Bungo-ono City

On Ogata plain, a falls about 120m wide.

Harajiri Falls

Photo by Project Kei (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Asakura Fumio

A sculptor from Asajiwas honored with the Order of Culture in 1948.

Born in 1883 in what is now Asaji, Bungo-ono, Asakura Fumio (朝倉文夫) graduated top of his class from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. Known as 'the Rodin of the East' and 'the sculpture saint,' he received the Order of Culture in 1948. In 1991, the Asakura Fumio Memorial Hall opened in his hometown, gathering his major works.

1883/3/1: born in Asaji
Graduated top of his class, Tokyo School of Fine Arts
1948: Order of Culture

02 ／ Inazumi Underwater Cave

A great Aso eruptionsubmerged this limestone cave.

Water returned to a valley buried by an Aso eruption, submerging a limestone cave. Underwater stalactites and bell holes make it a rare 'underwater limestone cave' (水中鍾乳洞) even by world standards. Beginners can try cave diving or snorkeling here; the operator says it is Japan's only cave you can dive into.

Submerged by an Aso eruption (operator: 300,000 years ago)
Trial diving and snorkeling available
A rare underwater limestone cave worldwide

03 ／ Chinda Falls and Sesshu

In the Muromachi period, Sesshuis said to have painted this falls.

In 1476, the monk-painter Sesshu (雪舟) is said to have painted Chinda Falls as 'Chinda Bakuzu' (鎮田瀑図). The original was lost in the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake; only a copy by Kano Tsunenobu survives. The falls has a male fall on the Ono River, about 20m high and 100m wide, and a female fall on a tributary. It became a National Registered Monument in 2007.

1476: Sesshu is said to have painted it
Male fall: about 20m high, 100m wide
2007/7/26: National Registered Monument

Living here

A city with no hot springs declared itself a 'sauna town.'

about 30,000 people

Bungo-ono City was formed in 2005 when Mie and six other towns and villages merged. With no natural hot springs, the city declared itself a 'sauna town' (サウナのまち) on July 18, 2021. Annual sauna visitors grew from 834 in FY2020 to 8,725 in FY2022. The city is the only place in Kyushu certified as both a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a Japanese Geopark.

People living here: 33,695people
Area: 603.14km²
Households: 13,780households
Rent (average for rentals): 34,547yen
Healthcare: 3 hospitals ／ 30 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —12 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.

Shape

Borders 6 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Bungo-ono City in Japan32.977°N 131.584°E

Territory of Bungo-ono City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

35.2km

Oita Prefecture: 竹田市, 大分市, 佐伯市, 臼杵市
Miyazaki Prefecture: 高千穂町, 日之影町

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Bungo-ono City isthis kind of town.

01Bungo-ono City, formed in 2005 from the merger of seven towns and villages, has Harajiri Falls, about 120m wide, appearing in the middle of the Ogata plain.
02Sculptor Asakura Fumio (朝倉文夫) was born in Asaji, Bungo-ono, and was known as 'the Rodin of the East.' He received the Order of Culture in 1948.
03You can try cave diving at Inazumi Underwater Cave, and Sesshu is said to have painted Chinda Falls in the Muromachi period. With no natural hot springs, the city declared itself a 'sauna town.'

See the town as it is now.

X@BungoonoCity ↗

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Bungo-ono City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗