Article

10211 ／あんなかし

Annaka City

Two symbols drawn on a map of 1661

Onsen symbol, Isobe Onsen

Photo by Abasaa (Public domain)

01 ／ Former Maruyama Substation

It charged while no train ran,and discharged on the climb to add power.

This brick substation went up when the Usui Line became the first main railway line to be electrified. In the machine room, 6,600 V alternating current was converted to 650 V direct current, and in the battery room 312 batteries discharged on the uphill run to add power. In 1994 it became an Important Cultural Property as part of the former Usui Pass railway facilities.

312 batteries
6,600 V AC to 650 V DC
Important Cultural Property, 1994

02 ／ Burial mound

80 m long, on a terrace left of the Usui River.Most of the chamber is piled river stones.

It is a keyhole-shaped mound from the early part of the late Kofun period, and with its moats the whole measures 130 m. The stone chamber in the rear circle is 4.07 m long in its burial room and 11.54 m overall; the Agency for Cultural Affairs writes that it has the earliest-stage horizontal stone chamber in the Kanto region. It became a national historic site in 2018.

Length 80 m
Burial room 4.07 m long
National historic site, 2018

03 ／ Former Usuisha Head Office

Built in 1905 for a silk cooperative,it was pulled to a new site in 1991.

Usuisha was a silk-reeling cooperative founded in 1878, and its raw silk won awards at world's fairs abroad. Its two-storey wooden office, newly built in 1905, first faced east; in 1991 it was pulled to its present site and preserved. It is a Prefectural Important Cultural Property.

Built 1905
Moved 1991
Prefectural Important Cultural Property

Annaka 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 May 2018)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

56 minutes from Tokyo by Hokuriku Shinkansen, 50 from Ueno.

about 50,000 people
60 min to a city centre
Shinkansen stops here

The city covers 276.31 km². Annaka-Haruna Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen can be reached from Tokyo without changing; the fastest daily train, Asama 627 leaving Tokyo at 19:32, takes 56 minutes, or 50 from Ueno (the city says about 60 minutes from Tokyo). The Shinetsu Main Line requires a change at Takasaki.

People living here: 54,907people
Area: 276.31km²
Households: 22,093households
Rent (average for rentals): 37,108yen
Healthcare: 5 hospitals ／ 39 clinics

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

Population from 2010 onward (municipal boundary changed).2006-03-18 に新設合併（松井田町）。2010年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —12 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.

Annaka City in Japan36.326°N 138.888°E

to TokyoHokuriku Shinkansen56min
to UenoHokuriku Shinkansen50min

Travel times follow JR東日本の公式の駅時刻表（安中榛名駅北陸新幹線下り〈軽井沢・長野・金沢・敦賀方面〉。平日 tt0096/0096010・土曜休日 tt0096/0096011。2610版）と、各列車の時刻詳細ページ（train/035/038711 ほか12本）。2026-10-21 に取得。向きは都市（東京・上野）→町（安中榛名駅） (checked 2026-10-21). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Annaka 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

15.5km

Gunma Prefecture: Takasaki City, Tomioka City, Shimonita Town
Nagano Prefecture: Karuizawa Town

Annaka City isthis kind of town.

01At Isobe Onsen stands a monument inscribed with "Japan's oldest onsen symbol, from a map of 1661", and the city says two onsen symbols were drawn on it
02The Former Maruyama Substation, part of the former Usui Pass railway facilities, is a two-building brick Important Cultural Property, and the old line also has the Usui No. 3 Bridge (Megane-bashi)
03The Yanase Futagozuka Kofun is a national historic site, and the Former Usuisha Head Office, a Prefectural Important Cultural Property, was pulled to its present site in 1991

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Annaka City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes