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12229 ／そでがうらし

Sodegaura City

City tree shii rules a 3-hectare wood.

Sakado Shrine grove

01 ／ Shell mound

A horseshoe-shaped shell moundrings a hollow up to 1.2 m deep.

Yamano Shell Mound in Iito dates from the late and final Jomon period. The city says it rises in a horseshoe shape across 140 m east to west and 110 m north to south, with a drop of up to 1.2 m to the central hollow. Part is private land, so it is viewed from the road.

140 m by 110 m
Drop of up to 1.2 m
National Historic Site: 13 Oct 2017

02 ／ Divination

The amount of gruel in reedsforetells nine crops.

Divination in Sodegaura City — Photo by Ibaraki101c (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Tsutsugayu of Akitomi Shrine is a yearly rite held by parishioners from the night of 14 January into the early hours of the 15th. Bundled reeds are put in rice-flour gruel, and the amount that enters them foretells the harvest of nine crops, including rice, wheat, foxtail millet and barnyard millet.

Night of 14 to dawn of 15 Jan
Nine kinds of crops
Prefectural designation: 30 Mar 1988

03 ／ Excavated finds

Small bronze bells came from two sites,one from the Yayoi, one from the early Kofun period.

The small bronze bell from the Fumiwaki site, about 10 cm tall, came from a burial facility of the end of the Yayoi period, with crystal, amber and glass ornaments. The one from the Suijinshita site came from a riverbed of the middle early Kofun period, together with a small bronze mirror.

Fumiwaki: prefectural, 30 Mar 1999
Suijinshita: city-designated
About 10 cm tall

Sodegaura City 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 June 2024)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

58 minutes by express bus from Tokyo Station.

about 60,000 people
60 min to a city centre

From Bus Terminal Tokyo Yaesu, an express bus reaches the north exit of Sodegaura Station in 58 minutes (timetable revised 1 October 2026, same on weekdays and holidays). By JR, the Uchibo Line rapid takes 70 minutes from Tokyo (Saturday and holiday timetable). City Hall is about a 7-minute walk from Sodegaura Station.

People living here: 63,883people
Area: 94.82km²
Households: 25,430households
Rent (average for rentals): 54,915yen
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 41 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —9 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.

Sodegaura City in Japan35.430°N 139.954°E

to TokyoHighway bus58min
to TokyoJR Uchibo Line rapid70min

Travel times follow ①小湊鐵道『袖ケ浦～東京線（東京ガウライナー）』の時刻表（2026年10月1日改定・東京駅八重洲南口→袖ケ浦駅北口）。②JR東日本の駅の時刻表（2610版）の袖ケ浦駅内房線木更津・館山方面（下り）を jr_count.py で数えた東京発→袖ケ浦着 (checked 2026-10-22). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 2 municipalities.

Territory of Sodegaura City

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

15.4km

Kisarazu City, Ichihara City

Sodegaura City isthis kind of town.

01The Sakado Shrine grove is a prefectural natural monument, an evergreen broadleaf forest dominated by sudajii that spreads over 3 hectares. The city tree, shii, is also sudajii by its standard name
02Yamano Shell Mound is a National Historic Site, rising in a horseshoe shape 140 m by 110 m, with a drop of up to 1.2 m to the hollow inside
03The Tsutsugayu of Akitomi Shrine, a prefecturally designated folk rite, foretells nine kinds of crops by the amount of gruel entering reeds

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Sodegaura City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes