Himeshima Village

In Oita, one island is a whole village.

Himeshima village landscape

Photo by Indiana jo (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Obsidian

Kannonzaki's cliffs are a national Natural Monument.Its obsidian reached Tanegashima and Osaka.

The cliffs at Kannonzaki (観音崎), formed by volcanic activity, are Himeshima's obsidian source. The pale cliff face rises 40m and stretches 120m, said to be the only obsidian source in the Seto Inland Sea. Valued as toolmaking stone, it has been found at sites from eastern Kyushu to Tanegashima Island and Osaka. In 2007, it was designated a national Natural Monument.

2007: National Natural Monument
40m high, 120m wide cliff
Reached Tanegashima and Osaka

02 ／ Himeshima Bon Odori

Children become white foxesand dance through the festival.

The Himeshima Bon Odori (姫島の盆踊り) is held August 14–16 across the island's four districts. Dancers circle endlessly in the old Nakaodori (ナカオドリ), ringed by an outer dance newly composed every year — a two-layer structure. In the Kitsune Odori (キツネ踊り), children dressed as white foxes have danced in place of adults since the mid-Showa era. In 2012, it was designated a national Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

2012: National Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property
Held August 14-16
Kitsune Odori is danced by children

03 ／ Hyoshimizu

A princess clapped her hands,and legend says water sprang forth.

Hyoshimizu (拍子水) is one of the Seven Wonders of Himeshima. Legend says a princess, lacking water to rinse her mouth after blackening her teeth, clapped her hands and prayed — and water sprang forth. It is a cold, carbonated bicarbonate spring of about 25°C, its iron content staining the surrounding rock red. Today, both heated and source water are open for bathing.

One of the Seven Wonders of Himeshima
Cold spring, about 25°C
Iron stains the rock red

Living here

A 20-minute ferry from Imi Port to Himeshima.

about 2,000 people
Rural district town

Himeshima is reached by a village ferry from Imi Port (伊美港) in Kunisaki, about 20 minutes away, with 12 sailings a day (11 in winter). There is no station or highway bus stop on the island; reaching major cities requires transferring at Imi Port. Coastal fishing and kuruma-ebi (車えび, prawn) farming are the village's core industries.

People living here: 1,725people
Area: 6.99km²
Households: 832households
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.

Shape

Borders 0 municipalities.

Himeshima Village in Japan33.724°N 131.645°E

Territory of Himeshima Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

2.6km

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

Himeshima Village isthis kind of town.

01Himeshima is Oita's only village that is a whole island. In 2021, it was named a national Important Cultural Landscape as the "Coastal Village Landscape of Himeshima, Seto Inland Sea."
02Kannonzaki holds the Seto Inland Sea's only obsidian source (a national Natural Monument), and August brings the Himeshima Bon Odori (a national Selected Intangible Folk Cultural Property), with its Kitsune Odori.
03Legends like Hyoshimizu, tied to a princess, live on across the island as the Seven Wonders of Himeshima.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Himeshima Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗