Yamato Village

Five thatched granaries stand together.

Boregura, Yamatohama

Photo by tsuda (CC BY-SA 2.0)

01 ／ The Sacred Water Mountain

The village's water-source mountain stayed,while the hills around it were felled.

The mountain behind Yamatohama, source of the village's water, was revered as a sacred mountain and kept as hallowed ground. The village writes that even as the surrounding hills were felled, this mountain escaped logging. It holds over 100 Okinawa-urajirogashi oaks 50 cm or more across, and was designated a national Natural Monument in 2008.

100+ oaks over 50 cm across (2006 survey)
Designated area: 16,859 square meters
2008: national Natural Monument

02 ／ Naon Tera

On a hilltop, a Tera shrine groundhas kept its Noro rites alive.

On a hill in Naon stands the Tera, a ritual ground. A 2021 village bulletin describes Naon as the one place in the village where rites by a Noro, a priestess, remain. The Noro's embroidered dragon robe, the Ryushu Dogin, was designated a prefectural folk cultural property in 2006 as a relic of a Yamato Noro.

The Tera ritual ground, on a hilltop
Dragon robe: prefectural designation, 2006
Glass-bead back ornament and necklaces: prefectural designation, 2003

03 ／ Materiya Falls

A local word for a sunlit poolis said to give the falls their name.

Materiya Falls lies in the mountains of Naon. Its name is said to come from the local words Ma Tida nu Komori, meaning a pool bathed in sunlight, because only the area above the pool shone brightly. Since the Ryukyu Kingdom era, travelers and couriers are said to have rested here.

Local word for "a sunlit pool"
Amami Gunto National Park
World Natural Heritage area

Living here

42 minutes from Naze by direct bus.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

Yamato has no railway; its gateway is the Yamato Village Office in Yamatohama. From Kenritsu Oshima Byoin-mae in Naze, Amami, the Yamato Village Direct Bus takes 42 minutes to Yamatohama, with 5 trips on weekdays and 3 on weekends and holidays. Visitors may ride.

People living here: 1,364people
Area: 88.26km²
Households: 688households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 3 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —0 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.

Yamato Village in Japan28.358°N 129.395°E

to NazeYamato Village Direct Bus42min

Travel times follow 村公式『大和村直行バス』（更新2026-06-24）の運行区間は『今里から県立大島病院前まで』、平日5便・土日祝3便、車両は大島タクシーのマイクロバス。時刻表PDF（timetable2024.pdf・画像）を目で読んだ：奄美市名瀬→大和村（平日）は県病院前 7:50→大和浜 8:32、11:00→11:42、14:05→14:47、17:05→17:47、19:10→19:52（きびきび号を除く5便すべて42分）。土日祝は 8:30→9:12、13:03→13:45、17:30→18:12（42分）。大和村→名瀬（平日）は大和浜 6:23→県病院前 7:05（42分）ほか。 (checked 2026-10-07). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 2 municipalities.

Territory of Yamato Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

11.3km

奄美市, 宇検村

Yamato Village isthis kind of town.

01The Boregura of Yamatohama is a prefecturally designated cluster of raised granaries, built by the water away from houses as a precaution against fire; the prefecture writes that its way of hanging eave girders from hip rafters is found neither in mainland Japan nor in Southeast Asia, and Miyakozaki's ryukyu-chiku bamboo is also used for the roofs
02The Imazato Standing Rock (Tategami) is an islet where gods are said to have first stopped, and every alley of the settlement leads toward it; it is part of Amami Gunto National Park
03Imazato's bonito fishing began in 1902 and ended in 1964; a monument records its history, including the names of its two boats

See the town as it is now.

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Yamato Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗