Kanoya City

A stone wall ringed some 2,500 sq m.

Kariya site, Kushira

01 ／ Kawaraen Weir and brushwood hanging

Brushwood bundled from mountain oaksis hung across the Kushira River weir.

It continues on the Kushira River below Shimonaka Bridge, in Hosoyamada, Kushira. Pasania trees cut in the mountains are bound with bamboo, and after a water-deity ritual local people hang the bundles in the river. By the time they finish, the water level rises and water reaches the Arisato canal from its intake, the city says.

From about 350 years ago, the Edo period (city)
City-designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property (2017)
Selected as an “important area” in an Agency for Cultural Affairs survey (2000–2003)

02 ／ Tsuchimochi deep well, Kasanohara

On a plateau where rain sinks away,a hand-dug well about 64 m deep survives.

This prefectural Historic Site is in Tsuchimochi, Hosoyamada, Kushira. Rain sinks straight into the Shirasu plateau of Kasanohara, which long could not be farmed. The well was dug for lack of household water, probably between the Bunsei and Tenpo eras (1818–1841). It is cylindrical, about 64 m deep and about 90 cm across at the surface.

About 64 m deep
About 90 cm across at the surface
Prefectural Historic Site (1982)

03 ／ Ozono Bridge

The stone bridge completed in 1904is regarded as a rare spectacles bridge in Osumi.

This city-designated bridge is in Haraigawa. It was completed in May 1904 (Meiji 37) and is loved as a spectacles bridge. It is 30 m long, 3.1 m wide and about 5 m high, with a double-arch deck. The city's list of designated properties calls it valuable as one of few spectacles bridges in the Osumi region.

Completed May 1904 (Meiji 37)
30 m long, 3.1 m wide, about 5 m high
City-designated (1988)

Living here

120 minutes by direct bus from Kagoshima-Chuo Station.

about 100,000 people

Kanoya has no railway station. In the Kagoshima Kotsu timetable posted by the city (revised July 18, 2026), a bus leaving Kagoshima-Chuo Station at 11:20 reaches Kanoya (Rena City) at 13:20. It takes the ferry from Tarumizu Port to Kamoike Port, and the time on board is included.

People living here: 101,096people
Area: 448.15km²
Households: 46,139households
Rent (average for rentals): 36,546yen
Healthcare: 13 hospitals ／ 71 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Population from 2010 onward (municipal boundary changed).2006-01-01 に新設合併（輝北町・串良町・吾平町）。2010年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —38 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.

Kanoya City in Japan31.378°N 130.852°E

to KagoshimaDirect bus120min

Travel times follow 鹿屋市公式「鹿屋市の公共交通機関」（2026-10-07 閲覧）が載せる鹿児島交通の『鹿児島中央駅～鹿屋間直行バス運賃・時刻表』（2026年7月18日改正）。垂水港〜鴨池港のフェリーに乗船する直通バス (checked 2026-10-07). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 7 municipalities.

Territory of Kanoya City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

43.2km

肝付町, 垂水市, 錦江町, 大崎町, 曽於市, 東串良町, 霧島市

Kanoya City isthis kind of town.

01The Kushira Kariya site is a city-designated historic site (1973) in Okazaki, Kushira. It covers the grounds of the former Kushira Elementary School. The city's list of designated properties says a site of roughly 2,500 sq m at the foot of Kushira Castle (Tsurukame Castle) was enclosed by a flat-laid stone wall about 2 m high, with the kariya's main gate near the middle of the east side and a side gate at the north end. The Arisato canal, opened in the 11th year of Kanbun, runs through the foot of the hill.
02Arahira Tenjin is a shrine whose sand approach leads to a small rocky outcrop jutting into the sea, and at high tide in spring tides it becomes an island, the city says. The Nozato Ta-no-kami is a 70 cm statue made in 1751 (Kanpō 4), a prefectural Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property, said to be the oldest of the bell-holding Ta-no-kami dance type.
03The Nakao underground chamber tombs date from the late 6th to early 7th century, and the inlaid sword from Tomb No. 6, decorated with silver inlay in heart-shaped and other patterns, is a prefectural Important Cultural Property (archaeological material). The Oji-cho Kane-odori is a dance said to have been offered in the Edo period to celebrate the completion of the Nitta River, and the city's list says it is performed at the Wada weir on the 28th day of the eighth lunar month to pray to the water deity for a good harvest.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kanoya City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗