Kaizen-ippo Signpost, Ogawa Usen, Ushiku City
Article

08219 ／ うしくし

Ibaraki Prefecture

Ushiku City

Carved with four characters, not a name.

Kaizen-ippo Signpost, Ogawa Usen

Photo by On-chan (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ School building

A wooden school building of 1939,104 tsubo in floor area, built for 7,500 yen.

School building in Ushiku City
Photo by painreef3108 (CC BY 3.0)

The Onabake Branch School of the former Okada Elementary School took over from the private Onabake Jinjo Elementary School, founded in 1898, and closed in March 1972. Its building became the city's first nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property in May 2018. The city's guidebook records a rope-twisting speed contest at the local sports days.

  • Wooden building of 1939
  • Registered Tangible Cultural Property (May 2018)
  • 138 pupils in 1957

02 ／ Burial mound

Atop a keyhole-shaped mound stands an Inari shrine,transferred from Toyokawa Inari in Aichi.

Burial mound in Ushiku City
Photo by 小石川人晃 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Jabami Kofun is a keyhole-shaped mound about 45 m long, and it has not been excavated. The Kamiya Inari Shrine on top was built to pray for wine production and business prosperity, and in 1902 it was transferred from Toyokawa Inari in Aichi Prefecture, the home area of Kamiya Denbei, who built the Ushiku Chateau winery.

  • Keyhole-shaped mound about 45 m long
  • Transferred in 1902
  • Component of a Japan Heritage story (city)

03 ／ Post town

The agent who arranged changes of people and horsesstood at the heart of running Ushiku post town.

In the Edo period the Iijima family kept an inn under the shop name Asaya and served as the post-station agent of Ushiku-juku. The main house was built in 1871 and in 1884 served as the Emperor Meiji's temporary lodging. The storehouse dates from 1917. It is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, but is normally closed to the public.

  • Main house built in 1871
  • Registered Tangible Cultural Property (July 9, 2026)
  • Normally closed to the public

Ushiku City 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 November 2022)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

36 minutes to Ueno, 43 to Tokyo.

  • about 80,000 people

The city covers 58.92 km² and lies 50 km from Tokyo; the city describes how its location near the Joban Line and National Route 6 led to housing development as a satellite city. From Ushiku Station, the Limited Express Tokiwa reaches Ueno in 36 minutes and Tokyo in 43 (a limited-express fare is required). The city hall is 3 minutes by community bus from the station's east exit.

People living here
84,651people
19952020

+0.4% since 2015

66,338 → 84,651

Area
58.92km²

47.06km² of it habitable

2024

Households
35,195households

2.4 people per household

2020

Rent (average for rentals)
55,647yen

National average 60,630 yen

2023

Healthcare
2 hospitals ／ 61 clinics

7.4 per 10,000 people

2023

Area58.92km²Habitable land47.06km² ／ 80%
Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103
Children waiting for childcare
—16 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.

Ushiku City in Japan35.979°N 140.150°E
OsakaUshiku City
Ushiku Station
牛久駅2020
  • to UenoLtd. exp. Tokiwa36min
  • to TokyoLtd. exp. Tokiwa43min

Travel times follow JR東日本の駅の時刻表・牛久駅（常磐線 土浦・水戸方面〈下り〉の平日・土曜休日、2026年10月ダイヤ。各列車の停車駅一覧で起点の発時刻と牛久の着時刻の差を数えた）。運行日はどの列車も 2026-09-18〜12-31 の全日（運行日のカレンダーで全日が太字） (checked 2026-10-22). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities.

Territory of Ushiku 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)

Ushiku City isthis kind of town.

  1. 01The Kaizen-ippo signpost is a stone pillar for which Ogawa Usen paid the construction cost and, at his own wish, had "Kaizen-ippo" carved in place of his name; the city's 2013 newsletter recorded seven pillars remaining in the city
  2. 02The former Okada Elementary School Onabake Branch School building is a wooden school building of 1939, and on top of Jabami Kofun stands the Kamiya Inari Shrine, transferred from Toyokawa Inari in Aichi Prefecture
  3. 03The former Iijima Residence is the house of a post-station agent who arranged changes of people and horses at Ushiku-juku, and its main house, storehouse, gate and wall were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties as of July 9, 2026

See the town as it is now.

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Ushiku City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes

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Next town Ibaraki Prefecture Ami Town →Three shrines may share the name Ami.