Sanjo City

A lava cliff stands on former seabed.

Yagigahana, submarine lava dome

Photo by Yuniko (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Eclipse monument

A total solar eclipse of 1887was observed from a hilltop.

For the total solar eclipse of 19 August 1887, a Home Ministry Geographical Bureau team set up on the summit of the hill now laid out as Osakiyama Park. According to the Astronomical Society of Japan, the weather was unsettled, and of the expert observation sites only Choshi and Sanjo saw the eclipse. In Sanjo the corona was photographed through a telescope, and a monument was raised in 1888. In fiscal 2019 the site was recognized as Japan Astronomical Heritage.

Total solar eclipse, 19 Aug 1887
Monument raised, 1888
Astronomical heritage, FY2019

02 ／ Honjo-ji gate

A two-storied gate at the temple entranceis painted red all over.

The sanmon of Honjo-ji, at the entrance to its grounds, was built in the 6th year of Tenmei (1786). It is a two-storied gate with a tiled roof, and the city describes it as rare in the prefecture for its size. Because the whole structure is painted vermilion, it is also called the Red Gate. It became a city cultural property in 1979 and a prefectural one in 1992.

Built 1786
Two-storied gate
Prefectural designation, 1992

03 ／ Japanese nails

About 68,000 Japanese nails went toIse Jingu's Shikinen Sengu.

In 1989 Ise Jingu asked Sanjo, the "metalware town", to make the Japanese nails and metal fittings used in its Shikinen Sengu, the periodic rebuilding. In March 1991 the town delivered about 68,000 nails of 5 types and about 13,500 sets of fittings of 24 types. The city says some can be seen at places such as the Sanjo Blacksmith Dojo.

Delivered March 1991
5 types, about 68,000 nails
24 types, about 13,500 sets of fittings

Living here

Tsubame-Sanjo Station to Tokyo in 99 minutes.

about 90,000 people
2 hours to a city centre
Shinkansen stops here

Tsubame-Sanjo Station is on the Joetsu Shinkansen, 99 minutes from Tokyo Station by the fastest daily train, the Toki 317. The station is in Sanjo. Around the city, the Gurutto-san loop bus runs seven routes at a flat fare, 150 yen for adults. In the urban area, the reservation-based AI on-demand service Noruto Sanjo is also available.

People living here: 94,642people
Area: 431.97km²
Households: 34,000households
Rent (average for rentals): 49,304yen
Healthcare: 7 hospitals ／ 65 clinics

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

Population from 2005 onward (municipal boundary changed).2005-05-01 に新設合併（栄町・下田村）。2005年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —28 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.

Sanjo City in Japan37.637°N 138.962°E

to TokyoJoetsu Shinkansen99min

Travel times follow JR東日本『駅の時刻表』の線区別時刻表「上越・北陸新幹線下り（東京－新潟・長野－敦賀）」平日・土曜休日（https://timetables.jreast.co.jp/2610/timetable-v/004d1.html ・004d2.html。2026年10月分。ファイルの更新日時 2026-09-14）と「上り」（004u1.html・004u2.html）を 2026-10-14 に取得して、列ごとに東京（大宮）の発と燕三条の時刻を引いた (checked 2026-10-15). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 9 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Sanjo City

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

31.6km

Niigata Prefecture: 加茂市, 長岡市, 見附市, 阿賀町, 五泉市, 魚沼市, 新潟市, 燕市
Fukushima Prefecture: 只見町

Sanjo City isthis kind of town.

01In Shimoda, Yagigahana is a rock wall where the center of a submarine lava dome, formed by undersea volcanic activity, is exposed, and the city designates it a place of scenic beauty
02In Osakiyama Park stands a monument to the 1887 total solar eclipse observation, and at the entrance of Honjo-ji stands a vermilion two-storied gate of 1786
03Sanjo's blacksmithing is said to have begun in the early Edo period with Japanese nails, and in 1991 the town delivered such nails for Ise Jingu's Shikinen Sengu

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Sanjo City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗