Kesen meteorite, temple grounds, Rikuzentakata City
Article

03210 / りくぜんたかたし

Iwate Prefecture

Rikuzentakata City

A 135 kg stone fell in temple grounds.

Kesen meteorite, temple grounds

Photo by Momotarou2012 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 / Three-storey pagoda

Closely set rafters on the first storey,carving on the second, fan rafters on the third.

Three-storey pagoda in Rikuzentakata City
Photo by Ty19080914 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

A three-storey pagoda whose ridge-beam plaque records construction in the sixth year of Bunka (1809). The first storey has double eaves with closely set rafters, the second has carving over the whole underside of the eaves, and the third has double eaves with fan-shaped rafters, so the eaves differ on every storey. The prefecture describes the design as unified in delicacy and elegance, and as the only surviving example of pagoda architecture in the prefecture.

  • Built 1809 (ridge-beam plaque)
  • Prefectural designation, 1975
  • Different eaves on every storey

02 / Ubasugi cedar

At the end of the approach, a giant cedartypical of the prefecture's old cedars.

Ubasugi cedar in Rikuzentakata City
Photo by Ty19080914 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

This cedar stands on the right at the end of the approach to Jozenji Temple. The prefecture records a girth of about 10.65 m at the base, a trunk diameter of about 10 m at eye level, and a crown spread of about 32 m east-west and 30 m north-south. Its vigour is described as extremely strong, and it became a prefectural Natural Monument in 1969. The Kannon hall in the same grounds is a city-designated building.

  • Base girth about 10.65 m
  • Prefectural designation, 1969
  • Kannon hall: city-designated

03 / Jagasaki

In the channel between Tsurushima and Kamejima,two blowholes sit side by side.

A sheer cape of hard sandstone and shale, with islands such as Tsurushima and Kamejima scattered off its tip. In the side of the narrow channel between Tsurushima and Kamejima are two blowholes, called Ikazuchi-shiofuki and Uchidashi-no-shiofuki. The cape was designated a national Natural Monument in 1936.

  • National designation, 1936
  • Kamejima channel
  • Two blowholes

Rikuzentakata 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)

Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles(国土画像情報(第一期:1974〜1978年撮影))

Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

108 minutes by bus from Ichinoseki Station.

  • about 20,000 people

On the Iwate Kenkotsu timetable revised in October 2025, the Ofunato-Ichinoseki line bus leaving Ichinoseki Station at 12:55 arrives at Rikuzentakata Station at 14:43 with no change of bus. It is the only downbound bus on that section each day.

People living here
18,262people
19952020

−7.6% since 2015

26,129 → 18,262

Area
231.94km²

46.78km² of it habitable

2024

Households
7,142households

2.6 people per household

2020

Rent (average for rentals)
27,459yen

National average 60,630 yen

2023

Healthcare
2 hospitals / 10 clinics

6.6 per 10,000 people

2023

Area231.94km²Habitable land46.78km² / 20%
Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103
Children waiting for childcare
—8 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.

Rikuzentakata City in Japan39.020°N 141.633°E
TokyoOsakaRikuzentakata City
Rikuzentakata City Hall
陸前高田市役所2021
  • to IchinosekiLocal bus108min

Travel times follow 岩手県交通の路線バス『大船渡一関線』(大船渡営業所~陸前高田駅~気仙沼駅前~一関駅前)の時刻表(『平日』『土日祝日』の2枚。ともに2025年10月1日運賃改定。PDF の Last-Modified は 2025-11-07)。下り『一関駅前(5番)→気仙沼駅前→陸前高田駅→大船渡営業所』の列で、一関駅前12:55発→陸前高田駅14:43着=108分。平日・土日祝日の両方に同じ12:55の便が載り、毎日運転(土日祝日の表の注記は『気仙沼一関線・気仙沼千厩線は全便運休』で、大船渡一関線の12:55の便は走る)。逆向き(陸前高田駅9:27発→一関駅前11:15着)も108分 (checked 2026-10-23). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Rikuzentakata City
Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.

North to south

21.3km

Miyagi Prefecture
Kesennuma City

Rikuzentakata City isthis kind of town.

  1. 01The Kesen meteorite is a chondrite that fell into the grounds of a temple in Kesen in 1850; the photo shows the specimen on display at the National Museum of Nature and Science (the displayed piece weighs 106 kg)
  2. 02The pagoda of Fumonji Temple is a prefecturally designated building that the city introduces as the work of Kesen carpenters; the Jozenji ubasugi cedar is a prefectural Natural Monument and Jagasaki a national one
  3. 03A local bus from Ichinoseki Station reaches Rikuzentakata Station once a day

See the town as it is now.

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

From this town's themes