Awashimaura Village

Few cars, yet a traffic light by school.

School-front traffic light, 2007

Photo by ブルーノ・プラス (CC BY 4.0)

01 ／ Stone Monuments of Awashima

Centered on Kannon-ji Temple in Uchiura,142 itabi slab monuments are confirmed.

An itabi is a slab-shaped stone pagoda made in the Kamakura to Muromachi periods for memorial services for ancestors and for one's own afterlife while still alive. On Awashima they are engraved with Sanskrit characters on the flat faces of island stones, 40 to 60 cm across. The village says 142 have been confirmed, mainly around Kannon-ji Temple; in 1989 the stone remains of Awashima, itabi included, were designated together as a Niigata Prefecture tangible cultural property (archaeological material).

142 itabi confirmed
1989: designated Niigata Prefecture tangible cultural property (archaeological material)
Carved on stones 40 to 60 cm across

02 ／ Hotokezaki

A cape where a Kannon statue is said to have been raisedis still regarded as sacred, with no nets set.

The village writes that on a summer night in the Kowa era (1099-1104), a fisherman from Kamaya saw a light on the seabed and thrust a large harpoon into it, bringing up a life-size statue of the Eleven-Headed Kannon; the cape was named Hotokezaki. It is regarded as a sacred place where seaweed does not grow and no fishing nets are set, and it was chosen as one of the Niigata Hyakkei scenic views.

Kowa era (1099-1104) legend
No seaweed; no nets set
Chosen as one of the Niigata Hyakkei scenic views

03 ／ Wild Horse Statue

A statue of the wild horses that died out in 1932stands in a park on the island.

The village says wild horses lived on Awashima until the early Showa era, and Edo-period records put them at about 50 to 60. One tradition holds that horses Minamoto no Yoshitsune released on his flight to Oshu swam across the sea, but the village adds that the truth is uncertain. Their numbers fell from the Meiji era, and they died out in 1932.

About 50 to 60 in Edo-period records
Died out in 1932
A statue stands in a park on the island

Living here

95 minutes by boat from Iwafune Port, a village with no station.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

Awashima has no railway; the gateway is the Port of Awashima. Awashima Kisen ferries take 95 minutes from the Port of Iwafune in Murakami. Cars for sightseeing cannot be brought to the island, and getting around is by community bus, cycling or walking.

People living here: 353people
Area: 9.78km²
Households: 170households
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.

Awashimaura Village in Japan38.468°N 139.254°E

to MurakamiAwashima Kisen95min

Travel times follow 島の町の決め（駅の無い町のバスの起点と同じ扱い。町内の玄関口の港へ乗り換えなしで着く船の起点を都市名に、事業者名だけを mode に。長崎の小値賀町・島根の海士町と同じ）。起点は岩船港（村上市）。粟島汽船公式『時刻表・運賃表』（https://awashimakisen.co.jp/schedule.html）の『時刻表令和８年10月～令和９年２月（※９月17日修正）』PDFと『10月時刻表』PDF（2026-09-27作成のカレンダー形式。10月2日～11月1日の一部変更を反映）、『時刻表令和８年3月～９月』PDFを2026-10-14に読んだ。就航船舶ページ（ships.html）は『フェリーニューあわしま岩船〜粟島間 1時間35分』。 (checked 2026-10-14). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 0 municipalities.

Territory of Awashimaura Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)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

6.7km

Awashimaura Village isthis kind of town.

01The push-button traffic light in front of Awashimaura Elementary and Junior High School was installed to teach children road rules on an island with few cars, where only islanders can bring their own cars; a lighting ceremony was held on July 13, 2007, according to a prefectural article
02The breeding ground of streaked shearwaters and Japanese cormorants around Maruyama on the island's west side was designated a national Natural Monument in 1972; the village writes that the streaked shearwater, called "sabadori" on the island, is a bird held dear for showing where schools of fish are
03On a fishing island, a stone shrine to Kaze no Saburo-sama stands in the hollow of a large tree in Uchiura, and islanders visit it on windy days. The prefecture writes that around Murakami an unreliable plan is called an "Awashima no itomagoi" (an Awashima farewell), from the rough seas that keep islanders from returning

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Awashimaura Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗