Article

20588 ／おがわむら

Nagano Prefecture 上水内郡

Ogawa Village

A village bid for the governor's house.

Former Governor's Residence

Photo by Qurren (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Kosanji Bell-Tower Gate

The two-story gate that doubles as a belfrydoes not run its posts through both floors.

The bell-tower gate of Kosanji Temple is a two-story timber building with a hip-and-gable roof, serving as both belfry and gate. The village writes that leaving out through-posts between the first and second floors, with a separate structure for each, can be inferred to correspond to today's earthquake-resistant construction. The Hachijuni Culture Foundation dates the building to 1786 (Tenmei 6), and the temple grounds also hold a prefectural treasure, the three-story pagoda.

Two-story timber, hip-and-gable roof
No through-posts; separate structure per floor
Building dated 1786 (Tenmei 6)

02 ／ Yakushizawa Stone-Lined Channels

Villagers chose five representativesand offered 1,000 unpaid laborers.

In 1885 (Meiji 18), villagers who learned that erosion-control works were under way in neighboring municipalities chose five representatives, called sabo sodai, made three petitions, and offered 1,000 unpaid laborers, the prefecture's document records. The channels, built of stones 30 cm to 1 m across, stacked by hand, number 28 across four streams, with a total length of 221 m, according to the village.

Five sabo sodai, three petitions
28 structures across four streams, total length 221 m
Registered Tangible Cultural Property (2009)

03 ／ Kuchidome Checkpoint Sites

The three tools of the checkpoint, granted by the lord,are passed down in the officials' house.

The village writes that the Matsushiro domain placed checkpoints on its borders, and that Ogawa had three: Tateya, Hikage and Kiriyama. The Tateya kuchidome checkpoint carried out "checks of people" and "checks of goods" on the Zenkoji-Omachi Mine Road, and the "three tools of the checkpoint," granted by the lord, are passed down in the house of a former checkpoint official. All three are village historic sites.

Three checkpoints: Tateya, Hikage, Kiriyama
Checks of people and goods
Village historic sites since 1977 (Hachijuni Cultural Foundation)

Ogawa Village 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 July–October 2022)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

A village without a station: 32 minutes by bus from Nagano Station.

about 2,000 people
Rural district town

The village has no railway station. From the east exit of Nagano Station, an Alpico Transportation limited express bus reaches Ogawashinden, a stop in the village, in 32 minutes. The village lies about midway between Nagano City and Hakuba and covers 58.11 km². The village says its view of the Northern Alps was chosen as one of Shinshu's 100 Natural Sights (scenic views).

People living here: 2,215people
Area: 58.11km²
Households: 965households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 1 clinic

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.

Ogawa Village in Japan36.617°N 137.975°E

to NaganoLimited express bus32min

Travel times follow アルピコ交通公式『【特急バス】長野－大町・扇沢』（https://www.alpico.co.jp/traffic/express/nagano_omachi/）の時刻表『長野→信濃大町駅・扇沢［春・夏・秋ダイヤ］2026年4月15日～2026年11月30日』：長野駅東口発 8:15→小川新田 8:47・8:50→9:22・10:30→11:02・13:00→13:32・14:30→15:02（運転日は『毎日』） (checked 2026-10-20). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Territory of Ogawa Village

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

8.6km

Nagano City, Omachi City, Hakuba Village

Ogawa Village isthis kind of town.

01The Former Governor's Residence, built in 1920 (Taisho 9) for the prefectural governor, was rebuilt in the village after it answered the open call; a porte-cochere between its Western-style and Japanese-style wings serves as the entrance, and it is a village tangible cultural property
02Kosanji's bell-tower gate is a two-story gate whose posts do not run through both floors, a prefectural-treasure three-story pagoda stands in the same grounds, and the Yakushizawa stone-lined channels, hand-stacked by villagers, are a nationally registered cultural property
03Sites of Matsushiro-domain kuchidome checkpoints remain at Tateya, Hikage and Kiriyama as village historic sites, and the village is 32 minutes by limited express bus from the east exit of Nagano Station, with no railway station

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Ogawa Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes