Article

12235 ／そうさし

Sosa City

A full course said to take 36 years.

Iidaka Danrin site, Lecture Hall

01 ／ Winnowing baskets

A basket-making craft with shinodake bamboo and fuji,handed down in Kizumi for 300 years.

In Kizumi, a craft of making winnowing baskets from shinodake bamboo and fuji (wisteria) has been handed down for 300 years. It was designated a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2009. At its peak, from the Taisho era to the 1950s, output reached 80,000 a year (Tokyo Research Institute for Cultural Properties).

National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, 11 March 2009
80,000 a year (Taisho era to the 1950s)
Made from shinodake bamboo and fuji

02 ／ Shrine carvings

The main hall is decorated with carvings including the Twenty-Four Paragons of Filial Piety,and the worship hall comes with 132 ceiling paintings.

Shrine carvings in Sosa City — Photo by 鷹紙之郷 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The main hall of Iidaka Shrine, a prefectural designated building, has carvings including the Twenty-Four Paragons of Filial Piety, based on Chinese tales, on its walls, doors and side panels. A 1987 repair found an ink inscription dated 1758 on a roof copper sheet. The worship hall is city-designated and comes with 132 ceiling paintings.

Main hall: prefectural designation, 30 March 1988
Ink inscription dated 1758
Worship hall: city-designated, 132 ceiling paintings

03 ／ Maki hedges

Some maki hedges around farmhousesstand as high as about 7 m.

In 1923, a plant dealer from Ikeda, Osaka, noticed the inumaki (Japanese podocarp) of Yokaichiba, resistant to pests and cold, and shipped it to the Kansai region. Garden-tree growing spread from there. Some of the maki hedges around farmhouses reach about 7 m, the city says.

1923: inumaki shipped to Kansai
Some hedges about 7 m high
The city tree is the inumaki

Sosa 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 February–March 2012)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

83 minutes from Tokyo Station by Limited Express Shiosai.

about 40,000 people
90 min to a city centre

Yokaichiba Station is 83 minutes from Tokyo Station by Limited Express Shiosai at the fastest (JR East timetable, October 2026). The city was formed in 2006 by the merger of Yokaichiba City and Noe Town. City Hall is about 2 km from the station.

People living here: 35,040people
Area: 101.48km²
Households: 12,883households
Rent (average for rentals): 39,255yen
Healthcare: 3 hospitals ／ 27 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —10 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.

Sosa City in Japan35.708°N 140.564°E

to TokyoLtd. exp. Shiosai83min

Travel times follow JR東日本の駅の時刻表（2026年10月版の列車ページ。千葉駅の下りの列車ページから、東京の発→八日市場の着を列車ごとに数えた）と、匝瑳市公式『高速バス銚子東京線＜匝瑳・横芝光ルート＞』ページの時刻表PDF（2026年3月20日時刻改正。京成バス千葉イースト・京成バス共同運行） (checked 2026-10-22). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities.

Territory of Sosa 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

14.8km

Asahi City, Yokoshibahikari Town, Tako Town, Katori City

Sosa City isthis kind of town.

01Hanko-ji Temple stands on the site of Iidaka Danrin, a Nichiren Buddhist academy; its lecture hall, bell tower, drum tower and main gate are national Important Cultural Properties, and the whole precinct is a prefectural historic site
02In Kizumi, a craft of making baskets from shinodake bamboo and fuji has been handed down for 300 years and is a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. A fuji festival is held to thank Kano Osen, who created the lucky basket in the Genroku era
03The main hall of Iidaka Shrine is prefecturally designated for its carvings. In the city, garden-tree growing spread after inumaki was shipped to Kansai in 1923

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Sosa City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes