Article

07542 ／ならはまち

Fukushima Prefecture 双葉郡

Naraha Town

Buried together some 2,000 years ago.

Tenjinbara, Yayoi group burials

Photo by Mister0124 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Giant cedars

Below the torii of a shrine, two cedarsaged 1,200 years rise in the primeval forest.

The town says that below the torii of a shrine, along the Kido River gorge, two giant cedars stand in primeval forest. Closely tied to the shrine, the 1,200-year-old trees are called Jii-sugi and Baa-sugi, the Grandpa and Grandma Cedars. The cedar is also the town's tree.

Trees aged 1,200 years
Below the shrine's torii
Cedar is the town tree

02 ／ Natural forest

A natural konara oak forest mixed with fir isa no-logging reserve in the Kido River hills.

The Kanto Regional Forest Office describes the Kido River konara oak forest as a natural stand mixed with Japanese fir, valuable for study and for conserving genetic resources. The reserve covers 108.23 ha at 270 to 620 m, with natural forest 125 years old or more on steep terrain, and logging is banned.

Area of 108.23 ha
270 to 620 m above sea level
Natural forest 125 years or older

03 ／ Town name

Many names were proposed, such as Yayoi Town and Tenjin Town;the old district name in a Heian-period book was adopted.

The town says Naraha Town was born in 1956 when Kido Village and Tatsuta Village merged. Candidate names included Golden Town, Ocean Town, Tenjin Town, Kido River Town, Yayoi Town and Sunrise Town. Naraha was an old place name that appears in a Heian-period book as the Naraha district.

Kido and Tatsuta villages merged in 1956
Candidates included Yayoi and Tenjin
The Naraha district is said to lie around the Kido River and a neighboring river

Naraha 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 July 2022)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

Get off at Kido or Tatsuta Station on the Joban Line.

about 4,000 people
Rural district town

The town's tourism guide tells visitors to get off the JR Joban Line at Kido Station or Tatsuta Station. From the Tokyo side, it describes taking the Limited Express Hitachi or Tokiwa from Tokyo Station to Iwaki Station, changing to the Joban Line, and getting off at Tatsuta Station, in about 3 hours 10 minutes. The town lies near the middle of the Hamadori coast, bordering Tomioka Town to the north, Kawauchi Village to the west, and Hirono Town and Iwaki City to the south.

People living here: 3,710people
Area: 103.64km²
Households: 1,977households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 6 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —1 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.

Naraha Town in Japan37.283°N 140.994°E

Territory of Naraha 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

10.9km

Hirono Town, Tomioka Town, Kawauchi Village, Iwaki City

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

Naraha Town isthis kind of town.

01Tenjinbara Site is a group burial ground from the middle Yayoi period, about 2,000 years old, which the town describes as one of the largest in eastern Japan; its excavated finds are a nationally designated Important Cultural Property
02Below the torii of a shrine stand the Jii-sugi and Baa-sugi cedars, 1,200 years old, and the Kido River konara oak forest is set aside as a no-logging reserve
03The town says the name Naraha comes from an old place name that appears in a Heian-period book as the Naraha district

See the town as it is now.

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Naraha Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗