29443 ／ しもいちちょう
Nara Prefecture 吉野郡A February fair echoes an old market.
Shimoichi Ebisu Shrine fair01 ／ Ring-pommel sword
Okamine Kofun is a round tumulus of the late 6th century, about 15 m across and 4.5 m high, and a prefectural Historic Site. The town writes that the inlaid scroll pattern on the ring pommel of a black-lacquered sword excavated there predates the one carved on a roof tile at Horyu-ji Temple by half a century.
02 ／ Chopstick shrine
Yoshino Sugi Hashi Shrine was built in 1950 in Sakaemachi, Shimoichi, mainly by chopstick-makers' associations, and moved in 1987 into the grounds of Shimoichi Hachiman Shrine. Its annual festival moved from 22 April to 4 August, the Chopsticks Day, and the town lists the chopstick-offering rite among its summer highlights.
03 ／ Main hall
Gangyo-ji Temple is a Jodo Shinshu Hongwan-ji school temple known as Shimoichi Gobo. The town's temple list records that Rennyo founded it in 1468. The main hall is seen as built in 1579-83 and the bell tower is said to date from around 1567; both are town-designated. The garden is a prefectural Place of Scenic Beauty.
Living here
There is no railway station in the town; the nearest is Shimoichiguchi Station on the Kintetsu Yoshino Line, in Oyodo. By the Nara Kotsu timetable it is 9 minutes by daily bus from Shimoichiguchi Station to the Shimoichi town office (revised 14 March 2026). The town's access guide ends its directions from Osaka and Kyoto at Shimoichiguchi Station.
−11.1% since 2015
9,532 → 5,037
12.89km² of it habitable
2024
2.4 people per household
2020
7.9 per 10,000 people
2023
These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.
ACCESS
Travel times follow 奈良交通『奈良バスなびweb』（https://navi.narakotsu.co.jp/）の区間検索時刻表（2026-10-14 に取得）。下市口駅（停留所コード 1854。のりば22〔岩森・洞川温泉・中庵住方面〕）→ 下市町役場（同 1864。のりば1〔南向き／岩森方面〕）：平日ダイヤ（2026-10-15 木）と日曜・祝日ダイヤ（2026-10-18 日）の両方で、全便が所要9分・運賃310円。平日は 8岩森行 8:10・11:20・15:20・18:26／7中庵住行 8:47・13:20・17:20／4笠木行 19:55／2洞川温泉行 9:20・14:20・17:50（ほか『夏〔季節運行〕5/1〜11/30』の便）、日祝は 8岩森行 8:16・15:20・18:26／7中庵住行 8:47・13:20・17:20／2洞川温泉行 9:20・14:20・17:50（ほか夏の便）。標準発車時刻表PDF（https://navi.narakotsu.co.jp/pdf/gene24/01854_022_ja.pdf〔下市口駅 のりば22・2026年3月14日 改正〕・https://navi.narakotsu.co.jp/pdf/gene24/01864_011_ja.pdf〔下市町役場 南向き・2026年3月14日 改正〕。保存 $SP/shimoichi/）と一致 (checked 2026-10-14). They vary by time of day.
Shape
North to south
11.9km
If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.
Similar towns
Its giant octopus made it into ukiyo-e.
Giant octopus of NamerikawaPost town, Old streetscape, Hot springs
Lit paper balloons rise in midwinter.
Paper balloons, KamihinokinaiOld streetscape, Hot springs, Famous festival
A World Heritage village of 5 households.
Suganuma gassho villageOld streetscape, Hot springs, Famous festival
_201802c.jpg){kind=link}