Article

04302 ／しちかしゅくまち

Miyagi Prefecture 刈田郡

Shichikashuku Town

Water said to have mirrored a princess.

Kagamishimizu, river headwaters

Photo by MWE (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Waterfall

A waterfall that spans the whole river isalso called the Two-Story Falls for its two drops.

The town's tourism site describes a waterfall about 10 m high and 30 m wide that pours across the full width of the river. The prefecture's guide says it is also called the Two-Story Falls because it drops in two stages. The slick bedrock that gave it its name is a broad rocky riverbed of tuff, where the spray crashes down.

About 10 m high, 30 m wide
Also known as the Two-Story Falls
Bedrock of tuff

02 ／ Inn signs

Inns that joined a lodging associationhung a sign under the eaves for travelers.

These signs belonged to the Suzuki family, who ran an inn called Yonezawaya. Hung under the eaves, they showed that the inn had joined the Naniwa association, proposed by an Osaka merchant in 1804, and the "True Sincerity" association. The town's tourism site says no other example like them survives in the prefecture.

Tangible folk cultural property
Designation date: April 26, 1993
Naniwa association proposed in 1804

03 ／ Post-town names

The town is named for seven post towns.Seki, Nametsu, Togeta and Yunohara survive as district names.

The town says that in the Edo period the road linking the Oshu and Ushu regions was called the Mountain Seven-Post-Town Road, and its seven post towns gave the town its name. The relocation site of the town-development company Shichikashuku Machizukuri says the districts of Seki, Nametsu, Togeta and Yunohara still bear their old post-town names.

Seven post towns gave the town its name
Seki, Nametsu, Togeta, Yunohara
Districts along Route 113

Shichikashuku Town from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot May–November 2023)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

Fifty minutes by town bus from Shiroishi-Zao Station.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

There is no railway station in the town. The town tells visitors to change to a town bus at Shiroishi-Zao Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen. In the town bus timetable revised on April 1, 2024, the fastest daily bus on the Shichikashuku-Shiroishi line takes 50 minutes from Shiroishi-Zao Station to the Shichikashuku Town Office stop. The town lies on the southern foot of the Zao range and borders Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures.

People living here: 1,262people
Area: 263.09km²
Households: 524households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 3 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —1 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.

Shichikashuku Town in Japan37.993°N 140.442°E

to Shiroishi-ZaoLocal bus50min

Travel times follow 七ヶ宿町営バス『七ヶ宿白石線』の時刻表（町公式『町営バス』のページから PDF。表の見出しは『バス時刻【令和6年4月1日改正】・JR時刻【令和7年3月15日改正】』。PDF の Last-Modified は 2025-03-03）。**全日運行の便**（①〜⑫のうち、見出しに『全日運行』とあるもの）だけを数えた。**白石蔵王駅・白石駅 → 七ヶ宿町役場（役場・なないろひろば行。町の外→町の向き）**：④ 白石蔵王駅 9:22 → 七ヶ宿町役場 10:12（50分）、白石駅 9:29 → 役場 10:12（43分）。⑩ 白石蔵王駅 17:24 → 役場 18:14（50分）、白石駅 17:31 → 役場 18:14（43分）。（⑧ 14:04 発は『土日祝運行』・② 7:28・⑥ 14:04・⑫ 19:06 は『平日のみ運行』で、数えない。⑥ 14:04 発は役場 15:06 着の62分。）逆向き（役場 → 町の外）の全日運行：⑦ 役場 13:07 → 白石蔵王駅 13:57（50分）・白石駅 13:48（41分）、⑨ 役場 16:29 → 白石蔵王駅 17:19（50分）・白石駅 17:10（41分）。往復とも白石蔵王駅との間は50分で同じ。白石駅との間は、町の外→町が43分、町→町の外が41分。表の注記：『平日のみ運行の便は、土・日曜日・祝日（国民の祝日と年末年始12/29〜1/3）は運休』『交通状況により、時間どおりに到着しないことがあります』 (checked 2026-10-28). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities across 2 prefectures.

Territory of Shichikashuku Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

20.3km

Miyagi Prefecture: Shiroishi City, Zao Town
Yamagata Prefecture: Kaminoyama City, Takahata Town
Fukushima Prefecture: Fukushima City

Shichikashuku Town isthis kind of town.

01Kagamishimizu is known as the source of the Shiroishi River; on an Edo-period procession to Edo, a princess is said to have seen herself in its water in place of a mirror and tidied her hair
02Nametsu Falls is about 10 m high and 30 m wide, spanning the river, and is also called the Two-Story Falls because it drops in two stages
03The Naniwa and Sincerity association signs hung under an inn's eaves, and the town says its name comes from the seven post towns of the highway

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Shichikashuku Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes