Nishimera Village

Bridge triangles inspired by mountains.

Karikobozu Bridge

Photo by Tam0031 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ The Mera clan and Ogawa Castle site

Without an Edo residence, the Mera clanwent to Edo in principle every five years.

The Mera clan, who held the Mera mountain domain as kotai-yoriai (交代寄合), had no Edo residence of their own and lodged at the Hitoyoshi domain's Edo residence during their stays. Their "duty" was managing the hawk-nest mountains. The site of their castle, Ogawa Castle (小川城), is now Ogawa Castle Site Park, where the Ogawa Folk Museum (小川民俗資料館) displays 330 items, including old farm tools and household goods.

No Edo residence; lodged at Hitoyoshi domain's
Edo visits in principle once every five years
Ogawa Folk Museum: 330 items

02 ／ The Shishiba festival of Ogawa Kagura

On festival day, a priest offers a boar's headat the rocks called "Shishiba-sama."

Ogawa Kagura (小川神楽), handed down at Mera Shrine (米良神社), was designated a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in March 2023. It is offered every year from the second Saturday of December into Sunday at the kagura hall. On festival day, a priest (houri, 祝子) offers sacred paper streamers and a boar's head at the rocky outcrop "Shishiba-sama" (シシバ様), where the spirits of boars and deer are enshrined.

Every year, second Saturday of December into Sunday
A boar's head offered at the rock outcrop
National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, March 2023

03 ／ The Jabuchi lacquer-brothers tale and the Ogawa waterfalls

A folktale remains of the wooden dragona brother set in his lacquer pool.

At Jabuchi (蛇渕), a folktale of two brothers who gathered lacquer remains. The younger stole the lacquer the elder had hidden, and the elder tried to keep him away with a carved wooden dragon, but the dragon was said to be alive. The 75m Nunomizu Falls (布水の滝) is so called, the tourism site says, because at low flow the wind makes the water trail like cloth.

Jabuchi lacquer-brothers folktale
Nunomizu Falls: 75m drop
At low flow, the water looks like cloth

Living here

No railway station; 78 minutes by bus from Saito.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

On the Miyakoh Bus timetable revised on October 1, 2026, two buses a day, at 9:10 and 13:30, leave Saito Bus Center for Murasho, and both take 78 minutes. The population is 972 (September 1, 2026, resident register).

People living here: 1,000people
Area: 271.51km²
Households: 502households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 3 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —0 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.

Nishimera Village in Japan32.226°N 131.154°E

to SaitoLocal bus78min

Travel times follow 宮崎交通公式『路線別バス時刻表』3-02「西都支線（西都〜高鍋・佐土原・村所・山路）」2026-10-01版（https://www.miyakoh.co.jp/rosen/0_jikoku/3-02_20261001.pdf）。『【平日】西都BC－杉安峡－村所』『【土日祝日】西都BC－杉安峡－村所』とも同じ時刻：西都BC 9:10→村所 10:28（78分）・西都BC 13:30→村所 14:48（78分）。上りは村所 7:20→西都BC 8:38（78分）・11:00→12:18（78分）・16:30→17:53（83分） (checked 2026-10-06). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 8 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Nishimera Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

21.0km

Miyazaki Prefecture: 西都市, 小林市, 椎葉村, 綾町, 国富町
Kumamoto Prefecture: 多良木町, 水上村, 湯前町

Nishimera Village isthis kind of town.

01Karikobozu Bridge (かりこぼうず大橋) is a wooden road bridge at Murasho. Three king-post trusses of Miyazaki-grown cedar glulam run in a row, and the bridge is 140.0m long. The tourism site says its triangular trusses are inspired by the three mountains of Mera (Ichifusa, Ishidou and Amatsutsumi).
02Ogawa is a mountain hamlet with the site of Ogawa Castle, the seat of the Mera clan. Ogawa Kagura, along with Koshinoo Kagura and Murasho Kagura and the kagura of Saito and Kijo, was designated a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in March 2023 as "Mera no Kagura."
03Jabuchi has a folktale about brothers and lacquer. The Kikuchi Memorial Hall, the tourism site says, is where the grandson of Kikuchi Noritada, the last lord, who gave his lands to the villagers at the return of the domains to the emperor, spent his later years.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Nishimera Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗