Toho Village

No back wall: a hall in a rock hollow.

Iwaya Shrine main hall

Photo by STA3816 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Buried Trees in the Aso-4 Pyroclastic Flow

The fallen trees' direction showed thepyroclastic flow was guided west.

Three trees buried by the Aso-4 pyroclastic flow about 90,000 years ago, and its deposits, were found in 2017 at a revetment on a tributary of the Ōhi River. One of them is about 6.9 m long. The designation notes say the direction in which the trees fell confirms that the flow was strongly guided west along east-west mountain ranges and river valleys.

Aso-4 pyroclastic flow, about 90,000 years ago
3 buried trees (one about 6.9 m long)
National Natural Monument (gazetted 15 March 2022)

02 ／ The Spectacles Bridges (めがね橋)

Between Chikuzen-Iwaya and Daigyōji stations,three arch bridges from 1938 or earlier.

Daini-Daigyōji Bridge (第二大行司橋梁), Hōshuyama Bridge (宝珠山橋梁) and Kurikino Bridge (栗木野橋梁) are concrete arch bridges known as the spectacles bridges. All were completed by 1938, and all three are listed among modern civil engineering heritage by the Japan Society of Civil Engineers. The Hitahikosan Line now runs as a BRT, and buses use the bridges on this section.

Completed by 1938 (Showa 13)
All three listed as modern civil engineering heritage by JSCE
Kurikino Bridge is 71.20 m long

03 ／ Old Takatori Kiln Sites and Koishiwara Ware

Exchange with Takatori ware, already in Koishiwara,led to the formation of Koishiwara ware.

The village has two old Takatori kiln sites. The first (釜床1号古窯跡), in the Tsuzumi area, is a multi-chamber climbing kiln of the late 17th century, backfilled for preservation, while the Ipponsugi No. 2 kiln site (一本杉2号古窯跡) in Sarayama has a restored kiln body and is a park. The village says Koishiwara ware formed in 1682, when Imari potters brought porcelain and exchanged with Takatori ware.

The first site: a climbing kiln with six firing chambers
Ipponsugi No. 2: a climbing kiln about 20 m long
Koishiwara ware formed in 1682 (the village's account)

Living here

About 86% of the area is forest and open land.

about 2,000 people
Rural district town

The village covers 51.97 km², about 86% of it forest and open land. The Koishihara Basin in the north lies at 460 to 480 m and is said to be a lake-bed basin; the Koishihara and Ōhi rivers join the Chikugo River and flow into the Ariake Sea. The village was formed on 28 March 2005 by the merger of Koishihara and Hōshuyama villages.

People living here: 1,899people
Area: 51.97km²
Households: 696households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 4 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —2 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 4 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Toho Village in Japan33.397°N 130.870°E

Territory of Toho Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

12.9km

Fukuoka Prefecture: 朝倉市, 添田町, 嘉麻市
Oita Prefecture: 日田市

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

Toho Village isthis kind of town.

01The main hall of Iwaya Shrine (岩屋神社) stands in a hollow beneath a great rock called Gongen Rock (権現岩), with no roof or wall at its back and left side. Inside is a rock called the "jewel stone" (宝珠石), of key importance to worship; the hall was built in 1698 and, with the shrine's Kumano Shrine hall, is a National Important Cultural Property.
02The Bamboo district (竹地区) has 400 stone-walled rice terraces with a history of about 400 years, selected among Japan's 100 Terraced Rice Fields. Iwaya Spring (岩屋湧水) flows about 15,000 tons a day from inside the Shakadake Tunnel and is among the Heisei-era 100 Exquisite and Well-Conserved Waters.
03At Iwaya Shrine, for a few days each mid-February and late October, the evening sun lines up for a few minutes with the middle of the first torii. The village's tourism site calls this the "Path of Light" (光の道) and says it cannot be seen in some years, depending on weather.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Toho Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗