28218 ／ おのし
Hyogo PrefectureWhen the sun sinks west, Amida comes to meet you.
Jodo Hall of Jodo-ji01 ／ National treasure
The Jodo Hall of Jodo-ji (浄土寺) was completed in 1197, in the daibutsu-yo manner used to rebuild Todai-ji. Its west wall is made of shutters, so the low western sun pours in and shows Amida descending to receive you. Inside stands the Amida by the sculptor Kaikei, 530 centimetres tall.
02 ／ Handwork
Banshu abacuses account for about 70 percent of the country's output. The craft is said to have arrived in 1580, when townspeople who fled toward Otsu during Hideyoshi's attack on Miki Castle came back with the Otsu way of making them. Banshu sickles are also about 70 percent of national output, so keen they are called razor sickles.
03 ／ Flowers
Himawari-no-oka Park covers 80,000 square metres. In summer 400,000 sunflowers cover it, and in autumn four million cosmos, laid out like carpet. The park was finished in April 2002; parking for 513 cars, and both the park and the parking are free.
Living here
JR's Kakogawa Line, the Kobe Electric Railway and the Hojo Railway all meet at Ao Station in the city. Ao is 30 minutes from Kakogawa by JR, and about an hour from Sannomiya. City hall is about 5 minutes by taxi from Ono Station on the Kobe Electric Railway.
−2.1% since 2015
48,214 → 47,562
57.66km² of it habitable
2024
2.7 people per household
2020
National average 60,630 yen
2023
9.3 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「気象・交通・アクセス」に載る値 (checked 2026-09-23). They vary by time of day.
Shape
North to south
12.4km
See the town as it is now.
Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)
If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.
Similar towns
Stargazing through a 91 cm telescope.
Dōdaira 91 cm telescopeNational Treasure, Town of makers, Traditional crafts
Latticed houses along a 500 m stone lane.
KanayamachiNational Treasure, Town of makers, Traditional crafts
Two Kamakura-era treasures in the hills.
Myotsu-ji hall and pagodaNational Treasure, Traditional crafts, Many shrines and temples
