Ueno Kikkoseki Production Site, Ueno Village
Article

10366 ／ うえのむら

Gunma Prefecture 多野郡

Ueno Village

A kikko-stone source, not river cobbles.

Ueno Kikkoseki Production Site

Photo by さかおり (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Old house

A roof of split chestnut boards held by stones;upstairs, a wide plank floor for silkworms.

Old house in Ueno Village
Photo by Teledrapilgrimage (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Former Kurosawa Residence belonged to a family that served for generations as head representative of its district. Instead of tiles, split chestnut boards were laid on the roof, with stones set on them against strong winds. The displayed house's roof uses about 1,100 bundles of boards and 3,400 holding stones. The upstairs is a wide, undivided plank floor, used for sericulture.

  • About 1,100 bundles of chestnut boards
  • 3,400 holding stones
  • Important Cultural Property, 1970

02 ／ Riparian forest

Shioji trees grow in countless numbersin the Kitazawa riparian forest.

Riparian forest in Ueno Village
Photo by さかおり (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Ueno-Narahara Shioji Forest is a natural riparian forest near Kitazawa in the upper Kanna River. The village records that the largest trees are about 35 m tall and are estimated to be 100 to 200 years old. It lies close to the northern limit of the species' natural range and is a National Natural Monument (natural reserve); the village guidebook says the shioji is also cherished as the village's tree.

  • Largest trees about 35 m
  • Estimated 100 to 200 years old
  • National Natural Monument, 1969

03 ／ Children's event

Children build a ring of stones by the riverand cook rice porridge.

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs' description (from the time of its selection), in the Ohinagayu event, boys and girls from about eight years old to junior high age gather on the riverbank and build a stone enclosure called a shiro. They set up a stand for hina dolls and cook porridge on a stone hearth. It is a nationally selected intangible folk cultural property and a Gunma Prefecture Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

  • April 3 (usual date)
  • National selection, 1998
  • Prefectural Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, 1992

Ueno Village from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot December 2022 – February 2023)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

From Shinmachi Station by local bus, 140 minutes at fastest.

  • about 1,000 people
  • Rural district town

The village's public transport guide points to the Nihon Chuo Bus Okutano Line from JR Shinmachi Station into the village. In the timetable revised on April 1, 2026, the fastest daily service from Shinmachi Station takes 140 minutes. The village guidebook says forest covers more than 90 percent of its total area.

People living here
1,128people
19952020

−8.3% since 2015

1,586 → 1,128

Area
181.85km²

11.81km² of it habitable

2024

Households
552households

2.0 people per household

2020

Rent (average for rentals)
—
Healthcare
0 hospitals ／ 1 clinic

8.9 per 10,000 people

2023

Area181.85km²Habitable land11.81km² ／ 6%
Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103
Children waiting for childcare
—0 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.

Ueno Village in Japan36.083°N 138.777°E
OsakaUeno Village
  • to ShinmachiLocal bus140min

Travel times follow 日本中央バス『奥多野線 通過予定時刻表』（2026年4月1日改正。上野村公式『多野藤岡広域路線バス(JR新町駅～上野村ふれあい館)』のページ admin/life/seikatsu/traffic/bus.html のリンク assets/tano_1.pdf。運行：日本中央バス株式会社、委託元：多野藤岡広域組合。問い合わせ先は上野村振興課・日本中央バス運行部乗合担当）の『上野村方面（万場－上野村ふれあい館－しおじの湯間）』の表と、新町駅〜万場間の表 (checked 2026-10-21). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 7 municipalities across 2 prefectures.

Territory of Ueno Village
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

16.3km

Gunma Prefecture
Nanmoku Village, Kanna Town
Nagano Prefecture
Minamiaiki Village, Kitaaiki Village, Sakuho Town, Kawakami Village
Saitama Prefecture
Chichibu City

Ueno Village isthis kind of town.

  1. 01The Ueno Village Kikkoseki Production Site is where stones with tortoiseshell-shaped stripes on the surface, made of marly mudstone (called septaria), are found in great numbers in Mesozoic Cretaceous shale; the Agency for Cultural Affairs' description says kikko stones known until then were mostly river-tumbled
  2. 02The Former Kurosawa Residence is an Important Cultural Property with a roof of split chestnut boards held down by stones and a wide plank floor upstairs used for sericulture, and the Ueno-Narahara Shioji Forest is a National Natural Monument (natural reserve)
  3. 03Ohinagayu is an event in which children build a stone enclosure called a shiro on the riverbank and cook porridge, both nationally selected and prefecturally designated, in a village 140 minutes by local bus from Shinmachi Station at fastest

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Ueno Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes

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Next town Gunma Prefecture Tamamura Town →His posthumous name begins “Sugakuin.”