Article

07368 ／みなみあいづまち

Fukushima Prefecture 南会津郡

Minamiaizu Town

Its hanamichi is set up only for shows.

Omomo Stage, shrine grounds

Photo by Qwert1234 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Hamlet

After the fire of 1907, nearby carpenters rebuiltthe thatched hamlet all at once.

The town's tourism guide says that after the Meiji 40 (1907) fire, carpenters from the surrounding area rebuilt the hamlet all at once, giving it a unified design. The houses have thatched roofs and are either straight houses or L-shaped chumon-zukuri (magariya), with chumon-zukuri in the majority.

Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings
Selected June 20, 2011
Chumon-zukuri houses predominate

02 ／ Festival organization

The festival is run not by professional priestsbut by a parish group called the Otoya.

The national description calls the Otoya rites of the Tajima Gion Festival important because they are carried out not by professional priests but by a festival organization of parishioners called the Otoya. The town's tourism guide says nine Otoya groups now take charge of the rites, each supporting the tohon for a year.

Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property
Designated January 21, 1981
Nine Otoya groups at present

03 ／ Wetland

In beech forest at 1,100 m,three representative valley marshes.

Wetland in Minamiaizu Town — Photo by Qwert1234 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The town's tourism guide names the Large, White Birch and Waterless valley marshes as the three representative ones among the wetlands scattered along the border with Showa Village, Fukushima. They lie in beech forest at 1,100 m and are covered by 3 to 4 m of snow in winter.

National Natural Monument
Designated December 28, 1970
27 ha across the three marshes

Minamiaizu 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 2004)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

A town over 90% forest, served by the Aizu Railway.

about 10,000 people
Rural district town

The town's relocation guide describes a town in the southwest of Fukushima Prefecture where over 90% of the land is forest. It notes cool summer mornings and evenings and a heavy-snow winter. The town once thrived as a main post town on the Aizu-Nishi Highway, and its festival guide gives Aizu-Tajima Station on the Aizu Railway as the nearest station.

People living here: 14,451people
Area: 886.47km²
Households: 5,894households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 13 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —5 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 6 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Minamiaizu Town in Japan37.200°N 139.773°E

Territory of Minamiaizu 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

38.2km

Fukushima Prefecture: Tadami Town, Showa Village, Shimogo Town, Hinoemata Village
Tochigi Prefecture: Nikko City, Nasushiobara City

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

Minamiaizu Town isthis kind of town.

01Omomo Stage stands in the grounds of a shrine, a thatched stage whose hanamichi is set up for performances, as is the chanters' seating area called Geza
02Maezawa, a hamlet of thatched houses, was rebuilt all at once by nearby carpenters after the fire of 1907, the town says
03The Otoya rites of the Tajima Gion Festival are run by a parish organization, and Komadome Wetland has three marshes in beech forest at 1,100 m

See the town as it is now.

Facebookminamiaizutown ↗

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Minamiaizu Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes