Article

10449 ／みなかみまち

Gunma Prefecture 利根郡

Minakami Town

The down platform is inside a tunnel.

Doai Station, down platform

Photo by Mister0124 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Jomon village

A spring and wooden post basesemerged from a riverside terrace village.

The Yaze Site is the remains of a Jomon village of the late and final Jomon periods, found on a terrace of the Tone River, and a National Historic Site. The town lists a spring, an altar-like arrangement of standing stones, wooden post bases 20 to 70 cm across, and a central group of stone-marked graves, and says a reconstruction exhibit is open to the public.

National Historic Site (March 17, 1997)
Village of the late and final Jomon
Post bases 20 to 70 cm across

02 ／ Checkpoint site

Part of a Mikuni Road checkpoint'sofficial residence is open as a museum.

The Sarugakyo Checkpoint is said to have been opened in 1631, under the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu. Standing on the Mikuni Road, it was valued as a guard for the north of Edo; the town says it was one of 53 checkpoints across Japan, built on the Kozuke side of Mikuni Pass. It is a Gunma Prefecture Historic Site.

Prefectural Historic Site (June 19, 1951)
Said to date from 1631
One of 53 checkpoints nationwide

03 ／ Stone-marked graves

Graves found during station workwere moved to where they stand now.

The Fukasawa Site is a group of stone-marked graves from the Late Jomon period. It was found in 1979 during excavations for Jomo-kogen Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen, and after the survey it was moved to its present spot and put on display. The town has certified it as Local Heritage; elsewhere in Tsukiyono, the Nashinokidaira site, a Prefectural Historic Site, has a Jomon dwelling floor paved with flat stones.

Late Jomon stone-marked graves
Found in 1979 in station-construction excavations
Town Local Heritage (August 26, 2024)

Minakami 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 September–November 2019)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

Jomo-kogen Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen is the gateway.

about 20,000 people
60 min to a city centre
Shinkansen stops here
Rural district town

The town's access guide lists Jomo-kogen Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen first for all three areas, Tsukiyono, Minakami and Niiharu, and gives about 70 minutes from Tokyo Station. The fastest daily service in the timetable takes 62 minutes. The town also has stations on the JR Joetsu Line, including Doai.

People living here: 17,195people
Area: 781.08km²
Households: 6,959households
Rent (average for rentals): 54,642yen
Healthcare: 2 hospitals ／ 6 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —3 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.

Minakami Town in Japan36.679°N 138.999°E

to TokyoJoetsu Shinkansen62min
to UenoJoetsu Shinkansen56min

Travel times follow JR東日本の駅の時刻表（東京駅の上越新幹線下りの平日・土曜休日の2表と、各列車の停車駅ページ。2610 版＝2026年10月の時刻表）で、東京発と上毛高原着が同じ列車ページに載る便を全部数えた（東京の上越新幹線の下り2表から44本ほどの列車ページを読んだ）。毎日運転（両方の表に◆〔運転日注意〕なしで載る）の最速は『とき319号』東京11:40発→上野11:45着・11:46発→上毛高原12:42着。東京→上毛高原 62分、上野→上毛高原 56分 (checked 2026-10-21). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 8 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Minakami 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

45.9km

Gunma Prefecture: Numata City, Katashina Village, Nakanojo Town, Takayama Village, Kawaba Village
Niigata Prefecture: Minamiuonuma City, Yuzawa Town, Uonuma City

Minakami Town isthis kind of town.

01Doai Station on the JR Joetsu Line has its down platform underground inside the Shin-Shimizu Tunnel; the tourism association says it lies about 70 m below the station building and takes about 10 minutes to climb
02The Yaze Site is a National Historic Site, a Jomon village where a spring and wooden post bases were found; the Sarugakyo Checkpoint site is a prefectural historic site, part of whose official residence is a museum
03The stone-marked graves of the Fukasawa Site, found in excavations for Jomo-kogen Station in 1979, were moved and are displayed at their present spot as Local Heritage certified by the town

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Minakami Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes