Article

02343 ／にしめやむら

Aomori Prefecture 中津軽郡

Nishimeya Village

Reading the ice for Tsugaru's harvest.

Niogataki Falls, ice pillar

Photo by あおもりくま（Aomorikuma） (CC BY 3.0)

01 ／ Fushiki Tower

A brick tower was raised on a hilltopto hand down the village's land clearing.

Fushiki Tower, on a hilltop, is built of brick, 5.94 m across the base and 20.8 m tall, completed in 1912. Villagers have called it Tsukasa's Tower. The steel frame around it dates from the preservation work that began in fiscal 2002. With the main hall of Kotaiji Temple on the plateau, it was designated a village tangible cultural property in February 2002.

20.8 m tall, 5.94 m across the base
Completed in 1912
Village tangible cultural property, Feb 2002

02 ／ Saito Tsukasa

A tunnel brought water from the Iwaki River,and 80 ha of wasteland became paddies.

Saito Tsukasa was born in 1860 in Hirosaki, the eldest son of a Tsugaru samurai, and became a leading surveying and civil engineer. In opening up new land in the village he guided villagers to dig a tunnel from the main stream of the Iwaki River to bring water, turning as much as 80 ha of wasteland into paddies, the village records. He also worked on tree planting and road building.

Irrigation tunnel from the Iwaki River
80 ha of wasteland turned to paddies
Born in Hirosaki, 1860

03 ／ Nishi Kogin

The great kogin curtainmeasures 3.6 m by 7.0 m.

Kogin is an embroidery technique devised in the Edo period by farmers, allowed only coarse hemp clothing, to endure winter cold, and Nishi Kogin is said to have originated in Nishimeya Village. The great curtain was used in the old assembly hall of the village office and is in the village's central community hall. The Meya doll, a girl carrying a charcoal bale on her back, is a Prefectural Traditional Craft.

Great curtain 3.6 m by 7.0 m
Nishi Kogin said to have originated here
Meya doll: Prefectural craft, March 1996

Nishimeya Village 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 September–November 2015)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

No railway station; about an hour by bus from Hirosaki.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

The village has no railway station; from Hirosaki Station, the village says, take a route bus or a taxi. The Konan Bus from Hirosaki Bus Terminal to Nishimeya Village Office takes 60 to 70 minutes on daily services (timetable revised 1 April 2026). 93% of the village's 246.02 km² is forest, and national forest makes up 91% of that.

People living here: 1,265people
Area: 246.02km²
Households: 437households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 1 clinic

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

Children waiting for childcare: —1 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.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Nishimeya Village in Japan40.578°N 140.297°E

to HirosakiLocal bus60min

Travel times follow 弘南バス公式『弘前管内時刻表 No.5 相馬・西目屋・岩木方面』令和8年4月1日改正（https://www.konanbus.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/timetable20260401_hirosaki05.pdf）の「弘前～相馬庁舎～西目屋村役場線 20・H20・S20・21」。弘前バスターミナル（7番のりば）発→西目屋村役場前着：7:00→8:05（65分）・7:35→8:40（65）・9:00→10:10（70）・11:30→12:40（70）・13:00→14:10（70）・15:00→16:10（70）・17:00→18:05（65）・19:15→20:15（60）の8便が毎日運転（赤字＝土日祝運休の10:00→11:10〈70〉と18:00→19:05〈65〉は除く）。毎日運転の最速は19:15発の60分。逆向き（西目屋村役場前発→弘前駅前着）は6:40→7:45（65分）ほか。図は目で確かめた（pdftotext の文字と突き合わせ） (checked 2026-10-28). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Nishimeya Village

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

20.5km

Aomori Prefecture: Hirosaki City, Ajigasawa Town
Akita Prefecture: Fujisato Town, Odate City

Nishimeya Village isthis kind of town.

01The 33 m Niogataki Falls freeze into a pillar of ice in winter, and the village says its thickness and shape were long read to foretell Tsugaru's harvest
02Fushiki Tower, a brick tower 20.8 m tall completed in 1912, is a village tangible cultural property together with the main hall of Kotaiji Temple
03Nishi Kogin is said to have originated in the village, and the Meya doll, a girl carrying a charcoal bale, is a Prefectural Traditional Craft

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Nishimeya Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes