Article

12410 ／よこしばひかりまち

Chiba Prefecture 山武郡

Yokoshibahikari Town

Two ancient tombs stand side by side.

Himezuka Kofun, Shibayama tombs

Photo by Abasaa (Public domain)

01 ／ Kiraigo

On the day hell's cauldron is said to open,Kosaiji stages a Buddhist play.

According to the town, Kiraigo is staged each year on 16 August, the day of the late-summer Obon, at Kosaiji temple in Mushiu. This classical Buddhist play teaches cause and effect and the rewarding of good and punishing of evil. Its origins are said to go back to the Kamakura period, and local residents handle everything from the performers to the stage set-up.

National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, 4 May 1976
13 masks, prefectural folk property, 29 Mar 2002
Four acts now staged, about 1.5 hours

02 ／ Sakata Castle ruins

In the wooded plateau, enclosures,earthworks and dry moats remain.

The town describes the site as a late Sengoku-period castle ruin where enclosures, earthworks and dry moats remain in the plateau woods. It is said to have been the seat of the Mitani family and later the Ida, who are said to have remodeled it with earthworks, earthen bridges and dry moats suited to the terrain.

Enclosures, earthworks, dry moats remain
Late Sengoku-period castle ruin
Mitani family, later the Ida

03 ／ Machihara Great Ginkgo

A ginkgo whose nuts grow on its leavesstands in Machihara.

The town's tourism page describes the ginkgo in the grounds of Machihara Inari Shrine as a rare variety, the ohatsuki ginkgo, whose nuts form on the leaf surface. Aerial roots hang like breasts, so it is also called the milk ginkgo. Its estimated age is several hundred years, and its trunk measures about 6.5 m around.

Prefectural natural monument, 5 Mar 2019
18 m tall, trunk about 6.5 m around
Named for the legend of the mother's milk

Yokoshibahikari 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 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

76 minutes from Tokyo Station by limited express.

about 20,000 people
90 min to a city centre
Rural district town

The town's railway station is Yokoshiba Station on the Sobu Line. According to the JR East timetable (October 2026 schedule), the fastest daily Limited Express Shiosai from Tokyo Station to Yokoshiba Station takes 76 minutes. The town's own guide says about 80 minutes.

People living here: 22,075people
Area: 67.01km²
Households: 8,274households
Rent (average for rentals): 46,952yen
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 11 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —8 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.

Yokoshibahikari Town in Japan35.666°N 140.505°E

to TokyoLtd. exp. Shiosai76min

Travel times follow JR東日本の駅の時刻表（デジタル時刻表）2610版（2026年10月ダイヤ）。千葉駅の『総武本線・成田線』下り（平日 0989010・土休日 0989011）の列車ページから、東京の発→横芝の着を `docs/handoff/tools/jr_count.py`（『毎日』だけに絞った作業用の写し）で数えた。平日・土休日の両方に同じ列車番号・同じ分数で載り、運転日の注記が無い特急しおさいだけを採った (checked 2026-10-22). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities.

Territory of Yokoshibahikari 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

13.3km

Sanmu City, Sosa City, Tako Town, Shibayama Town

Yokoshibahikari Town isthis kind of town.

01The prefectural board of education records Himezuka as a keyhole tomb beside Tonozuka and part of the nationally designated Shibayama Tumulus Cluster in Nakadai. The town says a 1956 excavation unearthed a group of figure haniwa from Himezuka's mound
02Kiraigo at Kosaiji is a Buddhist play staged in Mushiu each 16 August and designated a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. At Sakata Castle ruins, enclosures, earthworks and dry moats remain in the plateau woods
03The ginkgo at Machihara Inari Shrine is an ohatsuki ginkgo, with nuts on its leaves, and a prefectural natural monument. The prefecture's list also includes the Kaiho Gyoson birthplace site (prefectural historic site) and the wooden Yakushi Nyorai statue at Yakuo-in (prefectural)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Yokoshibahikari Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes