Tatsuoka Castle, moat and walls, Saku City
Article

20217 ／ さくし

Nagano Prefecture

Saku City

Western-style castle with star bastions.

Tatsuoka Castle, moat and walls

Photo by Suikotei (CC BY 4.0)

01 ／ School architecture

A school built on villagers' donationshas an octagonal tower that held a drum.

School architecture in Saku City
Photo by Suikotei (CC BY 4.0)

The Former Nakagomi School was built in 1875 (Meiji 8) with donations from villagers and local benefactors. The city says the octagonal tower on the roof was called the "Taikoro" because a drum hung from its ceiling to tell the time, and that the stained-glass windows earned it the name "Gyaman School."

  • 1875 (Meiji 8)
  • Octagonal drum tower
  • National Important Cultural Property and Historic Site, 1969

02 ／ Irrigation canal

A canal about 20 km longkept farmers alive for 338 years.

Irrigation canal in Saku City
Photo by Indiana jo (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The city's catalog of cultural properties says the Gorobe Canal, a prefectural historic site, about 20 km long, was in use from the 8th year of Kan'ei (1631) until 1969 (Showa 44), and that the chisel marks in its early tunnels are still sharp. The Gorobe Irrigation System was registered as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure in 2018.

  • About 20 km
  • 1631 to 1969
  • Prefectural Historic Site, 1983
  • World Heritage Irrigation Structure, 2018

03 ／ Cave

A middle-school student on his way to schooltook home glowing soil from a cave.

Cave in Saku City
Photo by さかおり (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 1910 (Meiji 43), a student of the former Nozawa Middle School showed the glowing soil from the cave to a natural-history teacher, and an appraisal at the Imperial University of Tokyo identified it as hikarigoke, a luminous moss. The cave is 2 m wide, 7 m deep and 1.5 m high, and is a National Natural Monument. The city says no one may enter, but the glow can be seen from outside.

  • 1910 (Meiji 43)
  • 2 m wide, 7 m deep, 1.5 m high
  • National Natural Monument, 1921

Saku City from the sky

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

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot October–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

69 minutes from Tokyo by Hokuriku Shinkansen.

  • about 100,000 people
  • 90 min to a city centre
  • Shinkansen stops here

In the JR East timetable (October 2026 edition), the fastest daily service is Hakutaka 557, leaving Tokyo at 9:32 and reaching Sakudaira at 10:41, 69 minutes. The city's own guide says about 70 minutes by Asama. The gateway is Sakudaira Station.

People living here
98,199people
20052020

−1.2% since 2015

100,462 → 98,199

Area
423.51km²

158.8km² of it habitable

2024

Households
39,924households

2.5 people per household

2020

Rent (average for rentals)
46,297yen

National average 60,630 yen

2023

Healthcare
7 hospitals ／ 83 clinics

9.2 per 10,000 people

2023

Area423.51km²Habitable land158.8km² ／ 37%
Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Population from 2005 onward (municipal boundary changed).2005-04-01 に新設合併（臼田町・望月町・浅科村）。2005年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare
—22 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.

Saku City in Japan36.249°N 138.477°E
OsakaSaku City
Sakudaira Station
佐久平駅2021
  • to TokyoHokuriku Shinkansen69min

Travel times follow JR東日本の公式の駅時刻表（東京駅 北陸新幹線 下り。平日〈1039060〉・土曜休日〈1039061〉。2610版）と、各列車の時刻詳細ページ（東京発・佐久平着）。2026-10-21 に取得。向きは都市（東京）→町（佐久平駅） (checked 2026-10-21). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 9 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Saku City
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)

Saku City isthis kind of town.

  1. 01The city describes Tatsuoka Castle ruins as a Western-style castle with star-shaped bastions; it is a National Historic Site (designated in 1934). The Ogyu Matsudaira clan built it at Taguchi at a total cost of over 40,000 ryo. After the domain was abolished the castle was torn down, and its moat, stone walls and kitchen building were left within the grounds
  2. 02The three-story pagoda of Shinkai Sansha Shrine was built as a pagoda of the shrine's temple and is a National Important Cultural Property. The Mayama house was both an inn and a toiya (post-station office) in Mochizuki, a post town on the Nakasendo, and the city's list of cultural properties records it as a National Important Cultural Property. The Atobe Odori Nenbutsu is a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, and was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2022 as one of the "Furyu-odori"
  3. 03The city says a point in the mountains of the city, about 1,200 m above sea level, was identified in 1996 by a Geospatial Information Authority survey as the "point farthest from the coastline in Japan", about 115 km from the coast

See the town as it is now.

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Saku City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes

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Next town Nagano Prefecture Sakuho Town →A knobby giant stands on charcoal hills.