Nishiawakura Village

A state forest, bought by the village.

Wakasugi Natural Forest

Photo by ChubbyWimbus (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Shitosaka Pass

The pass road was renewed in Meiji 20,and the old tunnel was built in Showa 9.

A village survey found that the Nishiawakura side of the national historic site Chizu Ourai Shitosaka Toge-goe (智頭往来志戸坂峠越) is a road rebuilt as a national highway in 1885–87. The work took about 1 year 8 months; a monument near the summit commemorates it. The old tunnel was built in 1934.

National Historic Site: Chizu Ourai Shitosaka Toge-goe
Work took about 1 year 8 months
Old tunnel built in 1934

02 ／ Hundred-Year Forest Vision

The village office takes in mountainsand manages them in 10-year terms.

The village office takes forests from their owners and pays for thinning and work roads from the village budget. Managed in 10-year terms, the scheme has gathered about half of roughly 3,000 ha of target forest, but the area entrusted to the village has recently stalled.

Target forest: about 3,000 ha
Entrusted area: 1,427 ha (FY2024)
Contracted forests hold FSC certification

03 ／ Shibazakura at Ogaya

Residents and students tend the moss phloxalong the terraced rice-field paths.

Ogaya is a settlement at the village's northern end, at the source of the Yoshino River. Since 2015, moss phlox (shibazakura) have been planted along the paths of its terraced fields, and local residents, university students and volunteers still tend them. The settlement's name, "Ogaya", is also written in the flowers. Peak bloom is usually around April 20 to May 10.

Planting began in 2015
Settlement name written in flowers
Peak bloom usually April 20 to May 10

Living here

A village of scattered settlements along the Yoshino River.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

Nishiawakura is the northeasternmost village of Okayama Prefecture. It borders Chizu Town in Tottori to the north and Shiso City in Hyogo to the east, and is otherwise surrounded by Mimasaka City. Its elevation ranges from 270 to 1,280 m, with settlements scattered along the Yoshino River. The village office shares the Awakura Hall with the library and community hall.

People living here: 1,398people
Area: 57.97km²
Households: 575households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 1 clinic

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

Children waiting for childcare: —0 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 4 municipalities across 2 prefectures.

Nishiawakura Village in Japan35.172°N 134.336°E

Territory of Nishiawakura Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

12.0km

Okayama Prefecture: 美作市
Tottori Prefecture: 智頭町, 若桜町
Hyogo Prefecture: 宍粟市

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

Nishiawakura Village isthis kind of town.

01Wakasugi Natural Forest is an 83-hectare forest at the northern tip of Nishiawakura, with giant beeches and maples, and lies at the source of the Yoshino River. According to a village newsletter series, the village bought this state-owned mountain to make it village forest, and later decided to protect it after a survey.
02Shitosaka Pass, on the Tottori prefectural border, lies on the Chizu Ourai road, and the Nishiawakura side is a national historic site. Under its Hundred-Year Forest Vision, the village takes mountains from forest owners and manages them.
03The Ogaya settlement plants moss phlox along its terraced rice-field paths. According to Kobe City, Kaneko Chonosuke, who won the 1909 marathon race, was a reservist from Okayama Prefecture, and the village newsletter introduces him as a Nishiawakura runner.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Nishiawakura Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗