Minamioguni Town

A twice-struck cedar shows scorch marks.

Konpira Cedar, Manganji

Photo by C2revenge (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Manganji

A temple said to be built by Hojo Tokisadaholds three Hojo graves and two national portraits.

満願寺石塔群付杉群.jpg — Photo by C2revenge (CC BY-SA 4.0)

This temple is said to have been built by Hojo Tokisada (北条時定) in 1274, praying for the security of the land. It has the graves of three Hojo men (Tokisada, 定宗 and 随時), and the Manganji Stone Tower Group with Cedar Grove (満願寺石塔群附杉群) is a prefectural historic site. Two silk paintings, the portraits attributed to Hojo Tokisada and Hojo Tokimune (北条時宗), are Important Cultural Properties.

2 portraits: Important Cultural Properties (designated 1956)
Prefectural historic site: Stone Tower Group with Cedar Grove
Said to be built in Bun'ei 11 (1274)

02 ／ Kawayu at Manganji Onsen

Hot water wells up in the Manganji River,and is used for rinsing rice and washing vegetables.

This hot spring wells up in the Manganji River (満願寺川) and is slightly lukewarm. Locals also use it to rinse rice and wash vegetables, and the town says it works as a community kitchen. The spring is said to have been opened by Kobo Daishi in 848. Downstream, the stretch of the Shizugawa (志津川) is a National Natural Monument, a site where okichi-mozuku (オキチモズク), a freshwater red alga, grows.

Wells up in the Manganji River
Rice rinsing and vegetable washing
Said to be opened in Jowa 14 (848)

03 ／ Takenokuma Great Zelkova

Inside the grounds of Takenokuma Tenmangu,a zelkova stands with a trunk of about 10.5m.

This National Natural Monument was designated in 1935. The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives the reason as a trunk of about 10.5m at eye level, a straight-standing zelkova among the finest of its kind. The town says it stands in the grounds of Takenokuma Tenmangu Shrine (竹の熊天満宮神社), and is said to be well over 1,000 years old.

National Natural Monument (designated 1935)
Trunk about 10.5m at eye level (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
In the grounds of Takenokuma Tenmangu Shrine

Living here

85% of the town is forest and moorland,at 430 to 945m elevation.

about 4,000 people
Rural district town

The town says it lies at 430 to 945m elevation, between the Aso outer rim and the Kuju mountains, with seven rivers, large and small, flowing north as the headwaters of the Chikugo River. Forest and moorland cover 85% of its 115.90km². By the Hita Bus and Kyushu Sanko timetable, the highway bus takes 145 minutes from Hakata Bus Terminal to Minamioguni Town Hall.

People living here: 3,750people
Area: 115.9km²
Households: 1,603households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 2 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —3 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.

Minamioguni Town in Japan33.099°N 131.071°E

to HakataHighway bus145min

Travel times follow 日田バス公式『福岡・福岡空港～杖立・黒川温泉線（2025年10月1日改正）』の時刻表。黒川温泉行き（福岡→黒川温泉・通年ダイヤ）：博多バスターミナル 9:53（日田バス便）→南小国町役場前 12:18、11:38（九州産交便）→14:03、13:03（九州産交便）→15:28 がいずれも145分。福岡行き（黒川温泉→福岡）は南小国町役場前 10:11（九州産交）→博多バスターミナル 12:34（143分）、11:11→13:34（143分）、14:11（日田バス）→16:34（143分）。九州産交公式『高速福岡－黒川温泉』：運行状況『通常運行』（2026-10-06 に読んだ）・平土日祝 3往復6便・福岡～黒川温泉約3時間・予約制（座席指定） (checked 2026-10-06). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Minamioguni Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

10.8km

Kumamoto Prefecture: 小国町, 阿蘇市
Oita Prefecture: 日田市, 九重町

Minamioguni Town isthis kind of town.

01The Konpira Cedar (金比羅スギ) at Manganji is a National Natural Monument, with a trunk girth of 11.5m and a height of 28m according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs. The town says lightning split its trunk in the Genroku era (1688-1704), and in 1929 a second strike set the hollow trunk ablaze before local residents put it out. It is said to have been planted by Hojo Tokisada when the temple was founded.
02Manganji is a temple said to have been built by Hojo Tokisada, praying for the security of the land. It has the graves of three Hojo men and two portraits that are Important Cultural Properties. At Manganji Onsen the Kawayu (川湯) wells up in the river itself and serves as a community kitchen for rinsing rice and washing vegetables.
03The Takenokuma Great Zelkova (竹の熊の大ケヤキ) is a National Natural Monument in the grounds of Takenokuma Tenmangu Shrine, with a trunk of about 10.5m at eye level per the Agency for Cultural Affairs. The town also has Kurokawa Onsen (黒川温泉), which the town's tourism guide presents as its Kurokawa district.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Minamioguni Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗