Satsuma Town

Hot water wells under the worship hall.

Shibi Onsen, Kami no Yu

Photo by sibifuji (Public domain)

01 ／ Todoroki no Se

Rocks were cut open so boats couldcarry the tribute rice.

The town website writes that a great work cut through huge rocks with chisels and hammers so tribute rice could go by boat. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism writes that boats could reach Miyanojo after the Tenpo river dredging, which an Isa man proposed and which has a monument at Sogi Falls Park. The town-designated Gontaro Stone, found in the river while Tsuruda Dam was being built, bears an inscription praising the stonemason's work.

One of the three Todoroki of the Sendai River
Chisels and hammers
Town-designated cultural property: Gontaro Stone

02 ／ Nagano Gold Mine

Found in 1640, the mine produced goldfor over 300 years, until it closed in 1953.

The Nagano Gold Mine produced gold for more than 300 years, from its discovery in 1640 to its closure in 1953. The eighth mining-office director, Saigo Kikujiro, the eldest son of Saigo Takamori, built a night school and trained the mine's managers. The pier of the Kurotaro River bridge, 24 m high in cut stone, remains after the closure.

1640 to 1953
Saigo Kikujiro, eighth mining-office director
Pier 24 m high

03 ／ Kingo-sama Dance

Young adults, schoolchildren and nursery childreneach offer their own dances at Oishi Shrine.

金吾様祭り.JPG — Photo by Jinjayell (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Kingo-sama dances of the Nakatsugawa district are offered at the autumn festival of Oishi Shrine, which enshrines Shimazu Toshihisa, the first lord of the Kedoin Shimazu family. The town website's 2026 notice lists jiwari-mai, komuso dance and takasashi dance by young adults, the tawara dance by schoolchildren, and the chigo dance by nursery children.

Nakatsugawa district
Dances by young adults, schoolchildren and nursery children
Autumn festival of Oishi Shrine

Living here

About 1 hour 30 minutes by bus from Kagoshima-Chūō.

about 20,000 people
Rural district town

Satsuma has no railway station; the national Miyanojo Line was closed in 1987. The Miyanojo Railway Memorial Hall, on the old Miyanojo Station site, holds a tourist information desk and a bus terminal, and the JR Kyushu Bus Hokusatsu line links Kagoshima-Chūō Station with Miyanojo. In the timetable revised in April 2026, the ride takes 88 to 100 minutes depending on the bus.

People living here: 20,243people
Area: 303.9km²
Households: 9,231households
Rent (average for rentals): 25,646yen
Healthcare: 4 hospitals ／ 19 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —12 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.

Satsuma Town in Japan31.906°N 130.456°E

to KagoshimaLocal bus92min

Travel times follow JR九州バス公式『鹿児島県北薩線本線鹿児島駅～薩摩郡山～宮之城～薩摩中央高校』の時刻表（2026年4月1日改正。https://www.jrkbus.co.jp/rosen/hokusatsu.php 。PDF『鹿児島駅⇒郡山⇒宮之城（平日）』『（土日祝）』）。鹿児島中央駅の発と宮之城の着が読める便（行先番号54-1。平日・土日祝とも同じ7便）は、鹿児島中央駅 06:11→宮之城 07:39（88分。薩摩中央高校行）・09:52→11:24（92分）・12:52→14:24（92分）・15:54→17:34（100分）・16:34→18:12（98分）・18:14→19:54（100分）・19:07→20:39（92分）。最頻は92分（7便中3便）で、幅は88〜100分。逆向きの宮之城発→鹿児島中央駅着の7便前後も表にある（宮之城 05:35・06:20・08:40・13:00・17:00・18:06・19:10 発の便。着は未計算） (checked 2026-10-07). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities.

Territory of Satsuma Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

23.6km

薩摩川内市, 伊佐市, 出水市, 霧島市, 湧水町

Satsuma Town isthis kind of town.

01Shibi Onsen lies at the foot of Mt. Shibi in the Hokusatsu area; its other name, Kami no Yu, comes from the hot water welling up beneath the worship hall of Shibi Shrine
02The Aru Machi-isha no Kinenkan, in Motome, was completed in 1995 and is known as the first work by the architect Horibe Yasushi
03The Cladopus plant, a prefectural Natural Monument, was found in the Kutomi River in 1927 and first introduced in Japan; the Miyanojo doll, once ended with a single maker, was revived in 2005

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Satsuma Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗