Article

20361 ／しもすわまち

Nagano Prefecture 諏訪郡

Shimosuwa Town

Struck by a chisel, it bled, they say.

Manji Stone Buddha

Photo by 663highland (CC BY 2.5)

01 ／ Ancient tomb

A stone chamber of natural andesite,its ceiling too made of big flat stones.

Aozuka Kofun, 57 m long, stands in a corner of the terrace northwest of Akimiya, part of Suwa Taisha Shimosha. A horizontal stone chamber opens on the west side of the rear mound, built of natural andesite stones with large flat stones for the ceiling. Cylindrical haniwa were found at the foot of the mound, which the town calls unique in Suwa.

Prefectural Historic Site, designated 1965
57 m long
Cylindrical haniwa found

02 ／ Post town

At the junction of two highways,the honjin keeps its old floor plan.

This is the honjin, the official inn, of Shimosuwa-juku, a post town that in the Edo period was a key transport point where the Nakasendo and the Koshu Dochu joined. The town's plan records that the old layout remains, with the entrance, the upper room where Princess Kazunomiya stayed, the room where Emperor Meiji rested briefly, and the garden.

Prefectural Treasure, designated 2023
9 buildings and 1 plot of land
Honjin remains, Town Historic Site (1972)

03 ／ Folk culture

Iron blades fixed under a geta clog:a collection of footwear for gliding on ice.

Geta skates, footwear for gliding on ice, were devised in 1906 (Meiji 39) by a metalworker in Shimosuwa. Modeled on foreign skating boots, they have iron blades fixed to the bottom of a geta clog. The Suwa Geta Skate Collection, 130 items, is a nationally Registered Tangible Folk Cultural Property.

Registered Tangible Folk Cultural Property (2023)
130 items
Devised in 1906

Shimosuwa 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 2004)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

Seven villages merged, and the town was later established.

about 20,000 people
Rural district town

Seven villages merged in 1874 (Meiji 7) to form Shimosuwa Village, which adopted town status in 1893 (Meiji 26) and became Shimosuwa Town. The gateway is JR Shimo-Suwa Station, where the Limited Express Azusa stops, 139 minutes at the fastest from Shinjuku.

People living here: 19,155people
Area: 66.87km²
Households: 7,847households
Rent (average for rentals): 41,053yen
Healthcare: 3 hospitals ／ 14 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —3 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.

Shimosuwa Town in Japan36.070°N 138.080°E

to ShinjukuJR limited express139min

Travel times follow JR東日本の駅の時刻表（2610版＝2026年10月号。JR時刻表2026年10月号に基づく）：下諏訪駅中央本線上り・下り（平日 tt0823/0823020・0823010、土曜休日 0823021・0823011）と、列車ページ（停車駅一覧）、中央本線上り・下りの縦型時刻表（timetable-v/223u1・223u2・223d1・223d2） (checked 2026-10-21). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities.

Territory of Shimosuwa 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

11.9km

Okaya City, Suwa City, Nagawa Town, Matsumoto City

Shimosuwa Town isthis kind of town.

01The Manji Stone Buddha in Higashiyamada, Shimosuwa, is a Town Designated Cultural Property (sculpture, 1982); the stone is inscribed with 'Namu Amida Butsu, 1 November, Manji 3', and its chest is carved with patterns read as the sun, thunder, clouds, a sacred rock and the moon
02Aozuka Kofun, 57 m long on a terrace northwest of Suwa Taisha Akimiya, is a Prefectural Historic Site, and the Shimosuwa-juku Honjin Iwanami House, the honjin of a post town where the Nakasendo and Koshu Dochu joined, is a Prefectural Treasure
03The Suwa Geta Skate Collection and the Suwa Lake fishing tools and boatbuilders' tools kept at the Suwa Lake Museum and Akahiko Memorial Museum are Registered Tangible Folk Cultural Properties, and the town also has the nationally designated Hoshigato Obsidian Source Site and Suwa Taisha Shimosha

See the town as it is now.

Facebooktownshimosuwa ↗

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Shimosuwa Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes