28206 ／ あしやし
Hyogo PrefectureA vote decided it would be a city of homes.
Ashiya's special city law01 ／ An international city of homes
In December 1950 the Diet passed a special act for Ashiya alone, the Ashiya International Cultural Residential City Construction Act (芦屋国際文化住宅都市建設法). A special act needs a local referendum: on 11 February 1951 turnout was 56 per cent and 77.6 per cent voted yes. The act was promulgated on 3 March.
02 ／ Townscape
The whole city has been a landscape district since July 2009, and in April 2014 it became a landscape administration body able to write its own outdoor advertising ordinance. The ordinance in force since July 2016 bans rooftop signs, advertising balloons, LED and neon, and allows no more than one square metre per character.
03 ／ Yodoko Guest House
The former Yamamura house was designed in 1918 by Frank Lloyd Wright, who was in Japan for the Imperial Hotel. It was built after he went home, by his pupils, and a ridge tag records the framing ceremony on 11 February 1924. It became an Important Cultural Property in 1974. The city writes that it is the only Wright house in Japan that keeps its original form.
Living here
Hanshin, JR and Hankyu lines run east to west through the city. The city's own map calls JR Ashiya the gateway of Ashiya; the station nearest city hall is Hanshin Ashiya, one minute south of the east exit. The city is about 2.5 km east to west and 9.6 km north to south, with the Rokko mountains north and Osaka Bay south.
−1.5% since 2015
75,032 → 93,922
11.29km² of it habitable
2024
2.2 people per household
2020
National average 60,630 yen
2023
16.3 per 10,000 people
2023
These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.
ACCESS
Travel times follow 市公式「芦屋市へのアクセス」に載る値 (checked 2026-09-23). They vary by time of day.
Shape
North to south
8.5km
If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.
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