Okawa Village

Climb past the source to primeval beech.

Mt. Ōzare, primeval beech forest

Photo by Dokudami (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Okawa Shakuniku-sai festival

Every villager ate Okawa black beef together;that was how the Shakuniku-sai began.

It began with the young people of the youth association at its center, to revive a village that was starting to decline. Every November 3 there are barbecues of Okawa black beef (大川黒牛) and Tosa Hachikin free-range chicken. A director of the village's Furusato-mura Kosha (村ふるさとむら公社) says the wish behind it is to remain "a hometown you can come back to."

Held every November 3 (village brochure)
Capacity of 1,500 (2025, Okawa Furusato-mura Kosha)
Began with young people led by the youth association (Kawa Katsu, 2018)

02 ／ Shirataki mine site

The Shirataki mine closed in 1972 (Showa 47),and about 2,000 workers and family left the village.

In the days of the Shirataki copper mine, the village had around 4,000 people, and it is said to have bustled with a cinema, a public bath and a pachinko parlor. The site is now Shirataki no Sato (白滝の里), which includes lodging in a renovated former Shirataki elementary and junior high school. The remains can be toured on foot.

Closed in 1972; about 2,000 people left (Kawa Katsu, 2018)
Village population then: around 4,000 (same)
Described by the village as "Kochi's foremost large copper mine" (village brochure, 2026)

03 ／ Okina Falls

In a village of over 100 waterfalls,the village calls Okina Falls a must-see.

The village brochure says the headwaters of the Yoshino River here hold over 100 waterfalls. The gorge along the Ōkitagawa is said to turn golden all over in autumn, when falls and foliage appear together. The tourism site Kochi Tabi Net (こうち旅ネット) gives early to mid November as the best time.

Over 100 waterfalls (village brochure, 2026)
Autumn colors peak early to mid November (Kochi tourism site)
Okina Falls listed among the village's scenic spots (village website)

Living here

Mountains over 1,000 m ring the village.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

Located at the northern tip of Kochi Prefecture, due north of Kochi City, with Ehime Prefecture to its north. The Yoshino River runs through the middle and splits the village north and south in a V shape, with very little flat land. It covers 95.27 km², and the village website gives a population of 337 (as of August 31, 2026). The village office stands at 350 m. The village flower is the rhododendron, the tree the five-needle pine, the bird the bush warbler.

People living here: 366people
Area: 95.27km²
Households: 200households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 1 clinic

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.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Okawa Village in Japan33.784°N 133.467°E

Territory of Okawa Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

9.4km

Kochi Prefecture: 土佐町, いの町
Ehime Prefecture: 新居浜市, 四国中央市

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Okawa Village isthis kind of town.

01Mt. Ōzare (1,587.5 m) lies on the boundary of Ōdaira and Ōkitagawa, and the village says that climbing it leads to a primeval beech forest. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's magazine Kawa Katsu says the source of the Ōkitagawa can also be seen from the trail.
02The Okawa Shakuniku-sai on November 3 every year began when the whole village ate Okawa black beef, led by the youth association. The Shirataki mine, closed in 1972, has become Shizen Ōkoku Shirataki no Sato (自然王国白滝の里).
03Specialties are Okawa black beef and Tosa Hachikin free-range chicken, and local ingredients line the shelves of the village shop Yui no Sato (結いの里). The prefectural road toward the Mt. Ōzare trailhead from the Kochi side has been fully closed by rockfall since March 6, 2026, with no reopening date (village website, posted September 25, 2026).

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Okawa Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗