Article

20432 ／きそまち

Nagano Prefecture 木曽郡

Kiso Town

Garden clouds are drawn in white cement.

Kan-un-tei, Kozenji garden

Photo by Delpha (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Goryokan

A forestry office of the Imperial Household,with a three-arched porch and an octagonal tower.

Built in 1927 (Showa 2) as the former Kiso branch office of the Imperial Forestry Bureau, it is a Tangible Cultural Property of the town. The town says the entrance porch has arches on three sides, an octagonal tower sits at the center of the roof, and the interior has Art Deco design.

Town Tangible Cultural Property
Built in 1927 (Showa 2)
Three-arched porch and octagonal tower
Designed by the Imperial Household Ministry's Naitakuryo

02 ／ Hieda monuments

A monument in Suekawa recordshow 22 cho 7 tan of paddies were opened.

Listed by the town as a Tangible Folk Cultural Property. The Suekawa monument records how, in the first year of Kanen (1748), the village headman of Nakamura petitioned the magistrate's office and opened 22 cho 7 tan of paddies. In Nishino, the town writes, Endo Gohei urged development in 1859 (Ansei 6) and lent funds.

Tangible Folk Cultural Property (town list)
1748 (Kanen 1) · 22 cho 7 tan
Nishino: Endo Gohei gave funds in 1859 (Ansei 6)

03 ／ Folded chert at Kuzo Pass

In the rock face at Kuzo Pass,folds of bent chert can be seen.

Listed by the town as a Natural Monument. The town says that 200 million years ago, seafloor chert strata of the Paleozoic kept rising, then were bent and torn, and that the folds are said to be rare nationwide and academically valuable.

Natural Monument (town list)
Seafloor chert strata of 200 million years ago (town's account)
Said to be rare nationwide

Kiso 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 April 2017)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

84 minutes from Nagoya by limited express. 90% of the town is forest.

about 10,000 people
90 min to a city centre
Rural district town

The town was formed on November 1, 2005 by the merger of Kiso-Fukushima Town and the villages of Hiyoshi, Kaida and Mitake, and covers 476.03 km². The town describes itself as a mountain town where forest occupies 90% of the total area. In 2014 it enacted an ordinance to promote fermented foods. The gateway is Kiso-Fukushima Station.

People living here: 10,584people
Area: 476.03km²
Households: 4,680households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 8 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.

Kiso Town in Japan35.842°N 137.691°E

to NagoyaLtd. exp. Shinano84min

Travel times follow JR東日本「駅の時刻表」の特急しなの各号の停車駅一覧ページ（2026年10月改正版 `timetables.jreast.co.jp/2610/train/…`。名古屋・木曽福島の発着時刻と運行日カレンダーを載せる）。2026-10-21 に塩尻駅の時刻表から特急しなの全号（1〜26号・82〜86号）を引いて読んだ (checked 2026-10-21). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 9 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Kiso 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

26.4km

Nagano Prefecture: Otaki Village, Agematsu Town, Kiso Village, Shiojiri City, Matsumoto City, Miyada Village, Ina City
Gifu Prefecture: Takayama City, Gero City

Kiso Town isthis kind of town.

01Kozenji garden (Kan-un-tei) is a Registered Monument of Japan (registered February 26, 2019), a dry-landscape garden made in 1963 (Showa 38) by the garden designer Shigemori Mirei. About 690 m² of white sand holds 15 stones, and curves of white cement represent cloud patterns
02Goryokan, built in 1927 as the former Kiso branch office of the Imperial Forestry Bureau, is a town Tangible Cultural Property. The Hieda monument in Suekawa on the Kaida plateau records the paddy development of the first year of Kanen (1748)
03The folded chert at Kuzo Pass is listed as a Natural Monument in the town's list. Fukushima Barrier Site is a National Historic Site (designated March 13, 1979), and the Agency for Cultural Affairs writes that the small path up to the west gate site keeps the look of the old Nakasendo

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kiso Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes