Gokase Town

Columnar-jointed rocks ring the falls.

Unoko Falls

Photo by sk01 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Silurian fossils of the Gionyama Formation

A formation famous as the "type locality" ofJapan's Silurian–Devonian crops out below Gionyama.

Saito and Kambe (1954) found the tabulate coral Halysites in limestone on Mt. Gionyama (祇園山) and showed that Silurian strata exist in Kyushu. The Journal of the Geological Society of Japan says the Gionyama Formation (祇園山層) is famous as the "type locality" of Japan's Silurian–Devonian.

Silurian Gionyama Formation
Divided into 4 layers by Hamada (1958)
Saito and Kambe, 1954

02 ／ Gokase no Araodori (五ヶ瀬の荒踊)

The ranks include shinbochi and monkey roles,and each dance begins with the shinbochi's announcement.

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, a procession centered on more than sixty warrior-clad dancers is followed by shinbochi (新発意) and monkey (猿) roles, and they dance more than ten pieces around a drum. Each piece begins with the shinbochi's announcement and is offered at the autumn festival of Sangasho Shrine (三ヶ所神社). It is said to have been started in the Tensho era by the lord of Sakamoto Castle (坂本城).

More than 60 warrior-clad dancers (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
More than 10 pieces
National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, 1987-01-08

03 ／ Josen-ji's weeping cherry (浄専寺のしだれ桜)

A Prefectural Natural Monument,a variety of Edo higan (itozakura).

The weeping cherry in the grounds of Josen-ji (浄専寺) was designated a Prefectural Natural Monument in 1965 (Showa 40). It is a variety of Edo higan, itozakura. The Gokase Tourism Association writes that cherries said to be its children grow at the Harada and Okada houses.

Prefectural Natural Monument, 1965-08-17
Variety of Edo higan, itozakura
Tourism association: children said to be at private homes

Living here

About 88% of the town is forest.

about 3,000 people
Rural district town

The town's site gives the total area as 171.73 km², of which about 88% is forest, and an average elevation of 620m. There is no railway station in town; the town's site names Takamori Station in Kumamoto Prefecture as the nearest.

People living here: 3,472people
Area: 171.73km²
Households: 1,234households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 1 clinic

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

Children waiting for childcare: —2 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.

Gokase Town in Japan32.683°N 131.196°E

to KumamotoLocal bus168min
to HakataHighway bus176min

Travel times follow 【熊本→五ヶ瀬町役場前（特急たかちほ号）】宮崎交通『延岡～熊本線たかちほ号』時刻表（2025年10月1日改正・PDF）の熊本発：産交便52901は熊本駅前 9:11→熊本桜町バスターミナル 9:22→…→五ヶ瀬町役場前 11:59（熊本駅前から168分・桜町から157分）、宮交便52903は熊本駅前 15:31→桜町 15:42→…→五ヶ瀬町役場前 18:19（168分・桜町から157分）。九州産交バス『産交バス情報サイト』のたかちほ号の頁（時刻表2024年9月1日改正・平土日祝・運行状況『通常運行』・2026-10-06に読んだ）も熊本駅前 9:11→五ケ瀬町役場前 11:59。【博多→五ヶ瀬町役場前（ごかせ号）】西日本鉄道『福岡・福岡空港〜延岡（ごかせ号）』の時刻表（表紙は『2025年8月1日改正』、表の見出しは『2024年4月22日現在』・PDF・1日4往復。PDFを画像にして時刻を目で確かめた）の福岡→延岡：博多バスターミナル（35番のりば）発 8:25・10:25・15:50・17:50 → 五ヶ瀬町役場前 11:21・13:21・18:46・20:46 のどれも176分（山都町 10:51 などの次の停留所。西鉄天神高速バスターミナル発 8:05→11:21 は196分）。運行は西鉄（朝の2便）と宮崎交通（午後の2便）。逆向き（延岡→福岡）の五ヶ瀬町役場前→博多バスターミナルは 9:17→12:11 の174分など。 (checked 2026-10-06). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Gokase Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

20.7km

Miyazaki Prefecture: 椎葉村, 諸塚村, 高千穂町
Kumamoto Prefecture: 山都町

Gokase Town isthis kind of town.

01Unoko Falls (うのこの滝), in Sangasho, Gokase, are surrounded by strange columnar-jointed rocks. The Gokase Tourism Association says a walking path runs from the Sangasho Iwagami district and an observation deck on the opposite bank gives a full view of the falls and basin.
02The town's site introduces Mt. Gionyama as a mountain where 430-million-year-old fossils have been found. Gokase no Araodori is a nationally designated furyu-odori (風流踊) of the Sakamoto district, inscribed in 2022 on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list as one of the "furyu-odori."
03The town also has the main hall of Sangasho Shrine (三ヶ所神社), a Prefectural Tangible Cultural Property noted for its carvings, Myoken Shinsui (妙見神水), one of the Heisei-era 100 Famous Waters, and the limestone peak of Mt. Shiraiwa (白岩山), a Prefectural Natural Monument.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Gokase Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗