Minamata City

Spelled “Koiji” from around late Meiji.

01 ／ The Sandbar Town of Hamamachi (浜町)

Between the old Koga and old Araikiri rivers,Hamamachi's sandbar vanished with river works.

Until the Minamata River works of 1932-34 (Showa 7-9), Hamamachi and its surroundings were a sandbar between the old Koga River (旧古賀川) and the old Araikiri River (旧洗切川). The Tokutomi family kept two merchant houses there, and people and goods moved through the landings on both rivers. After the works, the town's role as a hub for goods moved to ports such as Hyakken Port (百間港).

River works in 1932-34
Sandbar between the old Koga and old Araikiri rivers
Two Tokutomi merchant houses

02 ／ The Satsuma Room at Genkoji (源光寺)

A below-floor room behind the main hall's altartook in believers from Satsuma.

In the Edo period, believers from the Izumi and Okuchi (now Isa) areas of Satsuma, where Jodo Shinshu was banned, came to a temple in Minamata to escape the eyes of officials. Genkoji built an underground room behind the altar of its main hall and received them. This Satsuma Room (薩摩部屋) was designated a city tangible cultural property in 1972.

City-designated tangible cultural property (Oct. 24, 1972)
Underground room behind the main hall's altar
Believers from the Izumi and Okuchi areas

03 ／ Yunotsuru Onsen (湯の鶴温泉)

Seeing an injured crane bathe,a Heike fugitive is said to have found the spring.

About 9km southeast of central Minamata, in the mountains along the Yude River (湯出川), inns and public baths line the hot spring town. About 700 years ago, a Heike fugitive is said to have learned of the spring on seeing an injured crane bathe there, and to have named it Yunotsuru Onsen. In October 2022 it was designated a National Recuperation Hot Spring, together with Yunoko Onsen.

About 9km southeast of the city center, along the Yude River
Tradition dating back 700 years
National Recuperation Hot Spring (designated Oct. 2022)

Living here

228 minutes at the fastest, Shin-Osaka to Shin-Minamata.

about 20,000 people
Shinkansen stops here

Shin-Minamata Station is on the Kyushu Shinkansen. In JR West's timetable (October 2026), Sakura 743 leaves Shin-Osaka at 6:50 and leaves Shin-Minamata at 10:38. Seven Sakura trains a day run from Shin-Osaka to Shin-Minamata without a change.

People living here: 23,557people
Area: 163.29km²
Households: 10,123households
Rent (average for rentals): 30,760yen
Healthcare: 7 hospitals ／ 23 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —11 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.

Minamata City in Japan32.212°N 130.409°E

to OsakaSanyo-Kyushu Shinkansen228min

Travel times follow JR西日本『JRおでかけネット』区間時刻表『東海道･山陽･九州新幹線(東京～博多～鹿児島中央) 下り』（https://timetable.jr-odekake.net/line-timetable/1796 。2026年10月3日（土）と10月5日（月）の表を取り、2日とも同じ。保存：$SP/minamata/tt1796.html・tt1796-20261005.html、計算：$SP/minamata/calc.py）。『新大阪発』の行と『新水俣発』の行を機械で突き合わせると、新大阪から新水俣へ乗り換えなしで停まる列車は『さくら』7本：743号（新大阪6:50発→新水俣10:38発＝228分）・745号（8:00→11:48＝228分）・749号（9:20→13:12＝232分）・753号（11:20→15:11＝231分）・761号（15:23→19:11＝228分）・763号（16:23→20:14＝231分）・765号（17:20→21:14＝234分）。7本とも列車ページで『毎日運転』『新大阪発』『新水俣着・発』を確かめた（例：https://timetable.jr-odekake.net/train-timetable/316081?date=20261003 『さくら743号鹿児島中央行』『運転日毎日運転』『新大阪 06:50 発』『新水俣 10:37 着 10:38 発』。https://timetable.jr-odekake.net/train-timetable/316201?date=20261003 『さくら765号鹿児島中央行』『新大阪 17:20 発』『新水俣 21:13 着 21:14 発』。JR時刻表に基づく）。最短は743号・745号・761号の228分（『発』で数えた値。『着』で数えると227分） (checked 2026-10-03). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Minamata City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

13.9km

Kumamoto Prefecture: 芦北町, 津奈木町
Kagoshima Prefecture: 出水市, 伊佐市

Minamata City isthis kind of town.

01Koiji Island (恋路島) is an uninhabited island floating at the mouth of Minamata Bay. In the land register it is listed under a different name (小路島), and the name Koiji is said to come from a story of a young warrior and his new bride in the Tensho era.
02Until the Minamata River works of 1932-34, Hamamachi was a sandbar between the old Koga and old Araikiri rivers. The Satsuma Room at Genkoji is an underground room behind the main hall's altar that took in believers from Satsuma, where Jodo Shinshu was banned, and is a city tangible cultural property.
03Yunotsuru Onsen is a hot spring town along the Yude River. The Fukuro Bo-odori (袋棒おどり) dance is said to have begun when the Shimazu clan sailed out from Fukuro Bay, and Sakaibashi (境橋) is a stone bridge built in 1883 over the Sakai River on the boundary between Minamata and Izumi.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Minamata City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗