Prefecture 西津軽郡

Ajigasawa Town

Four tiers about 20 m above the plain.

Tanesato Castle, main enclosure

Photo by 小池隆 (CC BY 4.0)

01 ／ Tamagaki fence

Granite said to have doubled as ballastbecame a fence around the shrine.

In 1816 a stone fence (tamagaki) was built around the main hall of Shirahachimangu Shrine, sponsored by a group from Osaka. The granite came by sea and is said to have doubled as ship ballast. The names carved on it belong to ship wholesalers from Osaka, the Hokuriku region and Ajigasawa harbour. The worship hall keeps 42 votive plaques, 12 of them ship plaques. Designated by the town.

Built 1816
Town-designated historical material
42 plaques survive

02 ／ Marker stone

To mark a hunt of six large bears,names were carved on a shrine marker.

Marker stone in Ajigasawa Town — Photo by あおもりくま at Japanese Wikipedia(Aomorikuma) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Matagi hunters from two villages along the Akaishi River were long called the Akaishi Matagi. On the side of a shrine marker stone set up in 1921 are carved the names of the Matagi of that day, to commemorate six large bears taken in 1914 and 1915. The back bears names going back to the feudal era.

Set up 1921
Six large bears, 1914-15
Names from the feudal era on the back

03 ／ Hiyoriyama

Said to be a weather-watching hill,it has a stone shaped like Mount Iwaki.

Hiyoriyama is said to be where sailors judged the weather before putting out to sea. It was also a place to worship Mount Iwaki from afar, for those who could not join the mountain pilgrimage. The stone shaped like Mount Iwaki was set up in 1858 by townspeople of two districts. A monument to the harbour's permanent light, built at a headland in 1821, was moved in modern times to the grounds of Shirahachimangu Shrine.

Set up 1858
Light monument, 1821
Place to worship Mount Iwaki

Ajigasawa Town from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot 2004)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

About 1 hr 15 min from Hirosaki on the Gono Line.

about 9,000 people
Rural district town

The town's access chart shows about 1 hour 15 minutes by rail from Hirosaki on the Gono Line, and about 1 hour 30 minutes from Shin-Aomori on the Ou Main Line and Gono Line. From Tokyo it is about 3 hours 10 minutes by Tohoku Shinkansen to Shin-Aomori. The population is 8,053 (end of August 2026).

People living here: 9,044people
Area: 343.08km²
Households: 3,643households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 5 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —5 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 6 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Ajigasawa Town in Japan40.780°N 140.209°E

Territory of Ajigasawa Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

40.6km

Aomori Prefecture: Hirosaki City, Fukaura Town, Nishimeya Village, Tsugaru City
Akita Prefecture: Happo Town, Fujisato Town

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Ajigasawa Town isthis kind of town.

01The main enclosure of Tanesato Castle, a National Historic Site, is a detached flat rise about 20 m above the plain, with a steep cliff above the Akaishi River on the east and large moats on the other three sides, divided broadly into four terraces
02The tamagaki fence of Shirahachimangu Shrine was built in 1816 of granite brought by sea, and the shrine marker by the Akaishi River carries the names of Akaishi Matagi in memory of a bear hunt
03The town is served by the JR Gono Line, and the town's access chart gives about 1 hour 15 minutes from Hirosaki and about 1 hour 30 minutes from Shin-Aomori

See the town as it is now.

X@ajigasawatown ↗

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Ajigasawa Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes