Misato Town

Seven octagonal shelters line old track.

Hakkaku Tunnel, Yuen rail ruins

Photo by くまもと急行鉄道 (Public domain)

01 ／ Reidai Bridge

A chief steward planned the bridge;72 stonemasons were gathered from many places.

The wooden bridges across the gorge (船津峡), a difficult stretch on the main stream of the Midori River, were all washed away. The chief steward (惣庄屋, 篠原善兵衛) of the Tomochi district (砥用手永) planned a stone bridge. With a master mason (宇助) of the Taneyama district (種山手永) as head builder, 72 stonemasons in all were gathered, and it was built in 1846-47 (Koka 3-4). Its deck is 89.86m long and it stands 16.30m high. It is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property, owned by Misato Town.

72 stonemasons in all
Built 1846-47 (Koka 3-4)
Deck 89.86m long, 16.30m high

02 ／ Makado Bridge

A stone marker stands to protect the bridge:'No vehicles may pass' (車一切通扁可ら須).

The Makado Bridge (馬門橋) over the Tsuru River (津留川) was built in 1828 (Bunsei 11) by Bizen stonemasons (勘五郎, 茂吉) and others, under the chief steward (小山喜十郎) of the Nakayama district (中山手永). A stone marker beside the road near the bridge reads 'Kuruma issai tōsu bekarazu' (車一切通扁可ら須, 'no vehicles may pass at all'). Starting with this bridge, the steward built seven stone bridges in all, including Futamata-watashi (二俣渡).

Built 1828 (Bunsei 11)
Bizen stonemasons (勘五郎, 茂吉) and others
Seven bridges by one steward

03 ／ Katashida Castle Ruins

A large Aso-clan mountain castle,with 11 enclosures on two ridges.

This is a mountain castle of the Aso clan, on a ridge of the hill called 'Castle Hill' (城山), up to 236m high, on the left bank of the middle Midori River. Old documents first record the castle's name in 1523 (Daiei 3). Excavations, 25 rounds of them since 1987, showed a large castle with 11 enclosures and ditches cut across the ridges. It was designated a national historic site in 2006.

11 enclosures
25 rounds of excavation since 1987
National historic site, 2006

Living here

No station: 82 minutes from Kumamoto by bus.

about 9,000 people
Rural district town

The town was formed on November 1, 2004, when the former Tomochi and Chuo towns merged. About three quarters (107.59 km²) of its 144.03 km² is forest, a mountainous area where most farmland lies on hills and slopes as terraced fields. The Kumamoto Bus route takes 82 minutes on weekday services from Sakuramachi Bus Terminal to Tomochi-chuo. The town's own site notes about 30 stone bridges within its borders.

People living here: 9,392people
Area: 144km²
Households: 3,439households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 2 hospitals ／ 6 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —4 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.

Misato Town in Japan32.640°N 130.789°E

to KumamotoLocal bus82min

Travel times follow 熊本バス公式の路線バス時刻検索（https://www.kuma-bus.co.jp/bustime/ の API。時刻表は『令和8年10月1日から』・2026-09-17告知）。M4-2『桜町バスターミナル→田迎→イオン→辺場→砥用』の平日：桜町バスターミナル発 10:20→砥用中央着 11:42、11:40→13:02、13:00→14:22（いずれも82分）、18:00→19:28（88分）。土曜 7:20→8:37（77分）・10:10→11:34（84分）、日祝 15:20→16:46（86分）。K2-5『桜町バスターミナル→県庁→健軍→甲佐→砥用』の平日 8:27→10:03（96分）・16:00→17:45（105分）。逆向き（砥用中央発）の平日は M4-2 が 6:07→7:33（86分）・9:32→10:54（82分）・11:24→12:46（82分）ほか (checked 2026-10-03). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities.

Territory of Misato Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

11.5km

山都町, 八代市, 甲佐町, 御船町, 宇城市

Misato Town isthis kind of town.

01Hakkaku Tunnel (八角トンネル), a remnant of the Yuen Railway in Komushiro (小筵), is a shelter built to keep rock from falling on both sides of the track. Seven octagonal frames stand in a row with gaps between them, and the town's tourism site calls its form and structure full of mysteries.
02Reidai Bridge over the Midori River was built by 72 stonemasons on a chief steward's plan, and is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. The town has about 30 stone bridges, and a stone marker reading 'no vehicles may pass at all' stands beside Makado Bridge.
03Katashida Castle Ruins, an Aso-clan mountain castle, is a national historic site. The Prefecture-designated Nakayama District Stone Bridges include the twin bridges Futamata-watashi and Futamata Fukura-watashi, and the Okedake Bridge (雄亀滝橋), an aqueduct for an irrigation channel, is also prefecture-designated.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Misato Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗